Between Two Rebellions

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 Excerpt: ...Mahdi is El Mahdi, said the soldier, who seemed to have fallen into this safe way of confirming a man's character, when his own knowledge of him was not sufficient to enable him to draw a satisfactory sketch; but there's Osman Digna! He's a posy;--and his chief, Taggish--Faugh! I've seen them both. A pair of dirty Injuns, swaddled up in dirty cotten sheets, would make as good a show. If I were much of a hero, I wouldn't ache to soil my blade with those fellows. They've got one of our Governor Generals over there now, philandering around. Dufferin. I've seen Dufferin. He's no fighter, said Maury. Duffy's booming for the Ameer, replied the soldier. Guess he can 'talk turkey' enough for that, laughed Maury. I heard him speechify. He's got lots of ideas. Plenty of ammunition of that sort and he lets off where they don't hurt anybody. He advised the settlers up with us to hang on to their old log fires; but they went right on getting stoves just the same. Even the Injuns are getting them into their wigwams and it makes a deuced improvement in those smoky holes. I suppose he was looking at the subject from the aesthetic standpoint, remarked Annette. O, yes, but he said it was more healthy too--the old way of sending the heat up the chimney--just as though we were in danger of dying of heat in such a confounded cold region. He couldn't make even a squaw believe such nonsense. A squaw's a squaw, laughed the soldier; and most likely Duffy'l find Abdurahman is Abdurahman, before he gets though with the Ameer business. Those fellows have tongue enough to ask for what they want when they come to the crossroads. I've not hob-nobbed with Abdurahman nor El Mahdi, but I've...