The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1883-02-01

Sloppensitter | mentioned awhile ago.
Old lipe was a queer Dick, too. He had
big family and he took all their names
out of the geography. Some We're named
after mountains, some after rivers, and 50
on. There was his daughters Hecla, An
des, Carthagena, and Amazon, and his
sons Darien, Nicaragua, Popocatapetl,
and Panama. They Waren't bad sort of
people, as people went in Big Hickory
Hollow, but there was a great animosity
between Curly Ben and Hipe.
Panama Sloppensfter made a living
by splitting shingles He was about 2l
years old, and never took to ii gun. In
fact. he had never killed deer let alone
bear or a panther. and he wasn't popu
lar among the young bucks Of the Hollow
on that account
''Nell, Panama got to hanging around
the Teeter cabin quite considerable, and
finally Curly Ben said he'd see about it,
ketu, she liked tie youngster, and when
Ben asked her if she did, she owned up.
One day be found Panama and her talk
ing together 10y the front door, and be
sajs to the young man:
"Panama, says he, 'ye got sort of a
sneakin' notion for ketu, amt ye?'
"'Wall, now, Curly, said Panama
every body called Ben, Curly int we've
struck the proper tree for shingles this
time, says he.
'Wanter marry her, don't le?' said
Curly
Wall now, ruther, said Panama.
"'le amt much on the shoot, be yey
said Curly. Never plugged a deer yit,
did ye? Don't know how it feels to hey
panther chaw We, do We? le amt never
even shot a rabbit, hev ye? and Ben
threw one curl behind his ear.
1--we SHARED en- said Panama, feel
ing his knees begin to shake.
"'le'ye shared EN-, hev yeH yelled
Ben, Singing 'other curl behind tother
ear "le've shared 'em, have ye? Wall
looky yer; wanter plant it inter We that
ye can't come a snarin no;hin round
this yer clearin', Bans is what counts
whar rule the Ioost. Bars. ye shingle-
splittin' lummix, Bars bans" and
Curly danced around poor Panama like
an indian.
about the time that Panama and
ketu were nearly scared to death Curly
quieted down. He took one curl from
behind his ear.
Say, kin We fetch me in bar, de
s'pose p he asked Et ye kin fetch ne
in bar ye kin hev the gal, es wethless
eZ We be,
"'Curly,' said Panama, 'ef they's a
bar ez nigh ez forty mile o Big IIlck'1y,
III ct him for You, ef foller him a
year"
panama felt that it would be about
as safe to meet bear as bave Curly ever
tie them culls together. Ben took t'other
curl from behind his ear.
." Fotch me bar said he, and the
gals your'n. An don't You come foolin
round Yer agin till YOU do fotch me bar,
nuther. Now git
"Panama started for home, but he
hadn't got out Of hearing when Curly
called him back
Look yer. said he, 'Ye understan',
o course, that it's to be live bar don't
yeY
"'A live bar gasped Panama.
It's to be live bar. 4 live, wild
bar. They amt goin' to be no buyin' D.
some secon' ham carcass O bar an a
workin' of it off onter me fur the gal 4
live bar, We understan' p"
"Bully for Curly Bob :" said the old
settler as the county clerk paused to
light his pipe. "Oh, this yer yarn is
suthin like. Listen to dead tacs, Shurf.
an arter this try an stick to EN-"
And the old settler smiled and beamed
on everybody, he was 50 pleased.
'Panama said be understood" contin-
ued the county clerk, "and went back to
his shingle- splitting with his heart in bis
boots. He felt that Curly had told him
in delicate way that any connection be
tween the Teeter and Sloppensifter fam
lilies was not to be thought Of
"There had been an unusual fall of
snow that winter, and an awful heavy
crust had formed on it. One day Pana-
ma was up in the mountain, five miles
from the Hollow, hunting shingle trees.
Over on the east edge of Burnt hill he
found some good ones, and while be was
marking 'em with his axe a big bear
jumped out of a hollow place in tree
just at his side. Mechanically, in his
fright he Whacked away at the bear with
his axe, and the next minute the axe was
flying through the air and he and the
bear were having a hugging match. The
crust was so slippery that neither Of 'em
could keep his feet, lucky for Panama,
and the first thing that he knew both he
and the bear were whizzing down that
mountain like streak of chain lightning.
Burnt hill is more than a thousand feet
high, and on the east side is one straight
slope from top to bottom at an angle Of
about forty-five degrees. Well sir, Pa
off :
fast that neither him nor the bear could
change his position nor do any fighting.
The bear was in under, on its back, and
Panama was laying in its hug. At the
loot OF the mountain road that was cut
to snake logs and wood down to the set
tlement branched off to the east. 1t was
all the way down hill from the mountain,
and terrible steep at that. When the
bear and Panama struck this road they
kept right on down, with no slackening
OF speed. They kept the road for four
miles, where it made sharp turn to the
left. OF course they couldn't make the
turn, and away they went straight ahead
for a quarter Of a mile through the brush,
and their speed was so high that when
they struck the foot of ridge that runs
tNio''S lfiN NOuItlN tItlCJ IL lilUltu 1ttt
or more high, it never stopped them, but
they shot up that ridge as if they were
being pulled up by a steam engine, slid
over the top of it in a jiffy, and in less
than three seconds were tearing down
the other side faster than ever"
The smile had gradually left the old
settlers face. He had raised up in his
chair. He had ceased to beam, and was
clutching his cane nelyously.
''Suddenly," continued the county clerk
'when Panama had made up his mind
they'd never stop much this side of sun
rise, they struck something. The next
thing Panama knew he was crawling from
under the roof of house that had fallen
on him. The bear was crawling out on
one side of him, and on the other, from
among lot Of logs, shingles and house
hold furniture Of various kinds, came
Curly Ben Teeter, the most astonshed
and worst tore-up looking man that ever
trod the foot stool. AS soon as he could
get breath, he exclaimed:
"'What under the gol durn canopy hez
dropped on US? Be we struck by light
MIN or be we ratified up by an arth-
quake p