The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1883-01-26
The TaIlapoosa Fish.

II tnink. SAID uncle Jeems, "that
that ar story ar likely enough. When
Bagby was gunner was fishing on the
big bend NV the Tallapoosa whar had
once been with Gen. Jackson ut the bat
tie of the Horseshoe as it is called,
and sot my lires out in cove and
kindled torch, fur it was darker than
the inside of q tar bar'l. fotch my AK
with me. thinking / mout find u ripe
'posSum in holler log. Well, when l
got my torch to burning found the
water was low, but thar had been some
awful big rains some time before, and
that thar was the cussedest boots of owls
l ever heard. never had any tish-luck
when they put in their blab. SO flash
ed my torch and took good look at
the black water, and seed somethin'
moving and splurging about; at last l
made it out. 1t was the biggest catfish
ever seed. You'ns has seen Ben Dink-
erers new fcrry-boat. 1t was big as
that-broader but not adzactly so long.
Right ut the mouth of the cove stood
holler sweet gum. So seized my ak,
and in no time / felled it across the
mouth of the cove to keep it from get
ting back into the river again. Fishin'
was up for the night, so trugs back
home an gets crowd NV neighbors next
morning. and we fetched yoke of
steers and log-chain and power of ropes,
crow-bars and such like. Jerry Can
ant, fetched crosses saw and o
grubbin-hoe, for you see we war all bent
on gitten that fish banciously out NV the
water.
Sb.,r hot Eab -, 81
morning conflumixin in the mud with
the whole upper part of his backbone,
four feet above the water line. Sum
was fur taking him out alive, and sum
was for killing him outright and takin'
him out piece at time. Canant low'd
he might have some valuables in his
in'ards, which would be lost if we did
that. So we made a lassoe of an inch
rope, and arter dozen trials got it just
beyond his gills, and socked crowbar
behind it to keep it from slipping off,
then we hitched the log-chain and steers
to the rope, and with the help NV all
hands we dragged him out, Gact, GIN
tleman). 1t tuck sum time to cut his
head off.
THE next thing we did was to cut
some big levers and git him on his back.
AFTER we chopped off his hind eend he
stopped his cussed wigglin. Jerry Can
ants cross-cut saw was too short, SO we
jist nat ally explored his insides by dig
gin and cuttin and hackin ontil the loose
meat, scattered all about over the
ground, looked worse as if lightnin had
struck city butcher-shop; arter which
we got into his craw or guzzle-bag, and
l wish / may be odestifed if we didn't
find an anvil--a blacksmithshop; and
that warn't all-thar wus q sledge-ham-
mer, part of the bellussus. the smiths
leather apron, a wagon-hub, q bed-post
and well nigh on to keg o'horse-shoe
nails.
beside all those leetle things we
found horses hotf with shoe on, a
par o saddlc-bags with two half-gallon
jugs full of corn whisky in 'em. We
thar, but we didn't. The next thing we
found was taarapin, n tar bucket. n
par NV old shoes, some cells and mud
turtles, and at the bottom NV his vat we
found music-book, the old 'Mosoora
Harmony and | wish | mout be dick
Grated if all the few-so laws hadn't
taken roots in the side NV his stummick
and was CROWN The fish would have
made fine squelin' worm if we hadn't
spill ed his music-box. I've seed boss
hairs grow in water and tadpoles and
wiggle-tails, but music notes sorter gla-
gumpiicates my facwities. Dag it.
never had any luck fishing arter that,
and never did ketch n fish in the Tala-
poosa since. "-Americ'ts (Ga. Repub-
ticdn.