Year: 1874

GLADLY accepting his hospitality, we re-
traced our steps a few rods, and then,
following our pilot, turned into new
road full of ruts, and an army of stumps
that disputed our passage at almost every
step.


The man proposed to take the lantern
and keep in advance of us, as in this way
we could better see the way. have
never quite brought myself to the conclu-
sion that Jones was not suspicious of him,
for he hesitated little about relinquish-
ing the light, but finally did so, and the
mans explanation of being out at that
(negroes) entirely quieted Jones' fears.
At last we arrived at the house. Ne
groes were aroused who took care of our
house. We were shown into an upper
room, where we retired Immediately and
slept soundly until morning.


We were awake with the first glimpse
of daylight, as also was our host We
arose, saw that our horses were fed, ate
our breakfast, offered to compensate the
planter (Which proposition, with the pro-
verbal hospitality of Southern planters,
he declined), and were again on our
journey.


The creek was found to be yet much
swollen, but we determined to ford it.
How we got out of it without accident
/ have never been able fully to under
stand. 1t was much deeper than we had
expected, the current was swift and
strong; at the deepest part the buggy be
gan to float and the horses were COM
PEELED to swim some distance. At length,
however, we landed at considerable dis
tance below the point We had intended to
reach, and after great difficulty scaled
the bank and regained the highway.


Here we fell in with long, lank, Ian
tcrn;jawed, cadaverous-looking individ-
ual astridc diminutive mule. He had
watched our perilous passage of the
stream with the utmost nonchalance
Had he been stupefied with terror he
could not have manifested moro supreme
indifference. He sat upon his mule, ey-
ing us in dazed way as though we were
some unusual phenomenon-inhabi
from another planet, His singular con
duct no less than his singular personal
ity could hardly fail to fix our attention
He was arrayed in pair of butternut
pantaloons several inches too short and
held up by a single suspender made of
strip of cotton cloth; his huge feet were
encased in pair of brogans that must
have required lasts large enough for Co.
Hath of Gath; tow shirt and broad
brimmed slouched felt hat completed his
tout ensemble.


Until we had passed him he sat like a
statue, as though he was glued to the
mule and the mule was transfixed in the
mud. Nothing indicated that either the
man or mule moved a muscle except the
gradual turning of the mans head as he
bent upon us his steady stare. We
passed on without word being
spoken on either side, when he turned
about and followed our course, though
we soon left him out of sight.


About noon we reached Eastport Just
in time to accomplish my errand before
the departure of the parties from that
point whom it was highly necessary to
see. Jones went at once to the tele-
graph Office, where himself and the local
operator soon put the mechanism neces-
sary there into working order. At East
port the line crossed the Tennessee and
the wire was down on the north branch
of that stream. The local operator had
been over to make repairs, but found it
necessary to return to the office for more
when he went over the second time,
Jones and myself accompanied him.
There were about twenty persons on the
fcrry-boat, and among them the individ-
ual seen at the creek in the morning. He
had evidently been hobnobbing with
John Barleycorn," for he indulged in
considerable loud and threatening talk,
which was chiefly directed, by reason of
the discovery he had made, toward
" them telegraph fellows"


In the minds of many of the more
ignorant population, there and elsewhere,
the ridiculous idea prevailed that the
telegraph wires had some occult but
potent influence on the weather, and the
rains which then threatened to seriously
endanger the crops were mainly charged
by these simple minded persons to the
existence of the telegraph lines.


The thimbleful OF brains under the
slouched hat and unkempt hair of the
above-described individual was evident
ly penetrated with this stupid idea, and
now that he had placed himself outside
of pint or so of tangle-foot," and was
encouraged by the sympathetic jargon of
four or five specimens of the same genus,
quite as ignorant and nearly as much
intoxicated as himself, he was very
noisy.


"Them starchy bucks thar is fixin'
Nv the telegraf 1 seed two Nv 'em
nightly skeered in creek this
mornin'. Dog on my skin, eff it wern't
good thing eff they'd bin drownded !"


This sally elected a loud laugh from
his companions, while Jones and myself
could not repress quiet smile. The
"native" continued:


dad dang the telegraf; it don't do
our country no good! Who's gwine to
git crap? The cotton seed is a rotten
an corn'll be drownded out"


The language, the demonstrations, and
the absurd idea of the speaker were su-
premely ludicrous. 1t was utterly use
less for g them telegraf fellers" to at
tempt controlling their risibilities. The
explosion of laughter which followed was
hearty, loud and prolonged Its effect
on the speaker, however, was very aggra-
waiting; his blood went up to lightning
heat at once. Walking over to where
our party stood, and posing defiantly, he
threw down the gauntlet in this wise:z


"Lookce h'ur, you ornery size fire sar-
pints; kin lick you'uns outen them
shiny boots ye've got on in two minutes
by the clock, and whole passel more
jist like ye. I'm the gobbler. Hooray!"


Jones suggested that bottle of Mrs.
Winslow's soothing syrup might do the
fellow good, and remarks equally tanta-
lizing by the Eastport operator made
him furious. His companions gathered
around him, and at one time collision
was imminent. The interference, how
ever, of some of the bystanders, who ex-
postulated with the parties about endan-
gering the lives of others on the boat by
the use of firearms (several pistols had.
been drawn), finally restored: quiet, and