Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-02-21
THE OLD SETTLERS YARN,

AEHdlhEl Tue VAG -NtAlNAs Ali Q ARWh 80
the West Virginny woods--or up in 'em,
or over in en-, whichever way them woods
may be sittiwated--thuz plenty o paint
'ers yit p'radin' roun' and seekln' Sho
they may devoUr. VT o ye think bout
it Squireg'
81 naint thunk nothin' bout it." re
piled the squire. Gan don't keer moth
in bout II. Did ye ever see a painter
MsjorY
TINS unexpected query made the Old
Settler gasp. After the many exploits IL
chasing and overcoming panthers that
he had in his time given the details of to
the squire, this query cor veyed to him
the idea that all those tales had been re
ceived by the squire with degree OF in
credulity that was not hatterlng 10 the
relator. But the Old Settler replied to it
more in sorrow than in anger.
Squire" said he, zoe I to 'spect th't
yer reoomemb'r'uce is pla!iu' ye tricks,
or oe | to ketch it from yer remark that
yer faith in the his'try o. the Sugar
swamp deestric' II hev ben giyin' ye
p'tiolar p'ints on Ter twenty year an
beeter, hain's no bigger'u a mustard
seedYn
"Wull, Major" said the squire, "that's
a laadin' question, an | 'bjeos to answer
in. 1 mout criminate myself, Y0u know,
ez we cay in tryin' cases. But IN say
this much, Major an hope it'll content
ys, an that is t'ht my recomemb'r'nce
hain't playih' me no tricks, not by a two
gallon jug tulip
Eyer 'pology is all right, squire said
the Old Settler, blandly. / only wanted
TO Know how ye stood, that's all Now e.
know, I'll perceed an an'ser yer ques-
ton. Did / ever see a painter? Noun
tains an mountains of em, squire! An
it'd ha' been arippin' good thing fer
them | kin tell ye, If they hadn't never a
see me, fer | plunked 'em an | plunked
'em, an rasseled 'em en- l hustled 'em,
tin it got to be so th't it were techiu'
sight ter see 'em tryin' ter get fer safter
past'urs wen they heard o. me bein' in
the woods. Bot a painter he'd TO hev his
'larm clock sot so he KID git up very 'arly
in the mornin' if he lost me wen | struck
his trail. Me an painters was OF 'quain
tences in the good OF days o Sugar
swamp, 'fqnire an it was cause the
painters couldn't cut my 'quain Jence th't
tn hain't no more on EN- LETT IN this
bailiwick or any other bailiwiok o. this
degin'rit country. Did ye ever know
Goldy Hardpate, the queer chap th't We're
allus a shiveriu' and the warmer it we're
the harder he shivered"
Yes, know'd him. replied the squire
cor leastwse | kno@ed of him, en- never
kuow'j or heerd any good of him, nuther.
His word want much better'n some
other folks ] ulster know, an know yit.
He ware allus a ketchin' painters toto
hear him tell it,"
"Wull, / know of his ketchin' neven
an all of 'em to wunst, too" said the Old
Settler. swat he mowt ha did 'cOrdIn to
hiaself / can't sw'ar to- but about them
twelve painters know'd indiv lily an
person'ly an wen | know thing indi
vid'any and person'ly, b'gosh, / know it
tol'ably durn sure, an hain't Altered
nor back ards in walkin' up to the dough
trough an affydavyin' to it,
~ heerd, wuust, sumpin' bout twelve
painters said the Squire, an
Eye never heerd it right, then b'gosh,"
exclaimed the Old Settler, "fer | hain't
never even tor M'siar bout il, an the
nat'ral hist'ry o. them painters hain't
kpow'd by no one else but me. Colby
Hardpate took to shiverin' so arter he had
ketched an cooped them painters th't he
shook the life ouien hisselt in less'n no
time, an didn't hev a chance to tell no
body bout il, an / were the uDly one ez
had the secret locked in his chist. I've
KEEP it thar ever sence, BIT now I'm
agointer let it out, cause Coldy's mem'ry'5
kinder ben set on, an I'm sgointer show,
b'gosh, th't It can't be sot on ez long ez
kin haul up hist'ry f'm Sugar Swamp
detstrio'."
81 can't tell ye wat the natur' o. ColdY's
system were Tat made its predomlneerin
featHt' sort o perpetual ager, but he
had it, an it kim in good play, too, wen
he were rasseliu' bar or - painter, fer
Coldy were n stroug ez mulley OK, an
wen he elutched his bar or his painter,
an that ager o. his got TO workin', II list
shook the cverlestin' belix outen 'em so
quick th't they hadn't TINT to wonder wat
were movin' of 'sm. Then ag'In II were a
queer thiog th't his SILVER never bothered
Colby in DRAWN bead with his rifle, an
he I'D PUNK the bulls eye, or the bars
eye. evry time. Au' another queer hing
were th't water seemed 20 feet his shivsr,
fer whenever Coldy'd drink q tuuber of
water his hand'd shake so th't durn nigh
hil lHt NtNtE u > blAt ~ tA's DhH UNIV ~ ,
ways an queerest of all wers th't Colby
KID fill a tumbler with apple juice chuck
to the top sn' git it to his mouth without
never losin' drop"
9TH usety be curious patch o vines
tht growed on one edge O. the swamp in
them days, but 1t didn't grow long arter
iis uncommon pisen disposition we're
fOun' out II seemed to binder OF re
lation o. the COW eetch weed, and shed q
dust often it tint usety look like fog wen
it took TO fJin' roun' Every summer
some o. the resideuters o the Sugar
Swamp dee5tric' d find hog or two o.
there, or r. COW. or mebbe boss or a dog,
stragglin' rouu' the kentry binder thin a
Lull family o bats rolled inter one. Nc
body could get it through 'em what sot
this blindness goin' till one day it
pluuked inter my oil papa's noodle int it
we're the dust ofen that patch O briera,
but even then nobody we're sartin' an
nothiu' we're did. One Gay IN July, 1888,
the 9Th day o. July, 80 1 think were
edRin' rouu' ia the woods lOokin' fer q
leeIs shiIdig with q bar or sumpin'
x'pr / heerd The cUnsarndest catterWauli u,
an yellln' over 70 rds the swsmy this eve
we're hserd n them woods afore or since.
| suesked over that way, an PEE kin
4hrongh the buahEs see a ziglt eZ made