The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-07-02

| fight. 40 q EE
! But what do you think the cussed brute
done? Why, he jist held up his burnt
! paw to show daddy, and then went nosin'
and whinin' around the hot poker, tellin'
| the whole story in fewer words than anv
human could have done. Well. dad jist
divided his judgments by givin' Rough
the tater and givin' me fits, which was
4 sweetened by my seein' the brute eat it, all
the while maxim impudent faces at me,
while / stood snivelin' in a corner. We
never had any more friendship or conf
dence in each other after that. All the
artfulness of my mater was reused by the
wish to git square with the brute unbe-
knOwns to daddy; and Rough never see
me pick up anything after that. even a
chip, that he didn't run and hide hisself.
Nanny took advantage of the cool
ness, and poor Rough, like lshmael, was
sent back into the wilderness. After he
was gone il come back to me that | had
acted a mighty mean part toward my old
companion, and for many day felt lone
some aAd pinin' whenever | thought OF
him. Then | was sent to school a /, bile,
where was licked through from db to
ConstantiaopLe in less than two years. fit
the boys, Kissed the girls, and picked up
an amount of book larnin' and high die.
that has been an advantage to me ever
since, as yOu gentlemen can plainly see.
But as soon as had growed big enough
to handle a rifle dad took me home agin, to
shine up my professional eddication under
hisself T0uchin' lightly on the vulgar
business of plowin' and plantin' corn, he
larnt me to track deer and line a wild bee
to sich a certainty that we never was scarce
of meat nor honey in our house, though
IL hav tl f.n-a
meal. One evenin', assI was a-comin'
home from watchin' deer lick, meets a
/ bar right in the path. | was so took by
! surprise that Ifired my gun in the air, then
/ quickly droppedit, and drawed my butcher
knife but the varmint wasn't SO much
/ scared, and sot up on his hind-legs, shadin'
! his eyes with his paw, as if he was tryin' to
make out who | was. That paw | noticed
! had streak of white har across it, and the
next minute we was hugged in each 9TH
er's arms; for you may well believe old
Rough and me was mighty pleased to see
each other. #Ha
! Nov, gentlemen, dog can always ex-
| press his feelin's, or git our goodwill, by
! a 'mOvin' tall but bar is not likewise
/ gifted, bein' limited to wry faces and awk-
/ ward paws, and to have seen old Rough
| tryin' to say his say would have made you
bust a-laughin'; but, gentlemen, it was
| plain to see the cretur's heart was in the
right place. He bore me no grudge for
! the past, and tried to hide that scarified
paw for fear | mought feel bad about it.
! Seein' that my old friend wasn't nigh so
| sleek and glossy as he used to be, con-
ceted he was leadin' tolerable hard life,
and tried to persuade him to fOller me
/ home, explainin' to him that we wasted
enough at the cabin to keep him fat to the
eend of his days. But no his mind was
fixed; his only answer was mournful
shake of the head, and givin' me a ar'well
squeeze, he trotted away into the woods.
As he went, / thought | see him lift his
paw to wipe fallin' tear. You may
laugh, gentlemen. but there is more hu-
manity about dumb creturs than we are
awar' of mostly.
"For a long time after that l was
afeard TO risk a shot AZ bar, and TO shun
I temptation, give up carryin' gun. and
turned my attention chiefly to huntin'
! bee trees. They were plenty enough
in our mountains, and .Or convenience
| built me camp sOme way off
from the settlements, and hewed out a
big trough to hold the hOneyI gathered.
Now filled my trough from time to time,
but every night the "armints come and
} iIlt Oul, WIllCft kllOWtu lO Dt
bars, seein' their tracks, and bein' awar'
of their likin's. After losin' my labor in
this way for some time, bethinks me OF
a plan for gittin' even with 'em. gifts me
a keg of peach brandy, and savin' very
moderate supply f,a my own needcessities.
| pourS the liquor into my trough, and
mixed it pretty thick with honey. Then
whetted my knife, and retired to the
camp TO watch the effect of my trap.
carried gOurd full of the mix with me,
which was so Used sweet that | can't
mind anything more that happened until
to morrow mOrnin', when was awakened
by a hellaballoo the like of which | never
heard before or since. Clearin' the huSks
out of my throat with a swig from my
Jug, draws my knife, and creeps on all
fours toward the honey trough, where
see sight which filled me with astonish-
ment and laughter. The whole place was
black with bars. | wouldn't like to risk
nv reputation-which is undoubtedly
statin' the number. There mought have
been a hundred, more or less, of all ages
and sizes, from an old siX-hundred-pOu
er to a siX-months cub, all drunk as
Christians Now the longer | studied
their doin's the more material they looked
list as I've seed civilized humans carryin
Sich was the elevatin' influences of goOC
. liquor on savage brutes, which appeared
, to raise 'em so nigh to our level, that as
, laid there watchin' for chance to go in
begin to feel as if | was plottin' murder
against my fellow-creturs.
/ HOwsomdever, what | mOught hav,
: concluded don't much signify, for pres
! emily an old sot, happenin' to stagger int
: the thicket where | was hid. caught sigh
ofme, and give yell that fairly lifted tn,
hat off my head. and fetched every bar Il
, his feet. Apparently my time was short
but still calculatin' to stampede 'em, VI
: with a mighty shout, slitherin' the oil,
blatherskite that raised the alarm. wen
in through the brush like whirlwind.
t was foolish idee. Peach-and-honey don
make bruteS skeery no more than it doe
men. and in less than two minutes | wa
smOtherin' under squirmin' stack of ba
= meat about the size of dads cabin. Now
as wasn't smashed to death, my position
mought be rightly considered prOvidential
| for the bodies of the brutes that lay mex
to Inc kivered me agin the teeth and claw
! of the outsiders, and bein' well-nigl
smothered themselves, they were Oblige
] to fight outward for fresh air. But it don
5 signify to be tellin' how | got out OF there
{ for don't exactly know myself. How
: somdever, when Irose and got nv breath
: see the bars all around me fightir
e among themselves, maxim the fur fly lik
l feathers at a goose-pldckin', and quite on
mindful of the stranger among 'em.
r mought have cleared myself then, but m
e blood was up, and walked through 'em
! stabbin' right and left, onmerciful as
!, mad wildcat, reSpectin' neither ag
5 nor sex. Jist then several old fe
: Iers appeared to get a smell {
me, and closed in mighty savag,
e While fit in front, rascally old squeeze
grabbed me around the neck from behinC
, | struck backward, feelin' my knife entt
/ his cussed carcass a dozen times: but
r didn't loosen his grip, and l felt III
e strength goin'. At this pint big bs
o poked his head up from behind the hone
trough. rubbin' his little eyes as if he ha
!, list walked up. In q minnie he broke Il
a us.
5 sRowZey,' thinksI I, SITS time for fan
= ily Worship. Now Il lay me down
= Sleep
!. "As prayed made stab at the big h
| who stunned the blade. and, to my astol
n ishment, grabbed the beast in front of m
: with his left paw. sending him heels owe
4, l..