The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1859-07-12
JOHN EASTMAN & THE DUMB BULL.
From the 1iorkviHe Enquirer.

tel you Wndt napp1nu up on fcuH9ar NTeek De-
tween John Eastman and the Dumb Bull and how
gut intu hit tu As hits bin a long time ago
and John and me haiRt bin so mitey FRIENDLY
nuthur, is the reason haint said nothn about hit
afore now But I've mooved up over the North
/ Carolina line, and people SAYS aud talks purity
much they pleas eny how up here, 1 reckon
] John won't think hard eff / wus tn tel hit
on him. at .a.
Wei, you sec, John and l. when we wur Young,
we wur considerable sparks amongst the gals in
the dggins roun Big Suggar Greek, but we both
gut to hankern arter old widder jenkins gal Sail,
who spruce and buxom little piece as
ever trod in shue-lether wore pinck ribbin.-
An Sail and | had almost gut tu be sworn freends,
til John got to mtrchlin horns with me- and as he
was little better lookin fed man than | wur,
John was rather crammin hit on tn me; fur the
last mite we met at the widder Jnkins | wur
badly chaaecd fur Sail and the old omon both talk
ed peskey heap tu John at the supper table
they almost choked him with 'tention and kept a
sistn fur him tn heve his cup filed agin and tu
take out sum more of the collards; while they
never sed wun time, '.Bill Perkins make out your
supper or hev anuthur cup of bntter-milk. And
when furst sot down didn't have much NV an
appertite, but | CESS ct it with cummin stumake
| jes fur spite. -.- ..-~.
And artcr supper over, and the table red up,
the old onion and Sail both got on ech side NV
|
crack jokes tu him all the time, while l sot in
luther corner with wun fut on top luther pickin
dobbn Outen the cracks and eyin John mitey jubi-
ously all the time, feen like | wus sent fur tn
quiltn and cudent cum. The old omon was in a
CRATE gale talkin tn him and akin him about his
nue. house. and ef he wus gwine tn hev port
folio tn hit like squire Gilkin's nue. house, and ef
he had guide crop NV yung pigs comnin on,
and eff his hens wur fechin up meny yung chickens;
| md hon Sail br1r
as basket Nv chips and axed John eff he wud take
setten MANS doneinickur hen egs home with
him in the mornin. And he sed he wud and
thank hur fur en- tu and feclin little romanceful
went and sed he wud set them under his yaller
legged luvly y-cacklin-speckly hen on the highest
pinnacle fodder his barn loft, and when they
hatched out he wud take all the care in the world
NV EN- fur hur luvely sake tu remembur hur and
the old omon sorter mzled her countenancc and
Sail kinder blushed and thanked him-and then
John rolled his eyes round on me in kinG
hHfultin way, and looked proud yung ruster
with his fust spurs and they looked miteIy consur-
quantal Nv Mr. Eastman, and | cud see them turn
thur noses up at me like they smelt wet pups, and
| sot and wished [ wur sum whar else. But |
thoue ht to myself, as Deacon Brinley uster say
'every dog has his own day" But thot Sail
Il treatin me mitely unscruplusy as she uster
stick tu Inc like sick kitten tu hot brick. But
since Johns grand-mamy had dide and left him
the Pea-Ridge place and the Punkin bottoms, and
a couple of sows and litters thur wus no body but
Mr. Eastman livin, and Bill Perkins wrls nowhere
Well things kept goin tn Johns glory and
salvation, and he taken and rdHtin
about with Sail heap WIS en- ever [ dun And
John heres Nv big show in Sharlot, and so he
gifts his daddy's old gig and tuck Sail up to see
hit, and the old omon wur powerful uneasy all the
time they wur gone, for fear them ugly animals
mout Git out Nv thur boxes and hurt sum body
Well they cum home safe, and then sich takn
about the show and Sharlot-as | wur at the old
onions when they cum. Sail sed they put up at a
great big brick house whar they had niggur at
your heels every time yu turned round and every
man and ONION had different room tn sleep in
and that the and wimmen didn't see wun
anutber only when they cum down inter big
room a full Nv fine things, and that nobody didn't
sleep in this room, and they called it the parley
Widder Jinkins sed her dater Sail wos mtey'
complshed tn recommended and notise all things;
and she sed she must git me tn riUe hur sum clab-
boards and run partition in hur house, so she wud
have end fur the wimmen tn sleep in, and the
luther fur the men folks, and rite thar she i'm
ployed me tu du the job, like ef [ wernt fit fur
nuthn else. Well so you see / loved Sal, and !
wud du env thing tu be about whar she wus fur |
luved hur so | wud stand and look at hur and then
would look at the place | seed her stand last
And so you may guess | felt squamish about the
gizzard when things agon on this way. And
to make me feel wuss, John rantin and cavor-
tin and telin hit all Piddlcburg, that he had
now cut me out and the old widder had hired me
tn rire clab-boards and sed l warn't fit fur nuthn
else, and that he wus agoin tn put portfolio tn
his nue. house, and jist at that particular time
Ridge and Punkin Bottoms wud hardly hold
him.
Arter the show in Sharlot wurd cum that the
lion had broken outen his den UP thar, and wus on
his way down Big Shuggar Greek toards our set
tement, and the men folks, and the wimmin folks
specially, wur powerfully dreden Nv hit, and so
John tried tn hire me tu cum and stay with him
Nv mites But told him | wur workn fur the
widder and that hit wud be unmannerly fur me
not tn stay and purtect the helpless wimmen folks
And SO when the citement wus tu the highest
pitch, Pete Scrtchley and Tom Whizzler makes
trick they call the Dumb Bull, what reckon every
body haint seed, and will tell what hit is. Hit
is made out hollar sacafras about three fut long
scraped out rite thin and wun end is headed like
kettle drum, and string jist run thru the centre
the he'd and NOTED on the outside tn hang luse
in the inside, which drawn tight and the thumb
rubbed over hit and this makes the smusick, and
hit roars wusper than twenty bulgnes runnin off
the track recollect Dad ulster hev wun of EN-
to skeer away the weazles from mans hen roost.
So Pete Schritchly ard Tom Whizzler made hit
up tn give John little skcer and wur known tu
hit too. Well wun evenin Pete and Tom went
up to Squire Sousely's store and made hit up tn
surnade John that mite; and as they cummn