Year: 1873




He was probably the wickedest man
ever lived; but he stood my friend. He
has lived in every State and Territory
from Georgia to California, and where
ever he went flock of stories would fol-
low him. First one thing would be
whispered and then another, and finally
the whole would settle down about him
in his new habitation, and he'd have to
pull up stakes and move on again. l
met him in Galveston. His main show
of business was that of speculator in
merchandise on a small scale, and in the
fall he would do a good deal in cotton
as a sort of go-between the planters and
the agents of the New Orleans houses
But he could turn his hand to gambling
or almost any business, and was always
for speculation or a bet. In Calves
ton, however, when | got acquainted
with him, he was working as overseer in
one of those large buildings recently es-
tablished for the curing of Texas beef
in the carcas by bleeding to death, and
injecting prepared brine into the emp
ty veins by means of a powerful force
pump. He was not much liked about
the establishment, but he stood my
friend, and / never harm those who
don't harm me. His name was Flint
Parsons.


/ had hired ont as a book-keeper of
the establishment. One day Parsons and
| was fooling with little niger that
used to do jobs aboutsthe place. We had
put him in an empty brine vat to both
er him, and when he would get up almost
to the top, we'd push him back again;
just to see the niger climb. One time
he had got nearly out, and l reckon
must have pushed little too hard. At
any rate he fell back and broke his neck.
This took me back little, but Parsons
Just threw an old blanket over the body,
and told me to come back in the Office
so as not to attract the attention of the
hands before they went to dinner. He
said he'd stand by me.


Nobody seen it," said he, by way of
inspiring me with comfort.


"Yes," said /; "but what is to be done
with the body?" -"


"Oh, the body! Don't you trouble
bodies in a heap worse place than this.
| planned for just such a case as this two
weeks before | took the place. You see
/ had my eyes on low down chap that
was book-keeper, before you and want
ed to put on airs. He wasn't safe
about this place, anyhow, but he got
sick, and l sort O. let up on him, so as
to give Providence a fair show, like and
afterwards he went away"


"But where shall we bury it?" "Bury
it. Buryin' amt no way to get rid of a
body. It's too hard work-that is, if you
want to bury it away from the dogs and
hogs. The water is heap better, if you
know how to fix things. The worst job
l ever had, l got rid of by water. New
er risk current; eddy water is the best.
Get your weight heavy enough, and
fasten 'em on with ropes or wire, then
bruise the body all over without breaking
the sikh to set il bleeding, and tattoo
the face little, or mash it in, to dis
guise it, and you will find the water
your best friend. But I'll fix the body
all right" r4


Parsons kept an eye on that brine vat
all the afternoon. At night, after sup
, per, he left our boarding house and in 9


SuOIJ IllilC CullS DdSh, NhOh 'iiNO VI AC"i


small sealed tin preserved-fruit cans
/. and said to me, with wink, before q
crowd of listeners, and to my mortal
. terror, that If l wanted to have some fur
I'd better come along.


2 We soon arrived at the factory, which
a was situated just outside of the town


We took the niger out of the vat, an(


Parsons carefully opened the cans anC


poured the liquor looking like sugar
house-molasses into an open vessel


Then Rigging up one of the brine pump
he inserted the tube into the jugular o
, the corpse, and then slowly pumped tn


whole of the molasses--about two quart
Into the veins and arteries OF tn


body. We couldn't get much in, be
. cause the blood was there yet, and clot
ted; but Parsons cut off piece of tn


ear and put it to his tongue, and sal


that there was enough in-he conld tast
. it. He poured the rest down the throat
| ! wondered all the time what he meant
lbpt Parsons kept working away lik