The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1871-02-09
Select Storp.
AN OLD SETTLERS STORY.
BY JUDGE CLARK.

Joe Bryson had more adventures to
tell, and a better knack of telling them,
than any "old settler" of the Miami Val
ley. This was one of them, related as
nearly as possible in his own words:
81 left my cabin arly one mornin','
said Joe, "to take stroll over to the tur-
key -pen-but likes not some of you
youngsters don't know what turkey-pen
is"
ga turkey-pen?" Bill Beers spoke up;
"why it's pen to put turkeys in, of
course p
''No II arn't"
"What then 2"
"a kintrivance for ketchin' on 'em,"
said Joe thus going on to explain: "Fust,
you picks out good spot for pen, an
builds it, an kivers it over. Then
p'r'aps you'd better do that fust-you
digs trench leadin' from the outside to
the inside, of sech size as to let a growed-
up turkey through, by duckiug down its
head.
"But turkeys don't never duck their
heads down." put IN Bill Beers.
wall they DON'T" said Joe, mot as a
gin'ral thing, except when they're eatin'
and then they do. So jest scatter leetle
corn in the trench, an more'n likely, the
fust turkey as comes II pitchin' along till
he finds hisself inside; arter which, as
Bill sez, he'll never think of stoopin' to
get out. I've knowed as many as doz-
en- fat, able-buddied wild turkeys to be
ketched that way to onct.''
"Wall, when we got thar, me an
Bounce an Blizzard"
Bounce an Blizzard ?' inquired Bill
"who are they ?"
'My dog an gun, in course. But your
wuss at ent'ruptin' the speaker" Joe ad-
ded, "n them chaps over to the jawin'
school when they're debatin' which is
most tryin' to mans temper, smoky
house or a scoldin' wife"
Bill promised to keep order, and Joe
proceeded:
when we got to the pen, thar was q
old Mormon of gobler an his two wives
in it. 'Putl putP sez the gobbler; but
he soon, found that was easier said,n done;
an arter few oneffectooal fops, HIM an
the hens huddled up together to one cor
ner.
"Lesnin' Blizzard gin a tree, was jest
in the act O. taken off clapboard, SOS
to git at the turkeys, when felt some
thin grab me behint' and turnin' round
quick, diskivered was in the clutches of
couple of Injins
"Twan't no use resistin. Blizzard
was out Of reach, the enemy two to one
an me already prisoner. So Jest sur
rendered at discretion an in less'n two
jiffeys was tied hard an fast One O. the
Iniins then yanked out the turkeys,
whacked 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
eve then tux up our line of march,
one Injun goin' afore, leadin' me by hal
ter, like hoss, while t'other brung up
the rare. We went on the double quick
which ill-convenienced me no little seein'
1 was consid'able lame from a gatherin'
I'd had-a absence Jim Billins called it,
an he was sort of doctor, hevin' run
off in his youth to git out of being made
one.
at hurt my feelin's to think that
Bounce should desart me. I'd ben a
mother to that dog when he was pup,
an we'd mostly ct an slep together ever
since. But now, in the hour of peril,
he'd skulked thought mebbe he was
ashamed to show hisself along of gettin'
so interested in them turkeys as not to
notis the Injuns in time to give me warn
in.
"The foremost Injin was fussy an
feathery sort of chap. an put on a good
many airs over t'other, which was much
the decentest lookin' felIer OF the two
white man once saved Injins' life" }"
said the hindermost one, arter we'd
marched spelled in silence.
al looked around suddent, but he made
! q gesture of caution an continued: