Huntsville gazette., 1889-10-26
SOMEBODY HAD LIED.
What an Accommodating Traveller Hear
and Saw in West Tennessee.


and Saw in West Tennessee.
~ A traveller in West Tennessee had
= Just dismounted from his horse. and,
holding the bridle-rein. was leaning
.;against tree. looking at the murky
! water of bayou, when native came
slouching along.
"Ah, ''said the traveller, twill you
please tell me which way this water
fows?"
{ Down stream" the fellow replied.
"Yes, of course; but which is down
Btream?"
The way the water flows, Ireckon. !"
Z "Now, look here. my friend, you
ought to have more sense than to talk
Shat way"
"Yas, and you ought to have more
sense than to ask questions that way,
TOO"
Il asked a sensible question"
'And | gave you sensible answer"
"No, you didn't"
Then reckon somebody has lied. J"
Just as you say"
"AIl right. much obleeged to you
fur leavin' it to me. 'Tain't often sich
a accommodatin' man as you air hits
this neighborhood, and / am mighty
glad to meet you. Let me see. said
that somebody had lied, didn't II"
, "Yes."
"Ah, hah, and you lowed that it
was jest as 1 say9"
That's it."
You're right. No, sub, thar amt
many accommodatin men that comes
through this neighborhood now, but,
law me, year or so ergo, befo' times
got so hard, you could come along
here by the bayou and find accom-
datin' man almost any time"
''Why, are the times any harder now
than they were a few years agopn
"Wall, the Legislature got to b'arin'
down on u.s."
'In what way?'
''Wall, put dog tax on us"
THAT made times hard, eh?'
''Yas, fur it takes all we can rake
and scrape to pay taxes on the dogs
''How many dogs have you?n
''Don't know exactly; some has died
lately, and some strays have come in.
Brother Bill is the one that keeps ac.
count Of how many we've got, but as
he's down with the agy, we are on
sartain about the number"
What do you want with so many
dogs?n
wall, we've got so used to em we
KANT git along without EN-"
How many hogs have you?"
Three"
'How many chickensp"
Crowd dozen putty close, reck-
on.n
.How many cowsp"
Had one, but she died year befo'
last"
How many horses?"
Zone and a mule"
But you don't know how many dogs
you've got?n
No, but Bill knows. Bills putty
smart boy. he is. He's the only
one among US that's got any edyca-
tion-needed it, you know, among the
dogs"
How do you feed so many dogs?n
''Wall, we jest give 'em what we've
got, and ef they don't pear to be salts
fed we tell 'em to get along the best
way they ken"
What do you raise mostly.
'Fust one thing then another"
Whats your best crop?"
1--WE amt found it yet"
Corn grows well, suppose?"
Sometimes it do and sometimes it
don't. Pears to be jest as the notion
takes it"
'How much of corn crop have you
got in this year?"
Ten acres, reckon"
How many are there of you in the
family?"
only one of me; couldn't be two of
me when ! amt twins
We'll, how many are there in the
familyp"
''Countin' the dogsa"
'Oh, no; brothers and sisters"
"Wall, you'll halter ak Bill, fur l
never was good in 'rithmetic. Say,
back yonder we sorter come to un-
derstandin' that somebody had lied,
didn't wep"
Yes"
''And you left it fur me to say,
didn't you?"
II did"
wall, then, I say you lied. Good
day, sub. "-Arkansaw Traveller.
Nothing More Obvious.
Attorney (chagrined) Il confess,
your honor, this juror seems to meet
all the legal requirements. and as our
peremptory challenges are now ex-
hausted we shall be reluctantly com
PEELED to accept
Defendant leans over and whispers
something in attorneys ear