St. Landry democrat., 1882-04-22
BILL GIBBONS DELIVERANCE.
LOUISIANA,

Never heerl tell O Bill Gibbon?
why, yerve kinder been out of existence!
dOn believe some on you'd think!
Ii 1t warnt for little assistance.
amt lover smart" not myself?
Well, who said was?-what's it matterl
TO know Bill was guess kinder cute,
80 let have no more o that chatter.
+'What did he do?' well-Tm blamed!
If you won't pretty soon raise my dander!
For yer ought to know Bill just as we'll
AS the geese on pond knows the gander!
Their. now. faint no good gettin' riled,
Smooth your feathers back, steady, I'll tell,
mates
Tell yer one of his feats in the woods
Drawer deed never befell, mateS
In Wisconsins big forests, one day
We was maxim a clearin' in fall time;
And the thing Bill Gibbon done then,
l, for one, shall remember for all time.
A broad-shoulderd coon was old Bill,
With will, like his muscles, of iron;
He'd a tackled a buffalo bull,
And at choppin'-well, warnt he spry 'un?
1t was chopin as brought it about, boys,
For Bill had begun on whopper,
"A two hundred foot mighty pine,
As was doomd to sure death by his chopper!
We'd all on us stoppd work was done;
He'd finish "dog-gorn'd if he wouldn't!'
An laughn and sayin' he couldn't!
He buried his ak in the tree;
We set off for our cabin, us Others
"'pll kill him afOre eighth he cries, go
Him and p'raps one or two of his brothers!"
On the floor of his hut ''afore eight"
He lay, and he told us ALL gasping, Pa.
How it happ d-his voice broke,
His rough big brown hand my own grasping
Fast and strong fell his strokes on the tree,
1t sway'd, an it creak'd, an it quiver'd,
1t toppled, it fell-then says he
AS he spoke, why we all on us shlverd-
81 struck the last blow with such force,
That the tree, in second, was timber,
And fell to the earth, just as stiff
AS the minute before I'd bin timber.
-"Swoop upon me the giant tree crash'd!
FearleSSly fell on my right leg and broke It.!
An it seemed to shrek out for revenge,
Revenge! just as ii it had spoke it.
IS Help! l cried: but long hour had gone
Since I'd seen yonahDys homeward all file off,
And bugle's voice wouldn't bin heard
In them thick woods and bushes mile off.
81 couldn't lie there all the night,
So made up my mind in a second
/ know d as the leg must come OFF,
SO to do it myself best reckon'd.
-"One stroke!-what was left of the leg
Was freed from the tree and its branches!
-dllu WudI poor BILL UiDDOu lQen Sdh-
Why, the thought of it now my cheek
blancheS.
My heart knocks aloud at my ribs,
Though amt in the leastways white liver d !
When think what he did on that night,
By his right hand how he was delivered,
He tried with pluck, all his own,
To crawl, inch by inch, to his cabin;
Though each move as he made ON the road
Was, we'd most on US think, just like stab
bin.
Wen be found as he couldn't get on,
Because his two legs wasn't equal,
"A bold thought comes into his head,
As you'll see, when tell you the sequel
A word and blow, twas with Bill,
He'd act on a thought soon as catch 1t,
His right leg was of, his ak cleaned,
And he cut off his left leg to match it.
lie sturdly stump'd to his hut,
A glass Of hot rum quick we mixes;
Overcome there's not one of us speaks
AS his torn limbs we spices and fixes!
"A stout constitooshun?' well, yes!
A hero, too, birth, bone and breeding.
What's that you say, you out there,
How he did fur to stop all the bleeding?
oh, didn't mention? that's odd
Bout them limbs aS was torn into ribbons;
Wal, yer see, didn't matter to him,
They was wooden legs, mates, was Bill Glib
bOnS!
Arthur 1f1tthiSOn