The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1870-10-05
An OLD SETTLER'S STORY.
By JUDGE CLARK.


Joe Brysop had more adventures to
tell, and better knack of telling them,
than any fold settler of the Miami
Valley. This was one of them, rcla-
ted, as nearly possible, ,-ia- -his-own
words:
81 left my cabin arly enc mornin', |"
said Joe, $50 take q stroll over to the
|1uEk1y-peu@but's likes not some o.
you youngsters don't know what n
turkey-pen is"
"a turkey-pen % Bill Beers spoke
up "Why it's pen to put turkey in,
of .coursei !" -
"No it arn'tl''
"What then 2"
ga kintrivance for ketclin' ON 'em,''
said Joe thus going ON to cxplain:A
Fust, you picks out a good spot for a
pen, am builds it, an kivers it over.
Then-but p'r'aps you'd better do that
fust-you digs a trench leadin' from
the outside to the inside, of sech size
as to let growed-np turiIey.through,
by duckin' DOM it's head-Yoi1oiY.ia9
''But. turkeys don't never duck
their heads down." put In Bill Beers.
".Wall they don't,'' said Joe, ',nOt
as a gin'ral thing, except when they're
eatin, an then they do. So ,youjest
scatters a, lectle. corni in thetrench, am
more'n likely, the fust turkey as
comes III go pitchin' along tell he finds
hissef inside ,arter which, as Bill sez,
he'll never think O. stoopin' to git out.
Eve knowed as many as adozen fat,
abled buddied wild turkeys to be
ketched that a way to onot. "a 7e
..".'Wall, when we got thar, me an
Bounce an Blizzard" SIT 4i ,iir,
"Bounce an Blizzard?" inquired
Bill !, s'who was they ?" "ntaa ;iGf- iii
my dogian' gun, in course. But
your wiiss at ent'ruptin' tho speak
er," Joe added, t'n them chaps over
to the jawin' school when they're de-
batin' which is most tryin' to a man S
temper, smoky house or a scoldin'
wife. - gsEE .gu.l.i-issil iiii" ii'e.
Bill promised to keep order, and
Joe proceeded: h9' ''.-' y. -. -, -
"When we got to the pen, thar
was old Mormon, of a, gobbler. an.
his two wives in it. 'tput! put!"' sez
the gobbler; but he soon found that
was easier said'n done; an arter a few
onefectooal fops. him au' the hens
huddled up together to one corner I, :,
'fLeanin' Blizzard aqin tree, I was
jest in the act O takin' off a iclab-I
board, SOS to git at the turkeys when
/ felt somethin grab me behint,e an.
turnin' round quick, diskivered I was
in the clutches Of . couple O. Injins 9
1Twa'n't no use use resistin'. ,Biizzard,
was out Of reach, the innemy two. to
|one, an me a'ready . pris ner. So /
jest surrendered at discretion: an in
less'n two jifeys was tied hard an fast.
One O the Injlns then yanked out the
turkeys, whackcd off their heads, an
cut off the breast meat for jerk. The
old gobbler fit like man, ,strikin'
out from his shoulder, but lost his
head like the rest. ,,,..J.,oc adT
"We then TUX up our line o, m1rchs
one Injin goin' afore. leadin' me by &
halter, like hoss, while tother brung
up the rare. We went on the double
quick, which. i'll conYenienced me no
little seein' I was consid able lame
a gatherin' I'd had-a absence Jim
Billins called it, an he was sort o. A.
doctor, ,heyin' run off in, his youth to
git out o bein' made one. edI
SIT hurt my feelin's to think that
BOUNCE should desart me. Pd ben "a
mother to that dog when l,e was a
pup, am we'd mostly ct an slep' to-
gether ever since But.now, in, the
hour O peril, he'd skulked. I thought
mebbe he was ashamed to- show his
self along o gittin' so .ent'rested in
them turkeys as not to rotis the In
jins in time TO give me warnin'. i
"'The foremost 1njin was . fussy an
feathery sort O chap, am put on al
good many airs over t'other, which |
was much the decenBest lookih feller J
o the two.