Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-08-22
A HOT FIGHT.
Uncle Ned and the Yaller Jackets-A Short,
Sharp and Decisive Conflict

Uncle Ned and the Yaller Jacxets-A Short,
Sharp and Decisive Conflict.
In Bath County, KY, by the banks of q
strong brook named Rose Run, which is a
poem and picture, stood, years ago, the
coy cabin home of Uncle Ned Wells, who
was character in that region. Uncle Ned
had drawing voice which would have
made glad the heart of Mark Twain, and
he was 'genial humorist" who never
wrote a line. He continually told funny
stories, however, and through these was
always presented in a most ridiculous light.
Uncle Ned carried the mail on horse
back from village near by to the mouth
Of Big Sandy, on the Ohio, a distance of
ninety miles, twice a week. To-day the
Chesapeake and Ohio railway carries it
every day, over nearly the same ground in
few hours. Frequently rode with Uncle
Ned, late Of afternoons, from the school in
the village to my grandfather's place in
the country, Uncle Ned's little patch of
ground being q slice on of the farm on the
farther side from the village. He would
take the Big Sandy mail home with him at
night and start on his journey over the
hills the next morning. On such occasions
Uncle Ned would delight my boyish under
standing with his amusing stories, and one
time he told me this one:
II wuz about the the time Of the waugh
OF eighteen-twelye, an they wuz or beaten
up for volunteers to fight the British. Sol
jerin' wuz all the 90. / wuz a good, big
chunk Of boy, an 'cluded TO beat me up
comp'ny. So airly one Sunday mornin' /
oridled dads old sorrel blind mar, old Poll,
1 did, an started out to gether up the
neighbor boys soon got q pooty fair
bunch on UNI together an marched 'eu
down TO the water-gap, acrost the crick. Nc
bein' captain, formed um in q sorter streak
er fight in front Of q great big yaller-jack-
cts nest thet knowed wuz thar, en- also
knowed as how them ar yaller jackets wuz
spilin' fur fight. made the boys pull OF
Their shirts, to show Their brav'ry, an tuck
on mine too. but tuck powerful good keer
to wrop q blanlzit aroun' me.
Then tole mer brother Ben-he was
mer leftendant-to run a stick In the hole 10
let the yaller-jackets know as how the ini-
my wer thar. Ben hadn't morn done Il.
tell about seventeen quarts er them
leetle yaler solgers came outen thar forti-
fcations, with Their bagnets ready fur
waugh an Their uniforms a lookin' shinev.
About third on UNI LIT on me, nuther third
on old Poll, an the balance sorter scattered
themselves amongst the boys.
The battle was short, sharp at both ends
an pintedly incisive. The comp'nv Iii oul
On scattered all over that country. an, Poll
she struck on throo the woods, am. beins
stalk blind, she fell over pile of logs an,
th'ow'd me about fawty foot. / struck on
my head, an it stunned me so at / didn't
git home till mornin'; then managed 10
crawl In, somehow er nuther. an / wuz
sWelled about the head till looked for ALI
the world Like pizened pup When / Got
thar, sees dad out IN the pastur with old
Poll, FUR she wuz thar. dunno how she eot
thar, but thar she wuz, an dad had her with
her head tied up to the forks of a saplin,..
an wuz drinchin' the old mar fur the
bolts. The bolts, you know, is monspous
swellin' to beast, an them yaller-jacaets
had stung old Poll fun youin to euin, ans
FUN one eend to tother. After that dad
larnt whit the matter wuz, and toads even
In he give me q sweetnip' with err apple
sprout that lnever had no need of maxim, a
memerandy on, fur hit wuz writ in red
marks acrost my back till looked a good
deal like sorter pcrambulatin' star
spangled banner, en- fun that time ON I
wouldn't kcered eff dad had volunteered
an got tyhooped by the British. Hows'm-
ever, when dad used years after that it WIZ
fur month that the worr looked Ike alter
supper at dinner time. It wiz dark 10 me
IN the middle er the day, an amt never
struck as good friend as dad wuz sence.
kase my po' old mother died TO kin riclo-
lect WILL VIsscnER.