174 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



went an' threw it down at the emperor's young fightin' Mammy Luke, an' the 



door an' made a row till he got some old coot sees, by the tattoo mark on his 



grub. arm, that it's the same, growed up, an' 



"Each man carried two half-moons they wade in together, swingin' their 

 of swords in a great belt three inches swords against the enemy." 

 wide, an' he wore carpet slippers with "Bad lot !" said another ranger. 

 his name worked on in pearls, an' he "Who killed off them fellers?" 

 had four white horses, splendid, well- "Huh ! You evidently don't appreci- 

 kept up, an' several slaves of both kinds, ate them fighters ! But if you want to 

 an' the only work he did was fighting know, after they had been up agin' all 

 for fun an' carrying off loot, an' ridin' kinds of famous generals from Alex- 

 proud in processions." der to Napoleon, they come a time 



"That sounds bully," said one ranger, when the whole tribe got sassy don't 



"who were those ducks?" know why? Then the emperor of 



"They called themselves Mammy that time invited them to a peaceful con- 

 Lukes, the teacher told us. Queer fab, an' the dam' Mammy Lukes rode 

 name, but, then, it was because of their careless into a big court-yard, an' the 

 main trick of stealin' babies. They used emperor fired his six-shooter an' off 

 to ride all over for hundreds of miles comes the cloths from hundreds of 

 an' they picked out the strongest an' loaded cannons on the walls and the 

 spunkiest boy babies an' took them into emperor had 'em killed, but even then 

 camp an' brought them up to be Lukes, they nearly cut their way out and made 

 too. That's how the tribe was called a new emperor. That ended the whole 

 Mammy Lukes. Fed 'em, trained 'em, tribe for keeps." 



made 'em regular fighters ; several Alas ! The name Mehemet AH had 



thousand baby Lukes all runnin' around been forgotten! But how clearly the 



an' gettin' prizes for killin' the Emper- wild Mamelukes shone out across the 



or's enemies." tale ! 



"Hm-m. Don't think much of that "Four white horses, an' plenty of horse 



game, first kidnappers an' then nusses, feed !" said a ranger. "That part of it 



every one going around with half a struck me. I don't admire white plugs 



dozen stolen kids yellin' at his heels ! myself, but that's incidental. Four !" 



I always thought Turks had some dig- "Yas," said another, "I remember 



nity, and when they weren't fightin', set that fellow that peddled soap an' sold 



cross-legged in the shade and smoked minin' stock told a yarn about a place 



an' drank coffee. But your mammy in South America where hosses was 



tribe couldn't have done no real fightin' even plentier an' better than with them 



with all those kids part and parcel of the black Egyptians, an' all colors, too. 



muss." Them Egyptians was all coal black, I 



"Lot you know ! They wasn't fools, suppose, an' they set themselves off with 



Naw, they took nusses an' slaves an' white hosses." 



had the young ones brung up from the "Let's have that yarn." 



word go. No trouble. All discipline "Well, the fellow said as how there 



done on the side. Big Mammy Luke was once a tribe of people named Ara- 



rides down a thousand miles from north carians queer name that. They lived 



end of Asia has a woman nuss in somewhere south of Peru, down to- 



charge of one of his slaves, packin' a wards Patagonia. They hated all the 



small boy. Takes him to the boss, Spaniards. When a young brave 



'Here's the finest boy in them north wanted to marry, he had to kill three 



tribes; put on the mark an' the num- Spaniards first. They had a river. I 



her, an' set him practisin' shootin'." remember its name cuz it was so queer 



Then he goes off ; all through with his -Bio-Bio an' on an island in the 



trouble. Twenty years later, when he middle of that river grew millions of 



is gettin' old, there ranges up a fine crab-apple trees. The women went 



