Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-01-01

JOHN EASTMAN AND The DUMB BULL.
RE-PUBLIsHED BY REQUEST.
Mr.. Eaitur I've bin long time lowin tu
tel you what happind up on Big Sugar
Creek between John Eastman and the Dumb
Bull and how 1 gut intu hit tu. AS hits
bin long time ago, and John and me haint
bin so mitey FRIENDLY nuther, is the reason
haint said nothin about it afore now. But as
I've mooved up over the North Carolina
line, and as peepul says and talks purity much
as they pleas eny how up here, | reckon John
won't think hard Nv me eft Wus tn tel hit on
him.
Wei, you see, John and I, when we wur
young, we wur considerable sparks amongst
the gals in the diggins roun Big Sugar
Creek, but we both got to hankerin after old
widder Jenkins gal Sal, who wus as spruce
and buxom little piece as ever trod in shue-
lether or wore pink ribbin. An Sal and l
had almost gut tu be sworn friends, til John
got to muckln horns with me, and as he was
little better lookin fed man than [ wur, John
was rather cramin hit on tu me; fur the last
mite we met at the widder Jenkins, l wur bad
" chaaued, fur Sal and the old ONION both
talked a peskey heap tu John at the supper
table-they almost choked him with 'tention
and kept sistin fur him tu heve his cup
filled agin, and tu take out sum more OF the
collards; while they never sed wun time,
"Bill Perkins make out your supper or hev
another cup of butter.milk." And when l
furst sot down I didn't have much Nv an ap-
pertite, but I CESS I ct it with a commin
stumake jes fur spite.
And arter supper wur over, and the table
red up, the old omon and Sal both got on
ech side Nv John jes to cut my fethers wus,
and talked and cracked jokes tu him all the
time, while T sot in luther corner with wun
fut on top Nv luther, pickin dobbin outen the
cracks and even John mitey jubeously all
the time, feelin like 1 wus sent fur tu a
quiltin and cudent cum. The old omon was
in CRATE gale talkin tu him and akin him
about his nue. house, and ef he wus gwine
tn hev portfolio tn hit like squire Glkin's
nue. house, and eff he had guide crop Nv
yung pigs cummin on, and eff his hens wur
fechin up meny young chickens; and then
Sal primped hur face, lookin as pleasin as
a basket Nv chips, and axed John eff he wud
take setten Nv mans dominickur hen eggs
home with him in the mornin. And he sed he
wud and thank hur fur EN- tu ; and feelin lit.
tie romanceful went and sed he wud set them
under his yaller legged luvly-cacklin-speckly
hen on the highest pinnacle Nv fodder NV his
barn loft, and when they hatched out he
wud take all the care in the world Nv EN- fur
hur luvely sake tn remembur hur; and the
old onion sorter mizled her countenance and
Sal kinder blushed and thanked him
and then John rolled his eyes round on me
in kind Nv hyf,tsn way, and looked as
proud as young rooster with his fust spurs,
and they looked mitely consequential Nv
Mr.. Eastman, and I cud see them turn thur
noses up at me like they smeltwet pups, and |
sot and wished I wur sum whar else. But l
thought to myself, as Deacon Brinley ulster
sayS"every dog has his own day" But l
thot Sal wur treaten me mighty unscru-
plusly, as she uster stick tn me like sick
kitten tn a hot brick. But since Johns
grand-mamy had dide and left him the Pea
Ridge place and the Punkin Bottoms, and a
couple of sows and litters, thur wus no body
but Mr.. Eastman livin, and Bill Perkins
wus nowhere.
Well things kept goin on tu Johns glo-
rv and salvation, and he wur taken on and
a rantin about with Sal a heap wus en- ever
I dun. And John hears Nv big show up in
Sharlot, and so he gifts his daddy's old gig
and tuck Sal up to see hit, and the old onion
wur powerful uneasy all the time they wur
gone, for fear them ugly animals mout git
out of their boxes and hurt sum body. Well,
they cum home safe, and then sich talkn
about the show and Sharlot-as / wur at the
old omon's when they cum. Sal sed they
Put up at great big brick house whar they
had a nigger at your heels every time yu
turned round, and every man and oman had
a different room tn sleep in, and that the
men and wimmen didn't see wun anuther
only when they cum down inter a big room
a full wv fine things, and that nobody didn't
sleep in this room, and they called hit the
parley Widder Jinkins sed her darter Sal
was mitey 'complshed tu recommember and
notise all things; and she sed she must
Git me tu riue her sum clab-boards and run
a partition in hur house, so she wud have
wun end fur the wimmen to sleep in, and the
luther fur the men folks and so rite thar she
imployed me tn du the job, like as eff wernt
fit fur nothin else. Well so you see [ loved
Sal, and I wud du eny thing tu be about
whar she wus, fur l luved hur so wud stand
and look at hur and then wud look at the
place I seed her stand last. And so you
may guess felt squeamish about the gizzard
when things wur agoin on in this way.
And to make me feel wuss, John wus rantin
and covortin and telin hit all over Piddle-
burg, that he had now cut me out, and that
the old widder had hired me tu rive clab-
boards, and sed I warn't fit fur nothin else ;
that he wus agoin tu put portfolio tu his
nue. house, and jst at that particular time,
Pea-Ridge and Punkin Bottoms wud hardly
hold him.
Arter the show in Sharlot, wurd cum that the
lion had broken outen his den up thar, and wus
ON his way down Big Shuggar Creek toards
our settlement, and the men folks, and the
wimin folks specially, wur powerfully dreden
Nv hit, and so John tride tu hire me tn cum
and stay with him Nv mites. But [ told him
| wur workin fur the widder, and hit wud be
unmannerly fur me not tu stay an purtect the
helpless wimmin folks And so when the
citement wus tu the highest pitch, Pete
Scritchley and Tom Whizzler makes a trick
they call the Dumb Bull, what reck kon every
body haint seed, and will tell you what hit
is. Hit is made out hollar sassafras about
three fut long, scraped out thin and wun
end is headed like kettle drum, and string
list run thru the centre NV the he'd and not
ted on the outside tu hang luse in the inside,
which drawn tight and the thumb rubbed
over hit and this makes the musick, and hit
roars wusner than twenty bulgnes runnin OFT
the track. I recollect dad uster hev wun
of EN- to skeer away the weazles frum mans
hen roost So Pete Scritchly and Tom Whiz-
zler made hit up tu give John little skeer,
and wur knowen .tu hit, too. Well, wun
>evenin Pete an Tom went up to Squire Souse-