Preble County Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1857-1859, 1858-05-27
The yankee aud the Fox Skins.

"Mornin' Squire" said a down easter,
giving a nod and a wink to Lyman 4
Towel, as those gentlemen stood in their
store M morning, up and dressed" for
business.
l"How are you, sir?" said the mer-
chants.
"Poorty well, considering the state of
things in general. 1say, yeou sell skins
here, don't yeou?'
1--WE do, occasionally was the res
ponse."
"Wall, so I calkelated; buy fox skins
tew, [ rcckon?'
Sometimes. Why, have you got
some for sale?"
;@sSome, Yes, I guess 1 have one; its
tew, l tell you.,
"Let's look at it," said one of the
merchants:
The owner of the skin tugged at the
capacious pocket in his yellow. overcoat
a few minutes, and out came a pretty
good sized hang-up of a venerable rey-
nard.
There it is, a perfect bewty it is tew,
Amt it?'
'.Seen finer ones,' said Tewel.
'Praps yeeu have, and praps yeou
haint; but / dew think it's a rale bewty,
slick and shiny as a bran new hat"
"When did you get this skin?" said
the merchant.
~"When did I get it? Why, when l
killed the darn d c%ritter, of course"
"Yes, We know, but was it in the fall
or summer, or whcn?"
'OhI yes; we'll l reckon 'twarn't far
from the Fourth of July, any way, for
I'd lust cleaned up my old shootin piece
for p'rade on the glorious anniversary,
and along comes the old %critter, and |
Just give him a rip in the gizzard that
settled his hash mighty sudden, L tell
yeou-"
Fox skins" said the merchant, are
not very good when taken in hot wealth
er-the fur and hair is very thin, and
not fit for,much, in the summer"
WAX meow, l reckon, since l come
to think it over, 'twarnt hot weather
when l shot the c%ritter; no, I'll be darned
if it was; made a thunderin mistake
bout that for twas nigh on 70 Christ
mas, was, by golley, for l and Seth
Peurkins were goin' to a frolic. | re-
member it like a book, cold as sixty,
snowin' awful-was by ginger"
"Well," says the merchant, twas the
fox very fat?"
"Fata oh Molly, warn't it fail
Never did sec such a fat Teller in all my
born days Why yeou, the fat came
clean through the fellers hide, run
down the fellers legs till the very airth
was greasy where the darn'd varmint
craWled along. Did, by Peurkins."
Zoo fat, then, we guess, to be good
said Towle. "Fat skins, sir, are not
good as those taken from an animal not
more than ordinarily faE:"
"Wal, guess it warn't so darnd fat,
nurther:s comes to think about it, twas
another fox our Siah shot last fall; this
critter warnt so darn'd fat, not overly
fat fact I guess it was rather lean:
kind o lean, tree menjous lean; poor
old warming was about to die of pure
starvation; never did sec such a darn
eternal starved, lean, lank, furnished
%critter, on the Lords airth before!"
Very poor, eh?" says Lyman.
VERY poor? L guess it was; so al.
mighty poor that the old critters bones
stack clean, eout, almost through his
skin hadn't killed it just when l did
'twonld hev died afore it got ten rod:
further along. Fact, by golly!
"Ah WELL" said the merchants, 1--WE
see that the.skin is poor, the fur is thin
and loose, and would not suit u.s.
"Wunt suit yew? Nov, look ahert
yeou," says the Yankee, folding up hi.
versatile skin,'aI don't kind o'like sucl
dealin' as thatSef .ye ke,ch me tradin
for skins with yeou again, there amt NJ
lumber in the State of Maine"
And the holder ofthe skin vamosed
BB~A Smart Pcople.-Not long ago
writes a correspondent of the Kincer
booker, an attorney with considerable
IIrurnll li.lh,k a a. M nh -hrninr nm IL