True stories of old Houston and Houstonians: historical and personal sketches / by S. O. Young. Page: 158
244 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
158 TRUE STORIES OF OLD
but not entirely disabled. I went back and got about twenty. I
went as far as the wagons and there I saw Jim Stranger. He
was almost crying and pointed to a wrecked wagon and several
dead horses. 'Mat,' said he, 'poor Jim Longstreet is gone. A
little while ago a stray shell landed square on that wagon and
you see what it did. Jim was roosting in the wagon and the
shell did not leave a grease spot of him.'
"'You see,' said Mat, 'Jim died the death of a soldier and
warrior. I know that if he had been given the choice of deaths
he would have taken what he got. After I had gone baclt to the
firing line and broken the sad news to Ed Goree we lay behind
some rocks and discussed the matter. We finally concluded that
the shell had come up on Jim's blind side and thus caught him,
for we knew him so well that we felt certain he would have
gotten well out the way before it lit, had he seen it coming.
"Jim Longstreet, the mule, was all right in his way, but at
best he was a camp follower and loafer, while Jim Longstreet the
rooster was an ornament to the regiment and a producer. After
we had been camped near any other troops for a few days there
was not a dollar left among them, for Jim would whip any chicken
they could produce and we would rake in the money. The loss
of Gettysburg was a sad blow to General Lee, but the loss of
Jim Longstreet just naturally knocked the stuffin' out of Ed
Goree and me. It was a great financial disaster."
MIKE CONNOLY'8 ESCAPE.
A JEALOUS "bad man" with a six-shooter and a modest and
retiring philosopher, when thrown together suddenly, are
apt to produce complications either tragic or ludicrous.
Some years ago such a mixture was made here in Houston, and
caused more laughter than all the funny papers combined have
produced since.
Mike Connoly, poet, philosopher, expert telegrapher, electrician
and all-'round newspaper man, is too well known to need
other introduction than the mention of his name. It is true
he has confused the situation somewhat, since leaving Houston
and going to Memphis, by becoming a colonel and changing the
spelling of his name. He is today Colonel Mique Connoly, though
that is the only change in him; he is the same old Mike.
In the early eighties Mike was chief electrician for the West
ern Union Telegraph Company, the office of which company was
located on the second floor of the Fox building, corner of Main
and Preston.
His duties requiring him to be up at night, he had to sleep
during the day and therefore sought a room as far away from
the business center as possible, so as to avoid noise. After
much search he obtained what he wanted-a room fn a cottage
situatedd down in "Frosttown," which was the name given that
part of Houstbn down where the gas works is now located. This
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Young, Samuel Oliver. True stories of old Houston and Houstonians: historical and personal sketches / by S. O. Young., book, 1913; Galveston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth24646/m1/158/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.