The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1880-12-08
hOrnets.
Detroit Free Press.

There Is an old woman on Catharne street
who delights to find case that all the doc
tors have failed to cure and then 20 TO work
with herbs and roots and strange things and
try to effect at least an Improvement A
few days ago she got hold of a girl with a
stiff neck, and she offered an old negro
named Uncle Tom Kelly fifty cents to go to
the woods and bring her hornets nest
This was to be stepped in vinegar and APP
piled to the neck. The old man spent sew
eral days along the Holden road, and yes
terday morning he secured his prize and
brought it. home in basket When he
reached the Central Market he had few
little purchases to make, and after getting
some tea at grocery he placed his basket
on barrel near the stove and went out to
look for a beef bone
1t was dull day for trade. The grocer sat
by The stove rubbing his bald head. His
clerk stood at the desk balancing accounts.
and three or four men lounged around talk
ing about the new party that is about to be
founded on the ruins of the Democracy. 1t
was serene hour. One hundred and fifty
hornets had gone to roost in that nest for the
winter. The genial atmosphere began to
Timber them up. One old veteran opened
his eyes, rubbed his legs and said it was the
shortest winter he had ever known in all his
hornet days. A second shook off his iethargy
and seconded the notion and in five min
utes the whole nest was alive and its owners
were ready to sail out and investigate You
don't have to hit a hornet with the broad
side of an ak TO make him mad. He's mad
all over all the time, and he doesn't care
picayune whether ne tackles a humming
bird or an elephant
The grocer was telling one Of the men
that he and General Grant were boys to-
gether, when he gave a sudden start of
surprise. This was followed by several
other starts. Then he jumped over a bar
rel of sugar and yelled like Pawnee Some
smiled, thinking he was after a funny
climax, but il was only minute before
solemn old farmer jumped three feet high
and came down to roll over Job lot of
wash-bOards. Then the clerk ducked his
head and made a rush for the door He
didn't get there. One of the other men who
had been looking up and down to see what
could be the matter, felt suddenly called
upon to go home He was going at the
rate of forty miles an hour when he collided
with the clerk and they rolled on the floor.
There was no use to tell the people in that
store to move on. They couldn't tarry, to
save 'em. They all felt that the rent was
too high, and they must vacate the prem
Uses. A yell over by the cheese-box was
answered by war-whoop from the show
case. A howl from the kerosene barrel
near the back door was answered by wild
gestures around the show window.
The crowd went out together Uncle Tom
was just coming in with his beef bone.
When a larger body meets a smaller one the
larger body knocks it into the middle of
next week. The old man laid around in the
slush until everybody had stepped on him
all they wanted to, and then he sat up and
asked:
''Hev dey got de fab all put out yit?'
Some of the hornets sailed out doors to
fall by the wayside, and Others waited
aroundson topof barrels and baskets and
jars to be slaughtered 1t was half an hour
before the last one was disposed of, and then
Uncle Tom walked in, picked up the nest
and said:
"Mebbe dis will care de stiffness in dat
gals neck jist de same, but / tell you Ize
got banged an bumped an sot down on till
it will take hull medical college all winter
long to git me so l kin jump off street
kyarw