The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1872-11-21
THE GREAT SCARE AT SHIRK-
SHIRE.


The cattle-men of Brighton have
often to wait a half hour for the
horse-cars, which take them out of
Boston. They wait at what is
known as the Cambridge Carrot
fee" They have a rudy, bovine
look, as a general thing; but you
will be surest to know them bv a
way they have of chewing their cud
"a single straw, with which they al
so pick their teeth at Intervals
Theirs is a species of Yankee dialect
cosmOpolitanized by travel on stock
trains, and refined by current slang.
1t was not so very long ago that one
Of these fellows caused me to miss
the Cambridge car by getting me in
terested in a story he was telling to
a friend, who likewise seemed to be
in the cattle business. ''We had"
said my story-teller, ga great scare
up to Shirkshire t'other night; we
seen a Ghostr'
'Seen a ghostY" asked his friend.
eyes, Stree, a ghost, all in white,
goin' about on all fours, like a ragin'
lion, see'in' who he could devour,
with a deuce Of q noise. The hull
of Shirkshire was reused as one
man, an specially the women. The
tarnel thing 'peared to take a par
tic'lar spite agin cattle, for it chased
a COW bellerin' down the hull length
the village street. The COW raised
its tail in the moonlight, an run
more'n two mile. Wall, it kicked
up a deuce of a fuss round in them
parts. Did l ever tell you of old
Deacon Ranshead an his wife is
about the meanest folks we've got
up to Shirkshire. They're always
got their Eoses in every body else's
business, an the all-fredest, pesky
liars anywhere. Now it was about
their house this 'yere ghost was fust
seen. Fact is, Jim ellison and some
other jokers got the hull thing up.
Better'n two weeks ago, when the
hull village was sound asleep Jim
and the boys takes the deacOn's calf
away from his COW, an goes to Mrs.
Deacon's close-line and gifts one of
the deacon's shirts, an a pair O.
drawers, from it. Then they drawed !
the shirt over the fore-legs and the
drawers over the nd-legs of the
calf cuttin' off Its tail from sight /
for the time bein', lappin' the two !
yarmints over each other, an twin
en- round the calf's middle with a |
piece of surcingle. Then they took
IN put the calf quiet-like, an not
lurtin' of him, in deacon's kitchen.
Wall, course, the calf begin prom
,nadein' up and down the kitchen,
Ipsettin' of the milkpans, an gettin'
confused with the gridir'ns an sich.
This kinder stirred up Ms. Deacon,
nd the deacon, too, and they was
10Th powerful scarf. Mrs. Deacon
hought the deacon'd better 90
own an see what was in the kitchen.
'he deacon didn't move. They both
awhile, an the pans an
-ridir'ns ratified louder'n ever. The
.eacon, very neryous-like, said he
.idn't calc'late there was any thing
hair, but if his wife felt anxious
bout her milk-pans, she d better go /
.own an look arter 'em. Then
here came a rumbling' an a clatter
hat sounded like the slowed started
Ip to visit ,em, an got lazy an roll
d down stars agin. Mrs, Deacon,
tremblin' all over, said she 'sposed
he noise warn't in the house ut all;
ut a shutter'd got loose onto the
ront-stoop, an she guessed the
eacon ought to go down an fix it.
That's the kind of folks these is, 80
ontinued the drover, "that's the
-ay they lie even to themselves
'ou ought to see 'em skin an aver
ge character. Why, I wouldn't
AXE a common saint, at the price Of
is hide an taller; after he'd went
trough their slaubgter- house! It's
Y siftin' their lies about one an 1
ther, We see, that we afterward got
4 the circumstances how scarf they
as"
At this point the arrival Of two !
lrs on the heels of each other alb
,rbed the attention of both drovers
Id they became separated in the j
-owd. This event also had the ef l
ct of bringing my thoughts back {
ON ShirkshiFe, just in time TO see
.e car I should have taken disap !
,arlug around a distant corner S
here was. I am ashamed to say, a {
,od deal of curiosity mixed with q
V vexation; and I resolved now TO '
I'VE the rest of the story, if I had TO a
ait tie whole afternoon for it Y