The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1885-06-05
THE DUEL
Two Rivals Of 'Possum Branch
on the Field or Honor.

AnauiA- tltAtl ktrAAOWl Htel On one
side Of the branch and Jerusalem John
son (blackl. commonly called ..Jn.-
lived on the other side Mss Sophy
Giggles. the color Of an undertone
buckwheat cake. lived about five miles
from the branch and was the cause OF
al undue secretion If bile in both
Mas" and ..Ju-"
Tie branch itself i no. Of sufficient
importance 10 BE- indicated in red coIors
on any map Of these blessed United
States. and yet is local coloring i en-
ter:aining enough 10 warrant il being
taken from the somewhat moldy cup
board Of obscurity and placed on the
inviting comfortable Of the present day.
The dark and bloody ground Of Ken
trcky. with it, cxpiation> ON the field
Of honor, BlennerhaS-eff's Island with
it, tragic tale III love and iishonor. have
both brcn embalmed in song and story:
why not Postum Branch. with its Had
of womans caprice. mans devotion
and the fearless heroism OF fascinated
hearts, The branch Itself i dull.
sluggish stream about ten or twelve
feet wide. running throrgh tbs southern
portion of Linn County, In the East
il might be cailei creek. In the
West X might b. digniticd ~ the name
Of river An FLORIDA il i simply a
= branch branch OF wnat. 4 am
not At this moment prepared TO state
II j lined with live oak. water oak.
cypress. perSimmon and some few 9th
~ r.r
goes over Il drr-Sh0d. on rustic
bridge. sliaky and dccrepit- the nucleus
Of any amount Of possible and probable
accidents The water i about ten feet
deep ard very dark No one hut =
coroner could possibly frni any ENJOY
ment looking at il The bridge also
serves n n ~nort cut for predatory foxes
seeking through highways and bywayS
for the ~uccalcnt chicken the PABLO
sophie turkey and The disciple .. ! Ger
tain school u medicine the duck
Al times the trees that line thi. Rank
take on . vivid beauty. The bamboo
climbs II the tops Of the taIleSt ones
and ilin-S graceful crown aver their
SWEARING beauty. Scarlet corOnals Of
unknown flowers emphasize the fra
grant green. tisrOn-h which the birds
peep out aud wat n with wide-eved
wonder the c1eakin- vehicles and
strange figure that pass slowly By.
Outbur~;S II rare-f SONG can lie heard
there through the soft langlorous DAYS.
and switt-dartiag rms like errant rays
Of light. ripple the waters below.
On the east side are > half-dozcn or
50 u rough log cabin.. keeping guard
over few acres ~ broken soil: cotton
and potato patches. the garden 81 long
cnllards and turnip>. Inc parterrc II
suntiowcrs and olcanders. Each
demesne ha- its iilapids,ed chicken
honse. its rheumatic she'd for the
reflective mule. and it. boudnir for
playful swine. The owners and inhah-
iiants a these frceholds arr happy and
careless negroes raising enough % eat
and = little TO sell baSking in the sun
shine. and obcyinr implicitly the
Scriptural injunction % take no heed to
the morrow.
In q little log house. standing on the
very banks Of the branch. in a cronrh-
ing attitude. as il Just about lrap.ng
into the waters for \ hath. both cleans
ing and sanitary. lived AZ tine time 81
" l14AAA y lAtts 41IAMAL~s VfAN WA lhAN
heroes. On the west side of the branch
the scene was almost literally repeated.
with the exception that one ~ the
houses was Of frame. with two rooms
and lean 70. and had forty acres Of |
land attached to IL There lived with |
his parents. Jerusalem. my other hero.
until the fiend Of jealousy entered his |
otherwise placid bosom. and left wreck |
and ruin there
Five miles or was another little settle !
ment u the same genus. and here Miss |
Sophy. my heroine. helped bake the hoe |
cake in the ancestral mansion. and by |
washing for the neighboring planters |
families. earned the shckcls that went !
70 purchase articles 81 feminine adorn- !
msnt articles 50 dear 70 the average
feminine heart