The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-05-21

have you got to say bout your axe?'
This was addressed to small we'll
set man, five feet five inches high, with
coal-black hair and sparkling eye.
"Fellers," began Mike,-(Mike is still
alive, bless him, close upon eighty years
of age now, and as solid and as honest
as ''the American Eagle Oh silver ba-
sis.'O
"Fellers, desc here axes you've bin
talkin bout may very we'll suit you
men up here in de oak-woods; but jes
go down in de piney-woods, and make
lick at well-season'd pine knot, and
de aidge of your axe will crumple up
like as eff it was made out'n pe-uter.
Gentlemen, eff you wants a axe wat kin
chop off de horns Of Ge d"
"Whist! Mike none of your perfani-
ty."
"Wel," resumed Mike, anyhow do
you jess git old Adam Bush to make
you axe and temper it hisself, ef you
wants perfection agin Satan"
"Wel!, we'll, Mike, cried all the by
ISLANDERS in. bantering way, "let's see
you try your tool upon this here log
what the Capting has ordered us to
split into splinters to git it out O. the
way, cause it has been lynn here a
trespassin' on the rights O. the road for
the last five year. Now let in, and
let's see."
Mike advanced, and, after bidding
the company scatter and give him
elbow-roon, lie aimed swinging blow
at the offensive log and his axe flew off
the helve,-thus causing great out
burst of laughter among his compan-
ions.
"Why, that won't do to make the
Devil flee from you," exclaimed Sam.
"'Tain't the fault of Adam Bush,"
cried Mike. "It's mine, owin' to the
bunglin' way put the helve in."
! "Listen to rne, men," began sEar-
thy giant who had been resting little
while from bis labor; it's not so much
in the axe, arter all, but in the arm
what swings it. Locke here" Say
ing which he exposed an arm almost
as hairy as Esau's, and muscles moving
under his skin like piston-rods. Here
the overseer Of the road, who had been
listening to the conversation, took part
in it. He was a man Of wide observa-
ton and sound thinking.
"Boys," said he, "you haven't got
to the bottom of the thing yet. God
may give man stronger arm than
Jake here has got, and Settler may
make for him his very best axe, but if
he hasn't got the will to work, why,
it's just putting good gifts into the
hands of good-for-nothiDgness. The
Devil take lazy man, say T."
"But, Capting," enquired one, 'did
you ever yit discover a lazy man in
de Detch Fork?"
"Not yet," replied the Captain; "but
Pm afraid the. time is coming. There
is too much waiskey flowing and there
is too much 80"
-Lo! here comes the procession Of
trays on the heads of several negroes
bringing the breakfast. The axes are
left sticking in the trees into which
they had been chopped at the moment
when the procession appeared. A loud
halo greets the morning meal; and
gathering around the yet glowing
lightwood stumps they spend one jolly
hour in doing justice to the generous
repast; and leaving PROSTATE on its
side with stopper lost and nothing
oozing from its mouth the jug that
whilom contained the tansy bitters,
they rush back to their work with
reader wills and stronger arms. Now
they are all present, and they organize
themselves for systematic labor. In
groups of four skilled axe-men they
surround the largest oaks, and then
commence those sounds so splendidly
expressed by Pope in the celebrated
lines:
Loud sounds the axe, redoubliog strokes on
On all sides round the forest hurls her oaks
Headlone. Deep echoing groan the thickets
Then, rustling, cracking, crashing thunder
! down.
Often have listened to such glorious
sounds; and early in life fostered an
admiration for the above lines. See
how four sturdy men surround an oak,
a yard in diameter, two feet above the
ground, and after examining as to
where the preponderance Of limbs will
probably incline it to fall they direct
their strokes upon it,-one, two, three,
four;-one, two, three, four, in mod
erato time, until they see the mighty
monarch totter,
Then rustling, cracking, crashing, thunder
4; down.
The length of ten feet of the fallen oak
is cut off to be split into rails at the
proprietor's leisure. Perhaps second,
and often third cut of ten feet is left
| for that purpose, while the other parts
are rolled into heaps to be burned with
the brush-heaps.
In the early hours of the day, after
setting the household in orderf for their
days absence, the cheerful danes,
mounted upon the trusty family horse
with their Ma7ak'e bags dangling from
the long horn of the side saddle, and
I followed by their laughing daughters
riding the gayer animals of the farm,
are rapidly approaching the proprietor's
house. Some few are coming along the
road that skirts the clearing, and per-
haps one may be heard accosting her