Wisconsin tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1847-1854, 1849-07-06
adi6geeg4amg.
LOVE INlTHE BAckwooDs.
tsMmY wibDLE's FIRST couRrsHIp.

4
o. my younger .ays-I should rather guess l
was ins for EN- ;sbme. myself, them times.''
| This was sstd by an old man, whom we
will iutsodace ~ Mr.. James Waddle, or rath-
er, old Wsddle." Everybody Except
the re&gerl kncts him, and his penchant for
yarn Spinning. i
| 1t is che evel.fng OF militia training day.
There tsfe goefly number, after the compa-
ny is DISMISSED Trom duty, who are lounging
around.sand all. gather round the aforesaid old
Jim, tothear hlsparn, TO which he has already
begun LIE pTeluSe, and only awaits somebody
to urgehlIn on Ihis there is enough to do.
lie thee In4uIref what they would have-one
o. his aanaln' cicourtln' spreesl The BOYS
unanimously deSianded the latter. Then, af-
ter requesting t..ht none Of them should laugh
till he.gof thretgh, with few preparatory
hens, aad an assumption of a comically grave
face, he; eommtpced. wish | could report
In his laifnItablss language, Uerbatina ct ktera-
Inn. : Y
s'Wben / w.h a boy, YOU know. daddy
moved aaom Vif.i to Kaintuck. I'd been
born and touched up on the fronteers-Kain-
tuck was Perfsft paradise for me to hunt bars
and lnS1ns in. 4 But forgot-you want a
courtin: story. Well, although | was always
cuttin' up some seviltry among the boys, yet
somehGw, was4 leetle shy and skeery among
the gals. liked the critters prodigiously,
but abisIt the only way | could manage to
show il, was BIZ eastin' sheep's-eyes in album
dance az 'efn. I'VE had meetn's as well as
frollcs, sometimes. While the preacher was
preachin' Observation-Disclosures, brotherly-kind-
ness, asad love-, wasent thinkin' of nothin
else. fused to set where | could look at the
gals in:the face:-4and then gaze at some pref
ty one saIl she'd blush as red as pepper pot.
Then l.felt SO queer about the gizard, and
wished an airthllake would come and throw
me rigkN IN het lap. [ was in love, but
could NJ tell who | loved most There was
Peggy .1asonhammer, a mighty fine GAL even
In her Law-llneE froek, her cheeks wur as full
as Cksna pigs, and as red as turkey COB
lers; snd then: thar was Sally Perkins, with
her gloaously striped homemade cotton frock,
besides. her hair and eyes as black as ink -
We'll. = these r~o | couldn't tell for my life
which : liked best, sometimes one and some
times s;.e othert-but alas, the last one look't
at
But .sxhen Sqiire Crumpton come to our
diggin$, his twl, gals tuck the shine off the
rest on:Sem, SPECIALLY the oldest one, Betsy.
shan1 attempa 10 describe her; but when
tell yoa she haa & CALICO FRoCK, with waller
fiowers*as big As your hand-brass ear hobs,
besides half sozen strengs O. beads as large
as the :snd o yGuf little finger, you may think
she wss a charner-i did, anyhow. Of all
the msgnun bcanm charmers I'd ever seed,
she WAS the magnum bonumest! And so all
the yoAng: fellefs said tn. When fust seed
her twas at Deacon Shocks meetin'. | fas-
tened by eyes .on her till hers met mine-she
looked standardization smiled a charmin'
smile, and blus.l't and look't down. Lordv
thar wstS tiutterIn' then equal to saw mill,
'tweeD;mv two: jacket pockets | felt | was
gone%- sFron that hour | was too big for
my bre&ches, and of Sundays borrid dads
breechss, he'd been married in before the rev.
olutIoTtaryl wars and come off at his knees,
but as be was :tall and / warn't, they come
below anihe three or four inches. Agin the
next n5setln' svas prepared to cut big stiff
sister Sal, for che purpose, starched and iron
ed my zaaeW fine shirt as stiff and slick as
sheet q new tin. This shirt had the finest
kind q flax l:nen in the bosom and collar,
but tn. invisible part of it was coarse tow
with a'hem thar would cable a steamboat
Now while Sal '! as smoothin' the wrinkles
near the said h.1 with an iron Just hot from
the firGt down st. rs tumbles one O. the brats,
knock1a' ahe breath out'n it. 1t was Satur-
day night and SHE was the only one up, and
run to Il, IN coEr1e; but before it come to, the
iron hid decidedly made its mark-that is,
burnt eWo.hole. IL the extremity of nv linen.
Next Itora.. Pusit on as it was-then dads
true bises-~the1n the first regular built pair o.
shoes I'd ever ha,i. | was seventeen just that
Sunday norma. and in my Sunday riggin
felt msael: niah, and was resolved if Betsy
CrumFsom was.a smeetin' to show it. Well,
she w&a thar, anq axt her for her company,
and got it! Ns'kin' by her side, | felt as
light az: nefhin:JI sceecely techt the ground
WALKED on. :Bst shan't tell you the fine
things tkoughe and said to her on the way,
and mste after we got home.
.'Ohs YES, de- cried several voices.
N,r sx-fst, Al
you are.to skim the cream of the story YETI
She seFt me. Up late say two O'clock, and
spite q the novelty Git bein' the fust time) |
got slesspy. Nov the Squire had just come
to theIU parts, apd put up one story, one
roomee.iog cabin, and the whole family, 'cept
some G. the yo:ny ems, slept below. | was
leetlezbashfuE bout guine to bed thar, but |
was three miles from home, and it was rain
in likG.blue blazss; had to do it, and did,
without exposing the blanks in my linen.
resolved to be up afore any body else in the
mornif oa the:same account and some others.
That:was tha last know'd till waken'd by
the hoi1nds (hs.lf dozen of which slept I'M
der thc|ae.i) nullin' the kivers off'n me-
Holy t'saTenst che sun two hours high
Ereakfsst en- TIL: table, and | in bed Just as [
was gu.ne TO sDr;ng out. in pops the old %
man, with plate of venison. 1t was dog
days. T.5u knoa, and she cookt in shanty.
| posssEned sleep till she went out again, then
looked; for:my .rowsers-thar they war, in the
jaws o;S the pups at the foot of the bed : |
made almighty llnge over the foot board to
retake shefn, bat, oh, horrors my head down
and ms heels :dewni What's the matter,
thinks but It flashed across me in mint
that the hAle iIa my linen was over the post
tn! E%licked, .and foundered, and founced,
but to 40 purpasa-I couldn't get down.
| stralnesi t9 bre9k the hem, but it was all no
go. -.sst now:at the hounds commenced yell
I'm sc.aurouslg that the old oman and both
gals rs&a J.? to see what was up, and when
they s:sed..lt was me they run ont agin-one