Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-12-25
Sttiattlesnlan.. ,Stiaa:ttlesss Ii All
oaiCHRIsTMls, RELAXATION, ZION


. alCHRIsTMiis RELAXATION friit ss1 ID,
.y1usag7T eat 10 OR g4oea "a zoruMAl Il
Charlie Charlie Blacks Initial and md Final
''' Deer.Hunt.
asii 10 Jd5mdsisdal-2--.- sIiJ bns Jos't 81
Where were you this time last Christ
mas, Charlie ?" was the. somewhat sud
den interrogatory, addressed BY hearty,
good -natured VIII. iMontfort, to. wild and
witty Charlie Black, as they sat, one
Christmas night, Before d cheery, crack
ling fire that blazed in the CRATE at
Charlie g room-a room that served the
triple purpose of a Study Tfor Charlie
was a law stndent) a. sleeping room for
himself, eand a reception room for the
many clever fellowsswho were his warm
admirers, and for a good many other fell
lows who, sff they didn't even admire
Charlie SO nuEh, were really PIN love with
the choice cigars of which he always
kept goodly supply, and the sparkling
wines and mellow Bourbon, that helped
him to see through the erudite law lee
tures and which, by the way, often an
iswered for him the learned questions Of
the sage professors though it must, be
admitted, in manner not SO exceeding
Ily lucid as to burn a hole through that
particular page of the law Charles
income was not huge one, but his heart
was and he stinted himself in liabilities
for rent, to the end that he might have
those selfsame cigars, wines and Bour-
bon wherewith to entertain his chums.
'"Well, WILL" said he, ait is someg
thing Of coincidence that I was Just fix
ing my mouth to tell you where 1 was
last Christmas at this hour and the
twenty-four hours Immediately preceding.
A"I was in the Junior class at the law
school then, and, according to a custom
whereof the memory Of man runneth
not to the contrary the professors did.
on the Saturday afternoon before Christ.
mas, announce to the assembled candi-
dates for legal lanrels that during the
holidays they Would suspend operations;
cease for the time being to elucidate the
mysteries of Blackstone, Chitty, Kent.
&c, or words to that effect, and I
thought that my ponderous mind needed
all the relaxation that the limited space
of time could afford. So, rthe better
carrying out of this decision,,I departed
for the mountains of Eastern Kentuck Y,
with the home of an old friend of my
fathers in my minds eye, as the imne!!
diate locality in which I would find this
coveted relief for my law-bent brain, -
doc, F., as my fathers friend, U1ys-
ses, was familiarly called, was one of the
Oldest mixtures Of a well-to-do farmer,
hunter, fisherman and shoemaker, that
you ever clapped your eyes on, and in
all his several avocations he considered
himself the great unequaled. q Arriving
there Christmas eve, found him sur
rounded by gay party of the boys and
girls of the neighborhood, who were
dancing like the deuce to the music
produced by an old 'negro's fiddle, foot
| and voice; the old niger was running
the whole orchestra, and calling the fig-
ures. T9The selections such choice
] bits as Il Snow bird con de 'Ashbank,
Leather Breeehes5and Five Miles from
4 PolksvilIeo.'1s Old Doc, however; t Tough
enjoying the scene with intense' gratii-
| cation, was also pegging away at one Of
John Newty's old boots John Newly
\ was his promising son of sixten sum-
mers), which said boots were to playna
big part in the deerr hunt that was to
come off next day, and John Newly and
myself were cast for prominent parts in
| the same piece which I am now forced to
style serio-cotnic farce ~ iaoJ 9f'i3Ssz
| S"After the dancing was over and old
Doc had sufficiently joked the girls
1 about hanging up their stockings foi
Santa Claus to fill lest they should find
calves IN them in the morning, the
| greater portion of the guests retired t
the Lord knows whereAall over tina,
rambling, great two-story, oft-par
titioned 'log.house, and the much &C
complished host proceeded to tell us sun
! dry yarns concerning things that ihat
| transpired in hiseventful life, most prom
/ inent among which were these :d' '7s'5I
| 4"'One summer, Mr.. Black, I .hat
raised the most magnificent patch 0
4 waatebrrmillions you everseed. They wal
| list beginning to cit ripe, that is, they
! was iist ready for, the August lection
| which was to come next day. Now, e
i you b'leye me, pack of derned rascal1i
boys comes that night and steals all tn
best of them watermillions, but as tn
good Lord would have it, there come
| little skift O snow, fore mornin', and,
tracked the last blasted one of 'em home
and there dads paid for them watermil
lions to save ''em from goin' to Jail, wha
they'd went sure, as hot as it was =
"After condoling with the old, fello,
about the loss of his melons, and ex
pressing my qualification about the re
sult-never of course thinking of awha
kind of snow it was they hadwhad u
there in that warm August weather, fo
/ am nor philosopher--he,l proceeded t
inform me how he killed the deer who's
hide he was, then using as an apron
and which / noticed hadaa bullet hol
through each side of it, in such alplac
that 1 thought it must have been sho
clear through the neck near the shoul
dders.os1g sdi 10 o0o,sA lgo6a 10 y1lst
+ t"tMr. Black, ,'ssays5 he, zone swelterin
: hot day in August, 1 took my old Bet
thar (that was what hecalled a. long riff,
4 that hung on pair of bu ck's horns pge
the door, .and concluded i3dtakeal littl
stilEhunt. Il went out ION the Pine,
Flats an, looked; about Ia whiles1 Purity
lsoonII seed, a big bucklcome bouncin,
talong; ID fotch old Betssdowno on him
and when shescrackeds you'dorter sect
4 the old Bucks heels. He flung tn,
snow as high as the treetops, and, afte