The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-07-13

4 itFlastF - - tffsAsffsAL aAAI " TITI y y
can't mind Z anything more that
happened until tomorrow mornin,,
when / was wRkened by q hella-
balloo the like Of which i never
heard before nor since. Olearin' the
husts out Of my throat with a
swig from my Jug, draws my
the honey trough, where / see sight
which filled me with astonishment and
Laughter. The whole place was black
1 with bars, I wouldn't like 10 risk my
reputati ion which Is ohdoubt ted by
\ Stain the nnmbel. 4 There mought
have been hundred, more or less, Of
all 'ages and sizes, from IN old six.hun-
dred. .pounder to q six,months 1cub, all
drunk rs Christians. Now the longer 7
studied their doin'a the more, material
they looked, list as I've seed civilized
humans carryin on up at Beverly after
an election!day.. Sicli was the eleyatin'
influences Of good liquor on savage
brutes, which appeared 10 llaise Penn 90
nigh 10, ourlleyel; that as I laid there
watphin' for achauce 70 goin 7 begin
TO feel aan ] was plottin' murder agin
my ielloWicretrra' roa o5, "a ,s,sss,d
e Howsomdeyer, what 1 mought have
concluded don't much signify, for
presently an old sot, hnppenin' 70 stag
ger into the tliicket where i was hid,
/ caughtsight ofime, and gave ayell that
fairly lifted the hat of my head, and
fetched every bar 10 his feet. y Ap-
i t,arantIx, INV ktn,a tvau ahark. t,ak ettli
calcglatin to stampede EN-, 1gp with .
mighty shout, slitherin' the old blather.
skite that raised tho alarm. / went in
through the brush like aiwliiflwind.
Il was foolish idee. ? Peach-and honey
don't make brutes skeery no more than
II does men, and in less than two
minutes / was smotherini under o
squirmin' stack Of bar meat about The
size Of dad q cabin, Now, as ]. wasn't
smashel to death, my position nought
be rightly considered providential; /; for
the bodies of,the brutes that LAY nsxt
tol me kiyered me agin the teeth and
claws Of the outsiders, md beini well,
nigh smothered, themselves, they was
! Obliged TO fight outward for fresh air.
But II don't signify to be tellin' how i
got out Of there, for don't exactly
know myseli. Hownomdsver, when j
rose and got my breath, see the bars
all around mo dghtin' nuiopg theft.
selves, maxim tile fur fly like feathers
lat goose.pluckin, and quite onmind.
ful OF the stranger among 'em. ]
mought have cleared myself then, but
my blood dwasup and I went Through 'em,
stabbin' right and left, onmefoiful as q
mad wildcat, Iespectin' neither age nor
sex. Just then Seyarhl old .iellers ap-
peared TO git o smell Of me, and closed
ID inmighty savage. While I ct in front,
a rascally old squeezer grabbed me-
round the neck from behind,s Istruck
backward, feelin my knife enter his
cussed carcass q dozen Times; but it
didn't loosen his grip, and I felt my
strength goin'. AT this pint big bar
poked his lead up from behind tie
money trough, rubbin' his little eyes as
u he had tist walked up. In minute
he broke for us.
sRovzey,' thinks J. tits time for
family worship. Nov I lay, me down
p oAesF ~ N.llfnE
ftsAs Iprayed ImAde stab at the
big he, who Stunned the blade, and, to
my astonishment, grabbed the beast in
front Of me with bis left paw, sendin,
him heels over head ; then with his
right he tore the feller of my back. i
was too far gone 70 ask questions, but
bein' loose once more, 1bfoke for camp
There i barricaded myself in thpoles,
and laid pantin' and sippin' peacii-and.
honey until I fairly comet my strength
agin. It took me some time longer to
git up pluck enough 10 venture back
toward the battle-ground. Howsom.
deyer, late in the afternoon 7 did creep
down that way, mighty IKE d sheep dog
at frst, but bolder when / see that
Everything was quiet. Around that
honey trough lay twenty-five dead
bar, young and old. Gentlemen,
I value my, reputation too. high
TO weigh IL agin- bar meat Gentle-
men, I counted them bodies as they
lsy. and you may think ! was mighty
proud as I viewed, the ground. We'll,
u tnought have been, but there was one
corpse too many there for my peace OF
mind. Over by,the honey trough, jist
where my life was saved, as I thought,
by the nirncnlous mistake Of o drunken
old bar, there lay two bodies, clutched
in death grip, iist as they had fell
f1ghtin. They were badly tore, and
the leaves all around soaked and
stained but as stopped over 10 look
closer, / felt d cold ahiyer that froxe
eleanto my bones There was the white
paw, still and bloody. Gentlemen,
there lay Rough, my old playmate"
The rugged hunter drew his sleevs
across his eyes, reached over. for the
pitcher, and turned II bottom upward
over his empty glass.
lowell, 7 went % work savin' my
meat with heavy heart, and next dny
got some iellers up from the settle
ments with horses and sleds 10 help mo
down With it. There wna sich pile
that all the neighbora gathered in 70
look and git o ehare. aud there was
mighty guessin' and beitin' on the
weight. Now We had no steelyzrds
nor scalas Of any kind but there was
Bill Swanson, who had got weighed
onst when he was down 10 tho Kanawha
Salt-works, and nccordin' 10 liia rcool.
lection. which was good whom he staid
sober (which he never did willin' 'ly). be
dfawed fist two hundred and eighty,
down weight, on the salt-wurls scales.
We'll, We list hid nstont fail arrest 10
stump, Heesav fashion, md sol old lBill
ON ONE eend and piled lbnr meat on the |
other. till We got his heit-7which We
did; / now disremember whether hit
was seven or seventeen times. How.