The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1877-11-29
The Wolf and the Hogs.

But what I was goin' to tell you about
was a big piece of fun 1 had one day
when out huntin' on the Whitewoman
Bottoms.
As 1 was slippin' along, hopin' I'd
see somethin' to shoot, all to onct I
heerd, away off through the woods,
awful roarin' and boob hoohin'! p of
hogs I didn't know what in thunder
was up with 'em, but I determined to
find out. 1t was wet, drizzly kind of
day, and 1 could get along over the
leaves and not make bit of noise. l
scooted along from tree to tree, and at
last come to place where thar was
about two acres of hogs.
Sich sight of hogs [ never did see.
Thar they stood and squirmed about,
kiverin' all the ground. All had their
bristles up, an all was boob, boob,
boohin' I' at a fearful rate. Thar was
white hogs, black hogs, sandy hogs,
spotted hogs, and hogs of all sizes,
colors and degrees of cussedness. Madi
they was Just bilin' mad-frothin' at
the mouth and champin' their teeth
fearful. A sort of steam rose up out'n
the wet hair of that mass of ragin'
beasts, and filled all the country round
with an overpowerin' smell of mad hog.
What was a causin' of all this COM
motion / was not long in seein'. Thar,
in the middle of the great convention of
hogs, stood big oak stump, about five
feet high, and in the center of the
stump stood big gray VOLTA gaunt,
hungry lookin' devil as ever [ seed.
He was handsomely treed, and wasn't
in any pleasant fix, as he was beginnin'
to find out All about him was mass
of uneasy hair, devilish eyes, frothin
mouths and gleamin' teeth. Poor devil
thar he stayed-his tail tucked close be
tween his legs and his feet all gathered
into the exact center of the stump-anc
Lord, wasn't he sick-lookin' wolff He
seemed to be thinkin' that he had sole
himself awful cheap.
Right close about the stump, an6
rarin' up against it, was crowd O.
some of the biggest and most unprinci
pied old sows I ever sot eyes onto
Every half mint one of these big ole
she fellers would rair up, git her fore
feet on top of the stump and make :
savage snap at one end or 'tother of tn,
wolf, her jaws comm together like
fax brake.
The wolf would whirl round to watcl
|
tother side of the stump would make
plunge for his tail, an 50 they kept tn
poor, cowardly, cornered critter whirlin
round and round, humpin' up his back
haulin' in his feet and tail, and in ever,
possible way reducin' his general av
erage.
Almost every instant there was
charge made on him from some quarter
and sometimes from three or four di
rections to onct. Lord, wasn't it hur
ryin' times with him then!
When he had moment to rest an
gaze about, all he saw was them tw
acres of open mouths, restless bristle
and fiery eyes. His long, red tongu
; hung out Of his open jaws, and as h
moved his head from side to side h
: seemed to have about the poorest cor
ceit of his smartness of any wolf I eve
seed. He had got himself into a mic
pickle by tryin' to steal a pig, and b
knowed it jist as well as if he'd bee
human, and was ashamed of shimsel
, accordin'. No quarter could he expec
anywhere in all that sea of ope1
2 roarin' mouths.
!, Sich was the noise, and chargin' an
l plungin' and surgin' to and fro that
hardly felt safe behind my tree, on
hundred yards away.
y I determined to try an experiment o
I I that wolf. l raised my gun and fire
}. into the air. At the report the critic
forgot himself. He bounded from tE
u u stump with the crack. of the gun, br
L he never fetched the ground. Half
y dozen open mouths reached up for hin
Q 9 and in them he landed. There was ii
! ! one sharp yelp, then for rod aroun
u was seen fyin' strips Of wolf skin, LEI
and hair-for half mint was heerd
9 crunchin' of bones, and then them ol
|, sows were ickin' their chops, rarin' u
Z into that. thar stump and prospectil
VI about for more wolf.
5 Bout that time I concluded Il
" neighborhood was likely to prove o.
! healthy, and got up and peeled it fl
IL the nearest clearin's.
|