The Grenada sentinel., 1888-11-17
A BAD, BAD MAN.
Cheering Way in Which He Taught
M. Quad How to "Fout"
Forced into Deadly Conflict by Humor-
ously Inclined Individual-The Char
acteristic Goodness Exhibited by
the Mountaineers-Tho
Shooter Shot.

1t was in little hamlet on the Clinch
river, Tennessee. There was gener-
al store, in which dry goods, grocer
les, saddlery, hardware, crockery.
meats and whisky were sold in about
equal proportions; a blacksmith shop,
two houses, a bridge-and that was all.
When l got up in the morning it was
raining, and the sky had that leaden
hue which means drizzling day. JET
fers would not hear of my going on,
and observed that it would be good
day for the mountaineers to come in
and reveal their leading traits of char
acter.
We had scarcely finished breakfast
when they began to come in, each man
mounted on mule, and each man
wearing rubber coat. By ten
o'clock there were dozen. All seemed
to have little money, but the only
purchases made outside of whisky were
a pound of wet brown sugar and some
plugs of tobacco One man had mule
with three shoes Off and the fourth one
Gathering. As he dismOunted at the
blacksmith shop he said to Smith:
'.Bill, 1 want yer to look at that ere
mewl."
I'm lookin, Tom," was the COM
placent reply.
''Do you reckon she'll pull through
the winterpn
Bill picked up each foot, squinted at
it like judge sizing up witness, and
pulling off the loose shoe with twist
he spat three times in the direction of
his anvil, cooked his hat anew, and
gravely remarked:
Tom, she n'tpossibly do it-no
how can't"
"Shoo! Billr'
"Can't do it, for shore. Nevis is
nevis. If she was elephant she
might, but she's mewl, an an afore
spring them feet will wear off cl'ar up
to the jints. Got to hev shoes on, Tom" e"
"Shoo! That's what / reckon. Is
shoes cheaper?"
"Skeercely."
"Shoo! 1 heard they was. Kin ye
make it fo' bits, Bill?
"Wuth that for iron, Tom. Six bits
ar the lowest
''Wall, dod rot her ole yaller hide,
I'll see about it afore night! II ye hev
a nigger, he wants clothes, an if ye
hev mewl, he wants shoes, an he'll
take 'ticular pains to kick agin every
rock he comes to. It's all wrong,
boys, an sometimes 1 feel like lettin'
myself loose and lickin' sumbody."
There were ten of us in the store,
and l was listening to the story of a
Union man who guided party of ref
ugees over the mountains into Ken
lucky, when great clatter was heard
outdoors, and somebody said that old
Dick Trasker had "arriv." Next mo-
ment he came in. He was man fifty
eight years old, six feet high, weighed
two hundred pounds and was the speci-
men bad man of the four counties. He
didn't look it. He had smile on his
face, largo blue eyes, and child would
have gone to him in preference to any
other man in the store. But, if he
didn't look it he acted it, His first
movement was to drink common tum-
bier even full of moonshine whisky.
As he sat the glass down he wiped his
mouth on the back of his hand, sur
veyed each one of us in clrn, and finally
growled:
"a cursed mean day."
One or two replied, but all Others
were silent. Old Dick was in ugly
mood, armed with knife and revolver,
and was evidently looking for a victim.
Not another man was armed, and there
was the display OF nerve which those
mountain men are noted for. Not 9
man attempted to aatter or conciliate'
Not man attempted to sneak out
doors. They were helpless to a certain
extent, but were as cool as icicles.
Old Dick called for and put down two
more drinks, and each one of them large