The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-01-01
tails. A string Of sun pearch would

OedSI, dluBSu Ddck 10 WQaf SOb In
the bote, o keepin one eye sorter on
the devil, an tother on me, and he
whispered in my year, 'fWhar's Sis
phusp" Sez I, 'I don't know; why?"
so, nothin; only wanted to sse
which node the most ov our traids,
him or me-" Then lie whispered,
THAT mortal off eye ov hisn still sot
on the devil, "Say, do you know
.whar his majesty keeps his spoonsp"
Sez ], "Does you see that chain
hangin over the starn? He keeps
'em in q big pot sunk at tother eend
ov hit" He jest went over the starn
head fust, and cooned hit down the
chain, outenside under the ,brim-
stone. Arter being down spell, he
Gum back, ioohhin dispiTited like, butS
his general look wur powerfully i'm
proved by q bath in melted brim-
stone. I swow he lookt heap more
like a human. Sez he. "Gone-pot
and all" I Iopened my eyes. Sez
he, sHaint Forney got emp" Sez I,
"Mebby so-he's bin fumblin round
the starn good while.' Derned eff
he didn't sarch every pocket ole For
ney had, and the ole Gus never cotch
him at 1t, and he got the spoons.
While this was agoing on, old
Thad wur trying to claim kin with
the devil, comparin his foot along
with old Nick's. I think the pint
wur to git offs, for I hearn the devil
keep saying, "No, no, I be durn eff
do; we has order here now," an all
the time ole Wade were O pesterin his
majesty for free ticket on his dog
gerry. 1 seed that the devil wur a
gittin monstrous oneasy. Wendell
Phillips kept a watching fust the side
that went down under the climers,
and then the side what come up out
ov the lake. He just hoped over
board, and swum over thar, an tried
his durndest to turn hit tother way.
He grabbed the slopin side ov the
cleats, and held on as long as he
could, and then slosh back agin
among the melted dorg-irons and
birthstone. I reckon he must made
fifty trials afore he quit and swum
back to the bote, and then he sot in
the most yearnest manner, to per-
suade the devil to take off the cleats
an nail EN- on again upside down, 80
as to run hell backward, and ov
korce the outside world with hit,
without givin reason why hit would
help the matter. This made the
devil bile over. He sed not burned
one ov EN- should stay thar another
hour; that thade raise rebellion and
destroy the institution; and then what
would the world do, particularly Ne,o
Engldnd2 I tell you he jest reared;
sez he, t'I'll clear my dominions ov
you burned quick" and he ranged O
big bum mortar what were in the
bote, point blank at the hatch.hole,
and he loaded in ole Wade, feet fust,
and made Forney tetoh it off. By
golly, he went whizzin thru the hole,
and hit rained whiskey on the lake
ontil it burnt blue. Next he grabbed
ole Thad. Sez he, tremblin, "Please,
your majesty, lode her in with me, {"
pintin to she nigger strung on q
chain. Sez the devil, "No, sir, 1
think we can manage her arter you
ere gone, and besides she look like
she needed a little rest" Bangl and
I jest cotch a glimps ov Thad's
crooked foot scrapin splinter off the
hatch. Coming mex, he yoked Sum-
ner, and he begged to be loaded he'd
fust, as he sed he'd always travelled
sturn fust thru life, an he wanted to
finish his jerny the same way on
account of his record. So, sturn
fust he come outen the hatch-hole,
and I recon sturn fust he busted agin
sumthin away yonder on the outside.
Buffers, sur-named the Beast, turn
come next. While the devil wur a
loadin him in, L observe him busy
butnin up his pockets. When the
mortar fired, I was watchin the
hatch-hole clost; I dident like the
idea ov his leavin, but burned eff he
went thar-he followed the line of
his cock eye, and busted inter o mil
lion pieces agin the wall. Spoons an
breast-pins fell foot deep all over
the lake, an lhearn wimmin all cheer.
The devil then licked his lips an
went for Wendell, but he Jest loped
overheard and dove, and to save his
life the devil couldn't find him.
He'll raise trouble thar yet, see if he
don't. Mex he grabbed Forney, his
steersman, an seq he, "you don't
steer to suit me-" an he commenced
ioadin him in, and don't you believe,
jest as the cusses' he'd were goin out
| of site, he whispered in the DEVILS