The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1851-05-22

WAS contemporary Win the ceiebrateu DuVy
Crockett, and.hf equal in all things aprer-
tanning to hnn,ah prowess. II Was even
sad that the animals in his neshborhood
knew the crack pf bis rifle, and would take
to their secret hiding places on the first in
timation that NJ ike Mas about. Yet sirang..,
though true, he was hut little known be-
y0nd his immediate "seulement."
When ,re knew him, he was an old man
o'er his head ami taken the elasticity from
hi. limbs, yet ia the whole Of his fife was
Mike never wors.ed, except on one occa-
sion. To use his own language, he never
'gn in, used up, 20 anything that travelled
on two legs or four" but once.
"That once we want" said Bill Slasher,
as some dozen of us sat in the bar-room OF
the old tavern irf the settlement.
"Gin tito us eow, Mike-you'ye prom
ised lon. enough, and you're old now, and
needn't care" continued Bill.
"Right. right, Bill" said Mike, shut we'll
open with ticker all round, iust, i,il kind
o. save my feelins reckon"
"Thar that's good. Better than 'tothcr
barrel if anything"
"Weil, boys," commenced Mike, "you
may talk o. your scrimmages, tight places,
and sich like, and subtract 'em altogether
in one almighty big 'un, and they hain't no
more to he compared to the one | war in,
than dead kitten to an old she bar. I've
fout all kinds o. varinints, from mn Ingun
down TO n rattlesnake, and was never wiii'n
to quit fust, hat this once--and twas with a
bulim
"You see boys, II was an awful hot day
in August, aud war nigh ruunin' off into
pure Te when ] war thinking that dip IN
the creek mout save ne. Well, thar was n
mighty nice place in old Deacon Smith,
medder for that particular hizZiness. SO
went down among The bushes TO unharness
jIst hauled the OLD red shirt over my head.
ana war tliinkin' how scruInptious feller
of my size would feel walerin round in that
mr. water, and was jest bout going in when
seed The old Deacon's bull maxim b.
line to whar stood.
81 knowei the old cuss, for he'd skar'd
more people than all the parsons o. the set
ileinent, and cum mighty near KILN few.
Thiuks ], Mike. you're in rather tight
place--get your fiA'us on, or he'll I've a
drvin' them big horns o. b $ in yer bowels
afore that time! Well, you'll hev to try the
Old var'nin, naked, reckon.
"The bull war on one side o. the creek
and on the other, and the way he made
the sile fly for while, rs if he war digin'
my grave, war dis,res>in'
"COme OH We beil-rin' old heathin, said !,
and don't he a siandin' thar; Tor, as the old
Deacon says o. the devil, yer not comely
TO look upun.'"
"'rhis kind % reached his understandn,', =,
and made him more wichous, for he hOof-
ed Iitre like, and made drive. And as
l don't like to stand in anybody's way, |
gin him plenty sea room! SO he kind %
passed by me and come out Oh t'other side,
and as the captain of the Mud Swamp Ran
gers wonlh say, Shout face for mother
charge" ="
"1'hough war ready for i'm this time,
he come mighty nigh runnin' foul o. NE -
SO | made up my mind the next time he
went out he wouldn't be alone. So when
he passed, grappled his Iail, and he pulled
me out on the sile, and as soon rs we war
both a. top Of the bank old brindle stopped
and war about cunImln' round agiu when !
begin puli'n the other way.
/ swell, reck'n this kind o. riled him for
he fust stood stock still ani looked at the a
spell, and then commenced PAWN and bel
lerim', and The way he ,nade his hind gear
in' play ia the air was henutiful.
'But it war'nt no use, he couldn't tech
me. SO he kind o. stopped to get wind for
sutbin devil'sh, rs jedged by the way he
started. BY this tine, had made up my
mind to stick to his tail as long as il stuck
help nuther, kase it war agin my principles,
and it want far off, nuther. t..,.f
| "i know'd If he hern the noise. the hull
congregation would come down, and as
! n "a N rs.d ort h,.t -.
hankern' nrter a gal that war thar, 1 didn't
feel as if would like to be seed in that ar
predicanent.
$50 says you old sarpent, do yer chs
sedest! And so he did, for he drug t,,e over
every brIar nnd stump in the field, until
war sweatin aud hteedin like a fat bnr with
pack o. hounds at his heels. AMI my
name amt Nike Fink, if the old critters
tail and didn't blow out sometimes at q
dead level with the varmint's back.
$50 you may kalkelate we made good
time. Bme-by he slackenetl his pace, and
then bad him for spell, for jist drapped
behind stump and thar snubted the crit
ter! Now, says |, you may pull up this
white oak stump--break yer tailor jesl
hold bit till blow!
| swell, while ] war settin thar, an idea
struck me that had better he gettin Ou
o. this some way. But ho,c adzackly, was
the pint. If | let go and run he'd be fou
| o. me sure.
$50 lookin at the matter in all its bear
ins, cum to the conclusion that Pd better
let somebody knor whar was! So ! gin
a yell louder than locomotive whistle, ant
it warn't long afore seed the deacon's tive
dogs a comm down like rs if they war seeit
which could git thar fust. u .7
81 know'd who they war arter--they''
jnc the bull again the, l war sartiTI, fOt
they were orful wenemous and had a spite
agin me. as nae
$50. says |, old brindle, as ridin is Al
cheap MS walkin, on this rout, il you've ns
objections, I'll jest take deck passage oil
that ar back o yourn. So l WASN'T yer,
long gettin astrdc Of him, then if you'd bi'
thar, you ave sworn thar warn't nothin hu
, man in that ar ,afr; the siIe hew SO orfuil
as the critter and rolled round the field
one dog OF one side and one on l'oiher try
in to clinch my feet.
81 pray'd and cuss'd and cussh an
piay'd, until 1 couldn't tell which did a
: Iast--apd neither warn't ofno use, they wa
so orfuily miyed up.
~ "Well, reck,n rid about an hour thi
way, when old brindle thought il war tin,