The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1872-07-13
How Mike HOOter Came to Join
the ChuPCRl--A YazOO Story.

Uncle Mike Hooter was a great sinner
Onest, he was, an the way he rared an
pitched, an cussed and swore an ripped
an tore when he got mad, was perfect
sin
Mike used to get drunk in his young
days, he did, an when he got on a regu-
! lar bust, all the fellows use to have to
look wild, or he would wollop the whole
cuppoOdle as cure as a gun.
Mike was born an raised ON Sicily
| Island, in the Parish of CattahOOla, IN
| the Stait of LoOisianny. The way
cum to know that, | was over thar once,
| an | hearn a ole coon say, that he
knowd Mike Hooter when he warnt
knee high to grasshopper, an' had i'll a
manner raised him from a pup.
Mike was bird, he was, when he was
fust fotch up, an used to suck whisky
like a Orleans Niger suclkin' a ,lasses
| barrel. The way he cum to take so
natral to it was this When he was a
| little bit of a chap, suckin' titty, his
nanny tuck sick from eatin' too much
alligator steak am washin' it down with
tadpOle gOmbo, so she had to stop gly1n'
him titty, an fed him from bottle
which she used to put milk In it:
But one very long summer the cows
they all went dry, an as milk was
scace, they had to mix it with whisky
to make it hold out. An this is the way
Mike got to love the taste of corn juice:
Not to do any injustice to the good old
man, it is fair to say that the taste stuck
to him It'll his dying day, an lie stuck to
| it.
| Well, / was sayin', Mike was one of
the durndest, gatlbustinest, h-u roar
inest fellows in his young days that ever
you went emmy whar to stay all night,
an his name sounded through the coun-
try louder than red headed wookpeck-
er hammerin' on a hollow log.
Mike was no slouch at nuthin' he un-
dertook, for when he got drunk, he got
drunk all over an when he fOut he
fit! Bite, beller an gollge was his
game, an when he went into q skrim-
mage, he went in to win. But this ain't
neither here nor thar. What was talk
in bout, was how Mike cum to jine the
Church. AS I was a sayin' afOre, Mike
had great hankerin' arter red-eye,'
an tuck to it as natteral as a houn pup
py takes to chit-lins. Why, he would
set ND to a jug of ball-face" till the
COWS come home, an arter every drop Oh
it was drunk up he would swing onto
the handle like a 'possom to a simmon
bush, an never let go as long as THAI
was 4 smell left. Mike lived by hisself
Il! y. . lettiS IVY cte0lis guiA9 ~ pIH0 So
,lhss az tne IOot q tne mus near =. !1 Ine
poideTs Of ftlnny LOUIS, q axe AK On sicily
island; Ills cabla was foofea WITH pal
nietso leaves an ne WITH ms uo1:Dle, 1.1a
barfeled gun an, some bar dangs, lyee
j there alone.
The nearest town was Harrissonburg
on the Wasilita river, an 1t was thai
Mike laid in his Fations of whisky. One
day he got a barl of, it an all the ole
WI Ml1ilIlilh seu Iiiab Wotlta 24 9e Tue GtsI Y
Mike. bu6 nary !lhle MIkS uiunh Il
al up, pIlt IL dlanU quite XII MN Una1
; Ilme. Dutlt cum N q esHaJ sIleel or sendln
nln KeTslap INTO I1tyy Jones locker, fol
II give MN the de1lf1tlIn tE1lnples III 1esE
than no ilme; a E;
n a 1901 teller axed me once ne what nat
meant py de1lllIsm tflInDlesg oez i I1oe
Dlasl your eVeliastllf1 i niue o. you' Wha
makes you go Tor 10 cum Ior Ie ak MT
slcn q Ioot questlon as GhaG Tor !.
sez ne a 10 me, sez he, Becase dom
Know NOV, sez ne.
Looa olng ilg you TO dlngnat1on," SEE |
II you ami got nomore sense than a bllnt
hog,p H sez l.
wen ne sez 70 me, WhaG does IL meaI
sez ne :,
Se. S. I, you I'LL ioaIlh gttnlI1, SEE l, TN
deIlIlEllll 1 Jf1mDIes ~ Is Wilen you've got IN
man with the poker" arter you, sez
j Inc thunder Yoll say, sez ne! an, walked
on, an dad selze my pletur Il l D1leYs
tnat cIlaIl :, knoWed emmy more 1houI VIVA
y ! was tatkIf az. .Dout imam q hog KNOWS
] 'p9ut GU 2 nolllday
wen, as was Q sayln' MIKE had tht
man with fne poker arter h1m, ant
ilooped anu Hollofea SO fanCankerou'
.IIas -1s ne soI ali the aillSayUofs 1elleTln
I'D Funiiy Louis, anu All hepe0pie IN III
deaahIl cum to eeW!lat was the matter
J, Al Ihe ole Nlmmln was as glad q
tney eollid Des gaze now e vas gWln1e g
cum 5rue JhaG1ney Iaa SEQ Iflat tItstt par
0T sWnlskey Would pc the last OF Mike
. I100Sef, as sure as g gun. passel 0l
m1eall' sheep stealln chaps llyln, T9unt on
IIlseI, seem VI 1t was al Gay Win Mike
lIlollsllI tiiey WOllld go an make set q
tai1 Iools OF ttleFselNes seh slSeer lIl g
detn Tore q ne elIed g n;ltherM defn. 81
one s hlgilI ti.ey g0U, g lot OF trace ehaln'
stnssAReIlt.till Iatllea um at hlsdoor, SO a!
Io MAKE s l1Fe5ena lG was g 1 1ne deVh na(
cum IoT I'm sure eh,ln. M1ke heafn ID tht
, syon! PHI e., e-,,
!Isall one 81 the Iellers Stoke up, ln I
x9les a. coarse "a 9 blllL ana SEE ne
lllAe, u al1se anu pTellap Tor the Wfafi
tllt0 9 sats lot \ \ lsaVe come 20 TAX