Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1882-03-31
B11I oIBBoN's DEIIVERAN0E

Never hccrd tell o. Bill Gibbon9
Why, ycrve kinder bocn out of existencel
don't believe some on you'd think
III Il warn't for n little assistance.
Ialn't "oycr smart not myself2
We'll. who said wns2-whats II mnttcrl
To know Bin was guess kinder cute,
SO let's have no more o that chatter.
"what did he dor" well-rm blamodl
II you won't pretty soon raise my dnnderl
For yer ought to know Bill Just us well
AS the geese ON pond knows the gandcrl
Their. now, talnt no good gcttln' riled,.
Smooth your feathers back, steady, I'll toll,
mates
Toll yer ono of his fcats in the woods,
A drawer deed never bcfcll, mate3l
In wsconsin's big forests, one day.
We was maxim clearln' in fall time;
And the thing ns Bill Glbbon done thon,
l. for one, shall remember for all time.
"A brond-shouldcrd coon was old Bill,
With n will, like his muscles, of Iron,
He'd n tackled II buffalo bull,
And Mt choppln'-wcll, warn't he spry 'unr
1t was chopin ns brought 4 about, boys,
For Bill had begun on n whoppcr,
"A two hundred foot mighty pine,
As was doom'd to sure death by his chopper!
We'd all on us stoppd, work was done;
He'd finish, "dOg-gornd IL he woudn'tV'
An We quit him, nll full OF our chail,
An laughln mud snyin he couldntl
He buried his AK in the tree;
We set of for our cabin, us others.
"Tll kill him aforc cightV he cries, m
"IIim and praps one or two of his brothcrsP
On the floor of his hut "afore eight"
lie lay, and he told us ali, gnspng,
How II hupp pd--his voice broke,
His rough big brown hand my own grasping
Fast and strong fell his strokes on the tree,
II swny'd, an IL creak'd, an IL quivord,
1T topplcd, IL fcll--thcn says he
As he spoke, why we all on us shiver'd-
AZ 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!
Fenrlcssly fell on my right leg and broke It'll
An 1t seemed to shrek out for revenge,
Revcngel just rs IL II had spoke 1t.
Z" Helpl ] cried; but long hour had gono
Since I'd seen you boys homoward all file oil,
And bugle's voice wouldn't bin heard
In them thick woods and bushes n mile OF.
81 couldn't lie there nll the night,
so made up my mind in n second
know'd us the leg must come Off,
So to do ii myself best reckond.
"One stroke!-what was left of the leg
Was freed from the tree and Its branches"
And what poor Bill Gibbon then said
Why, the thought of 1t now my choel
blanchcs.
My heart knocks aloud at my ribs,
Though amt in the leastways white liverd d
When Ithink whnt 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 rs he made on the road
Was, we'd most on us think, Just like stat
bin.
When he 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 n blow, TWAS with Bill
He'd act on u thought soon rs catch IL,
His right leg was of, his AK glcamed
And he cut off his left leg to match 1t.
He st,irdily stiimp'd to his hut,
Aglass of hot rum quick we mixes;
Overcome there's not one of us speaks
As his torn limbs we splces and fixes!
"A stout constitooshung' 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 rs was torn into ribbons;
Wal, yer see, didn't matter to him,
They was wooden legs, mates, was Bill Gil
bon's!
Arthur MdtthisOn.