The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-02-04
A GOPHER DUEL.
4 Light Weight Against "a Heavy Weight,
and the Light Weight Wins.

and the Light Weight Wins.
"Yer never see er pair gophers fight,
I reckon" said an old Florida native,
as he bent forward meditatively and
shot stream of juice through the open
door of the cabin plumb onto the ear of
an old razor-back SOW that went grunt-
ing by.
After / had answered in the negative
he said:
81 reekoned yer never had, but l kin
tell yer fer pure cussedness and obsti
macy them critters will beat any thing,
not excepting gators. !"
We were sitting in little cabin
among the piney woods of Florida. Our
supper of bacon and coffee was over,
and my host, an old alligator hunter,
had been moved to make the above re-
marks by the sight of gopher, or land
turtle, waddling along on its ungainly
legs.
eyer may think it funny that er tur-
tie kin fight, and wouldn't blame yer
if yer did. wouldn't believe it my
self if l hadn't seen er couple of 'em
going it hammer and tongs 10th er day.
"Yer see, I'd been humping round
arter gators all day and hadn't had no
luck at all-didn't get any skin. To-
ward sundown started for home, GUS
sing my luck and wishing I'd never
been born er gator hunter. Jest as |
cum to that air barren over yender
see couple er gophers er padding
toward each other, and the way they
made til sand fly was er caution.
"'Old friends I said ter myself.
'Hain't met fur er long time and air
| right glad to see each other. Reckon
I'll sit down and see.'
$50 l settled on en- old log and
watched tn proceedin's. TIL gopher
| highest ter me was er leetle cuss, ez
nimble ez coon, but the other feller
was big and kind er clumsy
.'When them critters he'd got within
five feet of one nuther they stopped
dead short. Then they waddled round
in er circle, their heads er way out, er
kinder watching each other. All of er
suddint tn leetle goph' made er dart
| at tn big one. Fur er mint l couldn't
see nuthin' the sand fiyed so. Ez soon
ez it settled er bit / seed wat thet leetle
cnss was up ter. He was er tryin' to
turn tn fat one on to his back.
'Twasn't no got that time, howsome-
ever, tn fat un he'd too firm er hold in
tn sand, and the leetle feller couldn't
budge him en- inch.
"'Too bad, leetle feller, sed to my.
self. You'd better Civ thet contractuI
and put in er bid fer er smaller one
.'But the leetle goph' was game, and
/ could see bv his face that he wouldn't
give up jest then. Tn big feller looked
ez contented ez er mud turtle on el
log, and arter he see what tn .leetlt
cuss was up ter he lay purfectly still
end blinked his eyes. When tn leetl'
goph' was kinder rested he tackled the
old feller agin, and I'll be dod rotted e
he didn't keep the racket up fur nigf
onto an hour. never sech obstinac,
in my life. Fin'lly tn fat one though
he'd take er whack at it hisself, but
bless yer soul, he couldn't no NOR,
ketch that leetle goph' then he coult
fly, end when he begun ter huml
round twas jest what ths leetle felle
wanted.
Things went on this way fur abou
five minits, TIL leetle cuss watching flu
chance all tn time ter git tn big ont
over. At last he see tn big un sorte
stumble inter er holler, an quicker'l
scat his head was under tn big one
shell and over he went. I jest yelle'
right out, l was so tickled to see the
leetle feller's pluck. TIL leetle goph
didn't seem ter mind the noise at all
he Jest snuffed round tn big felle
CIR mint, and then scuttled off tie
supper.
carter he was outer sight turne'
tn big one onter his legs agin, fer
thought twas too bad ter leave hin
thar ter die. Ireckon thar'll be som
fun when them two meet agin, tho. y
N. Y. Sun.