Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1870-01-06

ed, and rubbed, and scrapeu with q
old iron candle stick to open INV pore.
Then got to bel. and presently 1 bs
gan to sweat. | sweat through tn
feather bed, and through the straw be
and through the sacking, down on /
the floor across the room in a stream +
the door-sill, AMI out through a crac
under tn. door into the street. Said
to Hannah CHATS my wife Hannah
| can't stan,l this won't be dro yne,
in my own bed SO l got up an,
dressed me. and PIT on IN, hat to gc
out. 1t was a cold day in January
As | opened the door I noticed til,
rain-arops falling fast on my clothes
Said |. 'ilasnIh, what a su uIden show
err Why. husband, it don't raiu,
she said. Gentleman. it was nothing
oIt the perspiration streaming OF my
forehead" "
Mr.. Spencer then proceeded to de-
tail his experienc, with m.sm m.ris n
and the .alvaulc belt. till at last |
sail that he seemed to have he treat
et Mr. almost every known disease.
and hence might venture TO inquire
II he hal ever been bitten by mad
dog. NO. SIR he promptly replied.
with an air of severity but | saw a
man once who was bitten by a mass
asang'r. Perhaps vou've never seen
one of them prare rattle-snakes, stran-
ger. Oh you have. Well. YOU Yam.
KEGS do learn some new things out
here. AS was saying, we were bind
Ing after McCornck's reaper lown on
S.ction 10. The little bundles, YOU
know, lie out a day or two b, fore We
pick them up and make the shocks.
O.'er night, the snakes curl up unlcr-
Meath to keep warn. 1t was about
noon. and one of my men hal just
reached round bundle to lift it and
bind it, wher he took bi. massasau-
ger right by the tail. The ieptll wrig-
gied round his fiat head and struck the
poor chap in the silc, and he roarcd
out with pain. | started OFT boy for
the doctor, aud staid to watch the fel
low. lie began to swell up right away
and III ten minuten he was bigger than
a pork barrel. Bat he kept right on,
rounding out and rounding out, till
tirllly turned my back OH U II sight.
All at once heard an explosion, and
he was gone. He'd blown open, and
burst ali abroad. sir -
What did gu do, Mr. Spencer
Me: | collected hi fragments and
gave him q decent burial"
Fearing every moment that myself
should explode with my su pressed
laughter, thought to change the subject
by asking about the doctors bill 5. To
my rcliet Spencer agail, Withdrew hi
attention from me and laun he'd out
into another series OF great IN ,ral
truths, After saving that he had paid
5000 to varlons physicians. he spike ot
the property he had sacrificed To meet
these bills. In particular he dwcIt
mourniullv upon the sale o: ; ,au OF
horses and woke oi oxen. Here lie
frightened up. - he said. Gentlemen.
- II tell YOU TWO OF three .fucts about
those beasts. To give YOU some lea of
their value.
Il started one dav with my span of
graN- aud a load Of corn. to drive TO
Jack son, nine miles, to market. Brought
back twelve bags of meal and blrret
ot II pur. Well. just a got shut OF the
town. and had about eight miles oil
prairie 'twiXt me and Hannah, heard "A
rItllng noise behind me. and when
looked round. there was bounciu.
hai>torrn right upon IN yelled AT
I ,f. al oh ~
10 Billy. TOR lie was the LATEST. and we
>wuiig along at what Won Yankees call
a good Hiram Woodruff pace never
quit Yelling, and they never stopped
running. till we struck Felderkin's Cor
ner, right where you blazed that big
bulr-oak this IN ,rhin5. Tn II | found
the storm was over, and wien looked
10 see ii The loa,. was sale, there was
Two bushels and a ha,f OF hailstoles in
the hind end OF mv wagon, but not one
oi EN- on INV SACKS OF on me. Ge.itie
men. | had raced on the ed &c OF that
hail-sturm all those sevea miles home.
Now its nv opinion Thar YOU couldn't
do that little Tick to,lav with any two
horses in Illinois, not ii vou soak their
tails in turpeutine the night before, and
touch match to'cm, just is IoL say
Git out oil this.'
Taking iurtive survey of his al Ii
cnce, aud hooking hi, heel firmly Oh to
the round OF his cili the tru HUI
Spencer braced himself for final tale.
''Wncn | first came here in lo4y, those
oxen were steers. Sock was rath scarce
then and | worked the critters in early
Weil, one dav. oil Tennessee Smith,
down by the Lillvcache had cut red
elm and it got lodged in the Sloo, and
none oi them dared venture out to cut it
clear So they hitched on all the oxen
tney had and tried to drag it upon to the
bluff. But with six yoke they couldn't
make it let 20. Then somebody said send
tor Spcucer's steers. When Smith boy
came, told him, YOU can have the steers.
Chai ley, but no one ever drives EN- be-
sides me. SO ioked and Went d own.
Wnen l got there said, gentlemen, take
away your oxen, and they did. Then
[ told 'em to cut u welt all around the
log, 50 that my chain would lie ia smooth
with the outside oI the bark. Then
cut slit from this welt to the end ot the
butt. So that the taut OF my chain
wouldn't catch in the hazel brush. Tnen
put the chain round and hooked Oh,
and took up nv wnip and just give the
critters cheerful s,art Win the lash
rhey sprung TO it and jcrked the log
about two feet AMI there il stuck fast
linen yelled and put Oh the string an,
those two little fellows leaned into theil
work, and just shivered IN nu e ano
then they went like Il shot tor two VI
three rods, with Il long red stick Dehind
EN-. and ever, body shouted ami the,
just shut up their ily traps an said no
ward. For, gentlemen, would vo,
believe it, those two liule bucNs hat
drawed the heart righi out of that log !!
Eyes, sir!" repeated Spencer, as IN
wiped MS forehead with bandanlla
.'Y,s, sir. and ii tnat YanNee don't be
lieve it. eau snow hun the very sam