"Eric Flint - TOG 02 - 1824, The Arkansas War" - читать интересную книгу автора (Flint Eric)

тАЬWilliam H. Crawford,тАЭ Johnson stated, making the simple name sound like a curse.

тАЬI donтАЩt like him, either,тАЭ Sam said. тАЬBut it doesnтАЩt matter. Even if the secretary and the president
proposed it, thereтАЩd be an uproar in Congress. Financially speaking, the Yellowstone expedition was a
disaster.тАЭ Sam raised his hand to forestall JohnsonтАЩs protest. тАЬDick, I know most of your constituents still
think the expedition was a good idea, to keep the peace on the frontier. But most of the country
considers the whole thing a boondoggle.тАЭ

And probably a crooked one, to boot. Half-crooked, for sure.But he left that unsaid.

Johnson didnтАЩt pursue the matter any further, not to SamтАЩs surprise. The Yellowstone expedition and the
debts it had saddled the senator with dated back several years now. Not quite ancient history, but
ground that had now been trodden over several times. He hadnтАЩt really had any hopes of getting any
relief there.

Instead, he moved to the subject that was much more pressing. тАЬAnd the Choctaw Academy I want to
set up?тАЭ

Julia Chinn came into the room at that moment, giving Sam a little breathing space. After sheтАЩd taken a
seat on the divan next to the senator, Sam tried to present it as positively as possible. тАЬDo you know
Gerrit Smith?тАЭ

тАЬThat young New York fellow? Rich as Croesus, they say. Something of a philanthropist, I also heard.тАЭ

тАЬThatтАЩs the one.тАЭ

JohnsonтАЩs eyes widened. тАЬHeтАЩs offered to back me?тАЭ

тАЬAhтАжтАЭ

There was no way around it. тАЬNot exactly, Dick. HeтАЩs willing to pay the debts youтАЩve accumulated for it
and take the Academy off your hands.тАЭ

тАЬWhat?тАЭ

May as well give it all to him, at one swallow.

тАЬAnd he wonтАЩt set it up here, and he wonтАЩt call it the Choctaw Academy. He wants to establish it in
New Antrim. And he wants to turn it into a schoolтАФmaybe later a college, attached to itтАФthatтАЩs open to
children from all races. Whites, any tribe of IndiansтАФand negroes. He thinks thatтАЩs an experiment thatтАЩll
work. If itтАЩs done in the Arkansas part of the Confederacy.тАЭ

Johnson was just gaping at him. Sam took a deep breath and finished. тАЬHeтАЩs even got a schoolmaster
lined up. Fellow name of Beriah Green. Also a New Yorker.тАЭ
 Also an abolitionist,he could have added, but didnтАЩt. Whatever JohnsonтАЩs relationship to Julia Chinn,
the man was also a major slave-owner, with all the attitudes toward abolition that that entailed. If that
seemed contradictoryтАж

Well, it was. But it was a contradictory matter that Sam knew backwards and forwards. HeтАЩd owned