The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1880-01-01
A WILD-GOOsE CHASE.

Now, yer honor, jist lie quiet and
aisy, keep the gun on full cock and all
ready, but never shtir limb till give
the curlew's cry, and then look out, for
the birds I'll be just within shot of ye.''
So spoke Shawn, my Herculean hench-
man, as he laid the last bunch of heather
on my quivering body, and having sat
isfied himself that [ was perfectly well
concealed from human sight, he pre-
pared to creep off to the spot where he
had seen the wild-geese alight, in order
to drive the unconscious victims directly
over my head. / nodded as he gave his
instructions, and ere lac crept away
promised implicitly to obey his COM
mands. But l felt any thing but COM
Portable in my novel position. Ny bed
was the bare Irish bog-land, oozy and
soft with the soaking of the heavy win
ter rains, my covering the half-withered
heather which Shawn had uprooted
from the hillside And the month was
March! There had been no snow in
Storport for many weeks past; the hills
all around me were black and deSolate
as the sky which loomed above; but the
bitter March wind came creeping over
the hill, and smcte me with chilly
hands. I lay patiently for some time,
the sportsman-like ardor in my heart
preventing the wind from utterly freez-
ing my limbs; but at length my patience
got exhausted, and ! began to stir. Sud-
denly L heard the faint whistle of the
curlew; two minutes after I saw flock
of wild-geese pass almost directly over
my head. / fired aimlessly, and
missed.
Then found that my garments were
completely soaked with bog water, and
that my limbs had sunk several inches
deep in the oozy ground-nay, more,
that they were only prevented from
sinking farther bv some obstruction
which was so hard and cold that it
made my bones ache. MY first care
was to exhume my half-buried limbs,
my next TO unearth the substance which
had prevented me from sinking utterly.
This latter proved TO be no easy matter,
but with the help of the spade which
Shawn had brought with him to pre-
pare my boggy bed, 1 Mt length sue
ceeded in clearing away a good deal of
earth and discovering that my life-pre-
server was deal box some five feet
long tistsihed almost black with BOG
water, aud fastened down with half a
dozen rNsty nails.
L had heard, during my childhood s
days, of fortunate people being enriched
by the discovery of buried treasures.
but, need hardly add, all such roman
tic ideas had long since vanished from
my mind; ;nd yet, as / gazed at that
peculiar-looking box, ! felt as if cold
hand had pass. Nver me, and a sue
cession of tcluding rIO-.ights surgeG
through my eco, Snuff and md oPer
II itbim must s amer desirable G n strongel %
turned fronE did hi!
best to disslfslacES 8e pro
ceeding.
Sure it's no az MIN 81 ;, We,
honor" said Shawn, bic SQUARE sam,
time so profoundly III as t,
cause my curiosity to - TENIaybt
it's little potheen th.p hav,
buried
But l cut him short, ay to the tha
he should assist to exhunmmodatiOp th
box. Seeing that was G,use in the h
at length set to work, but has the cha w
and evidently so unwilling, 2mercial at
my patience got exhausted. 4iclt sha-
spade from his hand, inserte. -.
crevice upon which Shawn bLACh
working, and with one powerfi
forced off the lid. We both rCI
horror-the box contained a co an eles
After the first shock of the dug at
was over, 1 looked again, and iiller, ]
may increased tenfold. and
"Why, Shawn l exclaimed, ..
isn't-'
eyes, in troth," broke in Sha.stoW0 '
sure enough it is" And we both stall
into the box again.
In order to explain the strange ci
cumstance7 which enabled me to reco,
nize this corpse, I must chronicle even
which took place several weeks before
exhumed it.
II.
On the fifteenth day of February Il
annual winter fair was held at Port
clare. The anticipation of this day a
ways created a good deal of excitemel
IN the minds of the peasants in ar
around Storport. for it was always CO
sS1tuted q sort of gala day; but the a
neunce mentsot the fair of 1877 broug