The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-06-02
pAvy cRocxKrr.s COON TRICK.
fExShane.'

famous 'coon-skiE trick. which he relates as fclloss:
 We'll, started otf ,o the evcss-roads. dressed in my hun,ing ~shsrt. with my rssae on my shoulder. Many of our ecnsrsa. ents had assembled there 10 ge, \ taste ot the quality of the candidates al orating. lob Smelling. a gandcr-shanked Yankee who had been caught sosnewhe~e abou, Plymouth bay, and bcea shipped to the wes, with cargo of codhsh and rum. esected larye shan,y, and set up shop for the occasion. \ large posse ef the voters had assembled before arrived and my oppenen, had already made eeas,d- erahlc head~ay with his spccvhiiyins and treating when they spled me abcu, a rihe-shct from the camp ssunsering along as ii ] was not a party in business. There comes Crockett cried one, Lets hear the colonel cred another. And so mounted the stump tha, had been cut down for the occasion. and began ,o hushwhack in the most approved style.
 " had nc, been up long before there was such an uproar in the crowd that could not hear my o~n voice. and some of my constituents let me krow tha, they could not listen ,o me on such dry sub leet as the welfare et the nailon, until they had something to drink, and tha, mus, treat 'em. Accordingly. jumped down irom the ros,rum. and led the way 10 the shanty, followed by my eonstita- cnts. shouting, Huasah iol Ctoekett,' and Crockett forever
 When we entered the shan,y, lob was busy dealing out his rum in a style that showed that he was making a good days work ot n. and called tor auaI, of the best. bat the crooked eri,icf re- turned no other answer than by pointing al board over the bar. on shieh he had oha!ked, ,n large letter.: Fay ,o-da, and trus, tomorrow Now tha, idea brought me all up standing |, was a sort of eornenng in which there vas no back out, tor ready money m the west in those times was the shyesi thing m all natur' and li was most particularly shy with me on that occasion.
 "The voters. seeing my ptedicamcn,. fell on to the other side, and l was ieit deserted and alone, as the government will ee when he no longer has any offices to bestow. saw, plain as day. tha, the tide oi popular opinion was against me. and that. unless go, some rum speedily. should lose my election as sire as ,hete are snakes m Virginia and |, must he done soon. or even the burned brandy wouldn't save me. So walked away from the shanty, hut m another guess sort from the way entered n iot on this oe- c.lslon had no tram aiIcf me. and nns a voiee shouted. Huxaah for Crockett . Popularity sometimes depends upon a very small matter. indeed III thts paftie- 1laf I, was woi,h aquait oi New Eng land rum. and no more.
 Well knowing that crisis was at hand. l struck into the woods with my riie on my shoulder, my best trend in tune of need. and. as good fortune would have II. had not been out more than a quarter of an hour before ,reed hg fAt coon. and in the pulling oi a irig. ger he lay dead d, the roo, of A tree 1 soon whipped his hairy laoke; oil hls back, and again bent my way toward the shanice, and walked up to the bar. but not alone. for this time 1 had half a dozen of my constituents Al my heels l threw down the coon skln upon the counter and called for quart oi rum. and lob. though busy m dealing ou, rum, forgot 'o point io his chaiked rules and regulations. for he knew tha, coon was as good legal tender for quart Tn the yves, as New York shilling any day in the year.
 My constituents now Hooked abau, me and cried Huzfah for Crockett, Crockett fssescs.' and finding the ude had taken turn l told them several yarns ,o pu, them in good humns, and having soon dispatched the value sf the coon l wen, out and mounted the stump without opposition. and a clear majority of the voters followed me io see what 1 had io offer for the good of the nation Before was half through one of my con s;i,ucnis moved that they would hear the balance of my speech after they had washed down the first part with some more ei Job Sncliing's ex,rac, of corn stalk and nolasses : and the question be- ing put Il was carried unanimously 1, was considered necessary to tcil the yeas and nays. so VIC adjourned to the Shan,y and on tic way l began to reckon ,ha, the fate of the nation pretty much de- pended upon my killing another coon.
 While standing al the bar. feeling soFter bashful while Iob's rules and regulations stared me in the face, l cas, dosn my eyes and discovered one end of ihe coon ssin sticking between the logs tka, supported the bar. lob had slung II there m the hurry of baSiness gave it a sor of qaick Jerk. and !, followed npy hand as natural as tf | had been the rgh,ful o~ner. slapped II on the counter, and lob. ii,fle dreaming iha, he was barking up the wrong tree. showed along another bottle. which my consn. iuenis quickly disposed of with great good h.mor, for some of them sax lhc . ir.ek, and then we withdrew 10 the ros- ifum to discuss the afairs of the nation
 don, know boys ', was. but the Vo- teTs soon became dry again, and nothing would do ba; se must adjourn t0 the shanty. and as luck would have |, the coon sk.n vas still s;ieking bc,~een ,he logs, as fl lob had flung i, there puT- pose to tempt me l was not slow in raising ;, to the counter the r.m tol-