Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-02-21

7 'GoshtImiRhtyr says TO myself,
them painters has settled the hal bust.
ness. They've got inter that patch in
travels, an thar dust has blinded 'en,
sure ez eriebetsll scneakl
'pm gummed, 'squire, il Iwa'nt so
sorry for them 'ieven paint ers-th' was
even on 'tm-I were SO SORRY fer EN-,
/ squire, th't l act'ly had to blubber like 3
calf an took 20 wonderin' wat KID do 70
help 'em out O. their tarnal bad fix Ell
stood thar watohiu' EN- IN sorrer, wat
did l see but sncrtiu' big painter come
tearin inter that patch from the bushes
on t'other side. He stood thar a second
or two, an then nOsed round 'moucst
/ the m painters, an dom of il in hurry.
too, tell ye. k'd see to WINES th't the
big painter know'd 'd'zaoly wat we're
/ up with tother uns but Squire I wan g
] loOkiu' for wat followed. / want b'gosh
fer 10 war a lettle the funniest p'formance
| ever see, even in the Sugar swamp
deestrict. Vile / war gain on the on
fortnit passed. o. painters, / see one OF
| ketch the tail of another mn in his mouth
! the third IN ketched the first uus tail
in his mouth an so on till the hull peven
| were strung out, holdin' on To one mother
/ by the tail.
wat in the name o. Sam Hill is dom
now" SAYS l.
Il wan'tloug iindin' out, fer the big
/ painter th't had kim tearin' in 'm0ugst
t'others backed hisself up gainst the
| leader Of the eleven oufortuit uns in the
| line, and the leRdin' onfortuit IN grabbed
his tal. ~ soon "a he he'd did that, the
| big painter started the percessiou, an
wat were he dom of squirrel. HavIu'
| his eyesight all right he war jist leadin'
his 'leven blind companions onten that
/ patch, h'gosh, an marchin' Of EN-
home. That were a sight, squire wuth
/ travelin' good many miles TO see, an
we're So techin' tint the tears tumbled
down my cheeks bigger'p white beans.
"Hein' curious 90 see wat mo At be the
upshot o this singular pint IN nat'ral
! hist'ry, | follered along quite, an the per
cessiOu marched ~ solemn lez a funerI
/ through the wood. | had folered them
mebbe q mile wen suddenly Colby Hard
! pate, who had been skiunen in the
ueigh6orhoOd for some fun with his gun,
stepped out from behind a tree. The
| sight o the percessiou of unfortunate
painters didn't seem 90 be e. tetchin' TO
him "a it were to me. He unly looked at
il fer a couple o. seconds, an then an
idee struck him. He 40 with his gun al
whanged away. The fust thing | see
were the leRdin' painter tearin' like a
streak o lightnin' on through the woods,
an with no more tail TO him thin n doe
rabbit. Cod had shot it OF slick an
clean, an it staid right in the mouth OF
the leadin' one o. the leyen unfortnit
painters.
"The percession kim TO a stop. Colby
steps up an grabs the tail he had shot
off of the painter ez we're leadin' the
t'other uns, au' starts ahead, stddy aud
SLOW. The procession started after him,
an ne led the hull o them lsven paint
ers straight TO his cabin, where he knock
ed em on the head, one arter tother, and
put an eend to their unfortnit state.
don't know wuther it we're the suddinG
way the iGee o gatherin' in Thorn paint
'ers had struck him, or what it were, but
iist arter eendin' the Misty o. the Eleventh
painter Colby we're hit with shiver th't
made the raftets in the cabin rattle, an
fore he KID gether himself an brace agin
it, It shook the breath outen him, an he
passed over Jurdan."
"Then you'll never see him ag'in," re
marked the Squire, calmly but positive
ly, "fer youll pass in t'other direction"
Ed. Mott in New York Sun.