The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1865-06-22

We had III the little sunny Nonpareil,
down South there on blockade service
the longest lathiest, slimmcst sample of
humanity that ever went to sea, Or
anywhere else But then he was useful
in his wav-Ben Burnhold MAS. He
could reach in forty places where any
other man of our crew would have TO
climb; aud our commander used TO say
that he could paint mastheatis and reeve
off signal halyards without going aloft
Our quartermaSter went . fathom ahesd
of that, and sworc that Long Ben could
wade anywhere over the whole Bahama
I Banks without wetting his arm pits.
One day. when Ben had the wheel. the
/ captain happening to be In q facetious
humor, said to the man
ben, is all that length Of yours ma.
I tural growth 2"
NO, sir Got pulled out that way"
replied Ben, sententiously.
.'Pulled ont, Ben. Pulled out. How
was that? Let's have the yarn, my man
LAY, ay, SIR and Ben let us have it.
lust rs solemnly as ever gospel was re
tailed as follows:
Up in York State, where l was rails
ell. they make lots Of maple sugar, and
my father used TO make more'n any body
else bout where we lived. Our sugar
camp was ont in the open sort of woods,
back of the house, and three of us boys
used to take it watch and watch nights,
bilin' down the sap we'd gather through
the day.
lone night, when was bout twelve
years old, it came my turn to bile down:
and as l was amazin' fond Of eggs. l
hooked ibout two dozen, and carried EN-
out with me to bile in the sap.
.sWh Ia hpep ont there hilipf aVvav
bout an hour, and had just got all my
eggs cooked and coolin in an old tin
pan, l heern father comm whistlin, long
up through the woods.
1T was splendid moonlight night,
warm weather, bare ground, and bout
the last of sugar maxim, and we had
three or four big hogsheads that we'd
been STORM sap in little ways from the
kittles.
Il grabbed the pan Of eggs. and wad-
died off as fast as / could. and hid myself
in one of them hogsheads that was emp
tv. You see sir, l was a real chunk
them days-fat as a woodchuck, and
widern'n was long
The old man came up, and poked
round the camp a spell, without seemin'
to miss me, and keepin' on whistlin' all
the time.
hQgshead where l was hid, and takin' up
the head that stood leanin' agin saplin'
he put it in, and druv the iron hoops
down solid! And then he went whistlin'
of home. leavin' me headed mp in the
hogshead,
''Arter feelin' round a spell. I found
the hung and kicked it out, SOS i could
breathe, and then after eatin' my eggs,
went to sleep, and didn't wake up till the
sun was moren two hours high.
Il heern trampin' round, and peep
in out of the hole, could see u lot of
cattle and hosses browsin' round the
camp. After awhile = three-yea old colt
by and by he backed up SO that his long
Il gathered in the colts tail, little by
little, so quietly that he didn't feel it. till
| had the whole of the tail hauled in
Then l took two turns with the tail
round both hands and givin' it two OF
three rousin' jerks, that frightened the
colt into fits, he went tearin' Off through
the timber like a struck dolphin, with the
big hogshead bobbin' and wangin' bout.
fast to his tall
II 'spect that colt was goin' a triie
Eastern chain lightnin', when he happen
ed to go between two young trees where
the hogshead wouldn't pass, and 4 nos
snatched slap out through the baay hole!
That's what stretched me out this
way, SIR"
Ben got "pulled OUT again on az
count of that yarn, for the Nonpareils
him directly BKS BUsGHoLy
= Philadelphia Dispdteh.