The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1884-04-03
"LOONEY SAL"

LUONEA SAL"
None of the inhabitants of the little
town could tell why she was called
"Looncy Sal" 1t could not have been
because of any mental defect, for none
such was apparent in her.
She was born in one of the low board
huts Of Shippcnville, which stood on the
swamPy outskirts of HOboken, and ex-
Celled the other rattletraps in evidences
of senile decay. These were inhabited
by the lowest of low wretches, all vaga-
bonds by trade or profession, as You
viii. No one asked her who her par
ents were, and had such an inquiry
been made no one could have answered
il.
Granny Smiths Den," a low rum
hole. could hardly be called SAILS home
1t was more of a place where she was
allowed to exist in compensation for the
fruits of her skill at petty larceny, the
inevitable whenever she visited any of
the mercantile establishments. At
night she edited the gatherings at
Granny Smiths By songs and dances,
and the words of the former were usu-
ally indecent paraphrases of the popu-
lar songs Of the day.
Her wakeful nights could not but pro-
duce extreme sleepiness during the
day, and it was no rare occurrence to
see Sal stretched in slumber on the open
meadow for many hours during the aft
ernoOn. These odd habits, associated
with the girls other peculiarities, made
her an object of curiosity as well as of
dread to the school children. The
younger ones, in obedience to their par
ents' commands made a wide circuit
shout the open space in which Sal
spent her forenoons. The older ones
were attracted to the spOt-perhaps
conscious of approaching independence,
perhaps only because of the curious
sight of the ack-locked, dark-eYed
girl rs she lay stretched upon her see
saw" and gently rocked it up and down,
as she hummed some weird song.
Whenever the boys came near enough
To be noticed by her she frightened
them off with fierce grimaces, which
scemed to pursue them in their flight to
the sound of almost maniacal laughter.
She had no friends or playmates.
What girl would have selected her as a
companion, she who associated only
with those who shOne as disreputable
among the outcasts of Shippenville?
Furthermore, her pugilistic prOwess was
rs dreaded by the boys as was her sour
rAous language by the girls.
Sometimes, but rarely, a boy who
Wanted his bravery could be induced
into coming within her reach, but then
it was only through the process known
80 children as daring" These efforts
at a display of courage invariably pro-
duccd very subdued boy, whose face
and garments could hardly be consid-
cred Ornamental
The big boy'' of the academy, Dick
Allen, had licked all of his class
mates but two or three, and Sal had
bn nj
dared Dick to engage in combat with
sal, but he, prompted by species OF
manlincss, declined to fight girl. On
being greeted with the inharmOniOus
chant of "fraid cat, " ''fraid cat" he
astoUnded his companions by PROPOSE
ton to secure the girls friendship with
in half an hour. The doubts and dep
rccations which his playmates uttered
stimulated him to proceed at once to
SAILS sunny spot, OF course his ''chum, -
Will Barry, went with him.
Fellows, you could Just see that he
went cause he was dared, - said Tom
Slcvers when he recounted his observa-
tions, taken from behind a large rock.
''Will Barry played sharp; he just kept
behind Dick, and Dick he marched right
up to LoOncy SAILS see saw, and If he
did stand Otf-well, so far that she
couldn't biif him in the eye-Dick he
said: Hello, Sal And what do you
think Sal did? l expected to sec Dick
mauled-just chcwed up. An all you
fellows know I'm Dicks friend
"Oh, come now, Tom, give it to us
straight, > one Of the boys interrupted
the juvenile modern Minnesinger; ''tell
us what she did"
"Well, nothing" answered Tom.
''She just stopped her scc-saw, looked
up at Dick Just as if he was a cat OF
something; then she lay down agin, and
and working her see-saw she went on
singin': See saw, buck-a-me raw,
folderol, dolderol, diedaw.' Saw, fell
lows that girl kin sing. Golly, it
just
"Oh, Tom. you're Just foolin', >" his
comrades cried; tell us all about it, -
well, amt tellin' yer? She Just
went on sce-sawin' and singin' lust as
# there wasn't no Dick nor no VIII.
Then VIII he gave Dick n shove ia
keep him from weakenin', and then
Dick he sings out again: 'Helloh, Sal.
Then Sal, She took no notice of EN-
aga.n. Then VIII, he said: Call hel
Loony Sal, why don't yep and then
Tom was not required to continue the
tale. All of the scholars had seen the
boys running, followed by Sal; they had
observed her cleaning ewes; they had
seen her agile body fly after them over
stile and stone; and had seen them ap.
proach the school, pass over the
threshold, rush upstairs into the class
room, and there, before the very eyes OF
the teacher, she threw her offenders tc
the floor, and with each blow of her
little clenched fist she Kissed: ''Whc
yer call loOney? Who yer call looney
eh?"
As she-struck them the other scholar.
jumped upon their seats to get a better
view of the one-sided encounter, per
haps. They did not hear what tn,
teacher said as he stopped over the
strugglers and tore the girl from hel
passive, bewildered opponents. A deaC
silence reigncd as he held the girl anC
pravelv asked: What have YOU don,
TO the girl, you bOys?'
And then so the class supposed h,
certainly must have whispered some Sc
we're threat to the wild girl. For wha
else could have so suddenly calmed he
passionate rage? Sal, when he directed
the ouestion to the boys, raised her fac
to his with a curious mixture of search
- doUbt and establishment, and wheI
he said. Come with me. girl sh