it; and as
I knew I could not go out without going through the room where he
was, I simply put the poker under my coat and got up close to the
door that led into the faro room and awaited his arrival. It was
not long; and as soon as I saw him and was sure, I let drive and
caught him square in the mouth, knocking him stiff. Then I rushed
forward, and, grabbing him, secured his pistol, as I thought he
would in all probability turn it loose on me. Then I attended to
his head for a few minutes, endeavoring to kick the fight out of
him.

I learned afterwards that he had a very bad reputation, having
killed three men and been warned off the plains by a vigilant
committee. He was confined to his bed for a couple of weeks, and
I was congratulated on all sides for having walloped the fellow.

LEFT IN TIME.

Thirty-five or forty years ago the Cincinnati boats used to carry
a great many passengers, and the New Orleans boats were always well
filled. I once got aboard the _Yorktown_ at Vicksburg. There was
a full passenger list, and when I opened up there was at once a
crowd around my frugal board. They seemed to enjoy the fair, and
I won a good pile of money. At last we reached Bayou Plaquemine,
at which point there was a strong current sweeping down the bayou,
so that flat-boats were frequently driven in there and stranded.
The _Yorktown_ undertook to land at the mouth of the bayou, but
the current which flowed like a mill-dam was too strong, and she
started down the bayou. They headed her at once for the bank, and
her stern swung around, and, lodging against the opposite bank,
formed a perfect bridge across the mouth of the bayou. The boat
was loaded to the guards, and the water ran through her deck rooms
so rapidly that I thought every minute she would sink or fill with
water, but they put weight on the hatches, then dug around the
stern, so as to let her swing around. Just then two boats came
along, one upward bound and the other down. One of them pushed
and the other pulled the boat off, and then I began to look around,
only to see that all the passengers had gone ashore. After wandering
about the town the suckers decided it was time to kick and have me
arrested, but I divined what was in the wind, and, like Lord Byron's
Arab, silently folded my tent and crept away. I reached New Orleans
first.

ON THE CIRCUIT.

During the summer of the Centennial year I followed the races;
gambling on horses, runni