Rapides gazette. (Alexandria, La.) 1869-187?, 1872-08-17
A STRANGE BEDFELLOW.

going to tell you is a "grin" or not.
| only know that have been laughed
at often by my friends, who years ago,
before they died out, got married, or
went to Congress, considered it
good joke. | remember well what
Shakespeare says about a wits pros
perity lying in the ear are SO long
that suppose the poor joke gets con-
fused and lost before reaching the
tickle nerve of the brain-it, indeed,
any brain exist for it tu rest upon.
was young, quite young in years
and younger irexperience, when some
business of our tirm-Seizem & Hoi-
dem, eminent attorneys -seDt me into
a primitive part of Indiana. never
before had been among people, SO near
the starting point in the race of
civilization. believe Darwin would
have made good thing of ii. had he
accompanied me on that eventiul Oc-
casion. / believe he could have found
quite a number of men on Rocky Ridge
who had just dropped their tails, pass
ing from the animal to the human,
and by killing and stuffing few he
could have triumphed over his un-
believing enemies.
1 suppose that in the course Of
transformation the tail was the last
thing to leave rs, for nature is ever
consistent and harmonious, and to
this day in civilized communities you
may rest assured that when YOU find
close inspection will develop the
animal at the other end. Hence in
the old d,fashioned idea of devil he
had the horns on his heal and hoOf
and tail at the other extremity. You
remember the description in those
BEAUTIFUL lines with the author in
doubt-but which / maintain were
written by the divine Watts-where
it is said:
"And how was the devil dressedf
Oh! he was dressed In his Sundays hest;
His Jacket was red and his brecches were
blue,
With neat little hole where the tail came
through"
These people made love like ami
mails, with more bites than kisses. and
when they fought-which they did on
every conceivable Occasion-they not
only punched and kicked like decent,
civilized beings, but they-hugged like
bears and bit at each others noses
and ears. aud gouged the eyes in the
most ferOciOus and horrible nianiier.
In this rural region it was no nncOm-
mon sight to see a pastoral with half
his nose gone, or with an eye ont, and
/ never saw such a scarcity Of ears.
The sweet simplicity Of this Arcadian
life was not favorable to full growth
of features.
Their one minister of the gospel was
terribly mutilated, and was wont to
say if he could get enough OF himself
into heaven for recognition he would
be satisfied. 1t was almost impossible
for him to get through an evening
service without a fight either Of his
own with some sinner wild with bad
whisky, or general scrimmage
among his gentle flock. 1t was in the
evening, generally, these hand-tO hand
conflicts for salvation. came Off But
sometimes they occurred in the day
time. l remember one sunny after
noon we were listening to the elo-
quent remarks of the veteran 80
wounded and SCARED in the cause OF
the L,rd, when he was interrupted by
Il huge beast Of man, half drunk,
noisely stumping in and dropping into
a seat near the centre of the church.
He had seated himself among the
women, and the Rev. Timothy POun-
devil brought his one eye to bear on
the trangressor and paused in the
words 0f his discourse.
There was a profound silence. One
could have heard the legendary pin
drop-or, as Mar. Twain says-a
paper Of pins. The fellow was known
to be- the most terrible bully on the
country side. He had whipped every
man, woman and child Oh Rocky
Ridge.
! "Twfveifree,n said the minister,
:" git out from among them women.'
What'll | do that for Z, was the
insolrnt response.
y