The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1875-02-04
Jed CrOuche's Gun.

That ar gun," said Jed, setting down
his glass and taking up a long-barreled,
heavy rifle, and giving it an affectionate
caress, that ar gun has travelled around
and around with me more'n airy other
mans shadder. Why, Susy-that's whot
calls this here Weeping Of deth-Snsy,
night arter night in the big woods
yander, has laid alongside O. me like
she'd bin born human. And she kin
talk, and w0t she says makes impression
as is deep and lastin'. Why, onct laid
bet of barl o. whisky that / could
shoot the head off'n bumblebee on the
wing at hundred yeards 'thout injurin'
his body or scorchin' the natural 'natomy
of his wings the least mite. Well, won
that ar bet. / let the bee fly up, and
blazed away. Wen we examined that ar
bee, thar were his body and thar were
his wings, but his head were tux off as
clean as eft had had a knife to it,"
Ya-as, jed" interrupted old Sam
Striker, wiping from his chin small
Niagara of tobacco Juice, portion of
which had spread into bayou on his shirt
front-"y a-as, that's a pert shootin' iron,
cOnsiderin' it kerries no morc'n about
fourteen to the pound"
"Why, Sam Striker, didn't tell you
about this ere gun and that are swad of
squirrels shot"
Not as / remembers. Turn it up
again to keep it from spilin'."
Wal, it's nigh upon norm two
month gone since l shot them nine
squirrels"
Why" broke in the landlord, last
time you told that squirrel yarn, you
only had seven squirrels"
oval, hain't / shot two since?"
"Ya-as."
GAS 1 was sayin', about two month ago,
/ was goin' along the edge of the woOdl
like, and seed settin' on the top rails
of Joe Morton's dividin' fence ten of the
latest squirrels"
Nine" correctively suggested the
landlord.
Landlord, eff you kin tell wet this
here gun have did better'n l kin, you'd
better 60 on"
"Jed, you first said nine squirrels, now
you says thar was ten"
eyes, edzactly; thar was one didn't see
at fust, which hoped up from behind a
big silver. AS was sayin' seed these
squirrels sittin' on the top rail, end for
end in row. Jist then idea struck
me to try experiment. l thought
might as well string 'em at the same time
/ shot 'em. So takes and drills hole
through bullet and fastens to it q long
Irvine and fastened it around the muzzle
of Susy. Then put the powder inter
the bar'l, then light wad, and then the
bullet. After which jest gently teched
it down with the ramrod. l stopped,
bro't Susy up to my shoulder, TUX a fair
squar aim. l draw'd a hair bead on them
ten squirrels all in a row, and-bang
No sooner did fire than the gun war
jerked Out'n my hands quicker'n creased
lightnin'. l war skeert. When looked
/ seed the squirrels hangin' one above
t'other on the string to beech-tree,
fifteen feet from the place whar they'd
bin sittin'. They war stun dead. At
one shot had killed the whole ten. The
bullet had gone straight through each
one on 'em, and pulled the string along
with it, glanced and buried itself into
the tree and thar the squirrels hung as
materially as eff I'd put 'em thar. Wern't
that straight, thro'-by-daylight shot
eh?
"Rayther," said the landlord, "but
Jed, what was it jerked the gun out'n..yel
hands"
Gum oh! yes, edzactly 1t was the
strength of the powder. put a leetle Of
an ovcrcharge, and the ball went SO ferce
and the string bein' a trife too short
and almighty strong, and bein' tied fast
to the bar'l, and my holt of the gun bein
weak, it war jerked. The gun hangin
at t'other end of the string kept the
squirrels from slippin' of-that shows
thar's destiny which shaves all oul
ends"
"That'll do, Jed, let's whisky"
"On that pint" said Jed, "on that
pint never disputes with nary one"
And the party drank-deep.