American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-01-11

| JOneSS Bill is dead set arter my sally
He hangs to her like dog to root, and
plaques my life out o. me. Can't talk the
critter out ont faint no use to try.
If Sally was my own darter, l wouidn I
| say word agin it. Bills a good 'nuff
| boy, but him and her amt mates, and
that any fool can see with half an eye
| s'What!' 1 exclaimed, do you mean that
she is not your laughter"
'sLord love you! My darter Iwouldn' t
let no livin' man but me say it, but God
Almighty don't put up the Tibbettses in
such patterns as that. There amt hair
of her head that don't love jest as much
as if she was my own flesh and blood but
she's above me and my kind, and the
times come when she ought to go some er
else. Bill Jones amt no more fit tor
her than a bear-cub is to go to Sunday
SCHOOL,
MY curiosity was greatly excited, for L
must confess that this simple country
girl had aroused in me an interest which
| I would have thought impossible a few
hours before. With a strong effort 10
conceal my emotion, said:
''If Sally's birth is not a secret, will you
tell me her history?"
ss'Twon't take long to do that. Do We
remember the DObNinys that used to live
over on Kent Mountain? No? Wa-al,
guess it was after you went of. They
were French people. and poor as church
| mice. OOIhc say Ilcy WCIC iOlho ou
hum, but the old man got into some scrape,
and had to cut stick. [ don't know how
| twas, but they come here. four on 'em,
| the old man, his wife, fifteen year-Old
boy, and Sally, who was just turned o.
four. Her name amt Sally by rights.
| call her so cause it comes more nat'ral
| than the forrin one she used to go by.
Guess Dobbiny warn't much used to
| work. His hands was as white an
tender as gals, but he had spunk enough
| to run a grist-mill. WAL, he squatted
down on two or three acres over on the
side o. Kent Mountain, up near Gi1sey's.
1t was all rocks and briers, but he
whacked and banged away at 'em, and
cleared quite pooty patch. l was a-llv-
man had jest set up house-keepin' and
her brother, Seth Bixby, was aboard
| in with us. When old Dobbiny began to
raise his house, Seth and l lent a helpin'
hand. He couldn't talk English much,
and we couldn't polly VOC, but we made
out to git along together fust rate. The
old man was clear grit, and so was his
wife. They worked mornin', noon, and
night. and before long had as pooty a
little home as any reasonable man'd want.
'sThey made fust-rate neighbOrs. They
| warn't our kind 'xactly, but there warn
no one else within two mile of us, 'cept
some Kanucks who were chopin wood
Iurlner up Inc mOunIsiIH. DoDOihy uiun
have much to say to them, though they
could jabber French just as good as he
could.
ssMy old woman went clean mad over
them children-we hadn't any babies OF
our own then, and used to have 'em down
| to our house bout as much rs they were
| to theirn; and she'd never let 'em go
home without a pail o. milk or a ball o.
butter or somethfn' o. that kind for their
ma. Somehow I got's much 'tached to
EN- as if they'd been my own flesh and
| blood. The fust thing l used to do o.
| mornin's was to lock up to see if Dob
| biny's chimney was a-smokin', and it al
lers did me good to know that there was
other human bein's up an dOin' in that
Bodily Rept C. NH o. Rs S
worked hard. He didn't go much down
to the Center, though it was only three
miles. Sometimes when Seth and | was
a-goin down. he'd get us to ask at the
pOst-Office for i'm, and two or three times
| brought i'm letters which Miss Prindle
said was from forril' parts. He'd be as
tickled as gal with a new bonnet, when
| handed i'm one of 'em. One day
fetched i'm two letters, one on 'em the
biggist letter you ever see, all covered
over with forrin' stamps and marks, and
with two big seals on it. When the old
man opened it, he gave yell, and danced
round like a wild Injun. Then he Rugged
| his wife and his children, and then darned
if he didn' t hug me. l warn't much used to
French ways, SO as soon as could git
on 'em made tracks for hum. Jest as
| [ stepped out o. the door who should l
see but one o. them cussed Kanucks
a-lOOkin' in the window with eyes as big as
saucers. didn't think much ont at the
| time, for l didn't know then there was
| any money in the big letter. Dobbiny
or ho3 I LOFT 1,n
| room. When the Teller see me, he walk
| ed up to the door as bold as sheep and
| said somethin' to Miss Dobbiny. What
| twas l didn't hear, for 'twarn't none %
my business.
till next mornin'. When l looked up
there warn't no smoke comm out o. Dob
biny's chimney, and then 1 knowd some
thin was wrong-knOwd it jest as well
as if I'd ha' been there.
81 called Seth. 'Seth,' said I, 'git
yer gun. There's trouble up on the
mountain.
"'What,' said he, wild cats9'
"'WOrse'n that said I. There amt
no smoke up to Dobbiny's.
"When we'd got about half-way-there
was a beaten path all the way from our
hOuse-we see that the door was wide
open. We hurried on, Seth a-leadin', for
he'd got as much stirred up as | was. All
was still about the house. We didn't
hear no voices nor see no pleasant faces at
the door and windows as we used to. We
went inland such another sight hope l
may never have to look on ag'in. There
lay DObbiny on the floor in puddle o
blood, his head all smashed in, and his
face cut up SO you wouldn't know it.
felt on i'm; he was cold and stun
dead. In the next room we found
Miss Dobbiny on the bed; her
cVNII nd tt,n
floor lay the boy chopped Almost to pieces.
Not far off was bloody axe an a hatch
ct, an blood an brains were scattered all
about. Makes me sick to think ont now.
''All this time the gal was missin'.
Seth an Hooked everywhere, but couldn't
find Ter, an we'd about made up our
minds she'd been carried off. We were
jest going to lock up the house an go
down to the Center for help when l spied
the bed. There she was frightened most
out o. Ter wits. She was so scared she
didn't know us, an had all could do to
git FER to come to me. | took Ter up in
my arms, and carried FER home, she a.
moanin' an a-sObbin' as if her poor little
heart would break. She took on so
thought she'd die for more'n week, but
my old woman nussed Ter an coddled 'er,
an she finally got quieted down. But
never see any one so scared as she was.
'Wa-al,'' said Sam, after pause,
''that's how 1 got my Sally"
"Of course, the Canadian committed
the murder?''
''Guess they all had a hand in it. Three
on 'em had been chopin on the noun
tain as much as four or five months.
When We went up to their cabin-Seth
an me, an all the men for five mile
arOund-DO sign of 'em was to be found
They'd all cut stick. We secured the