The Louisiana Democrat., 1891-04-15
NATHAN'S BEAR HUNT.
uow Flo and His Wife Went After
the Turnip Eater.
The Cunning Old Man Relates His Expe'
dence as "a Solemn Warning to Long
Jake, and Then Goes After
the Bear Himself.

I. was early in the morning, and, as
,suol old man Nathan was hard at
work in his garden. He had finished
wedding his lettuce, and was just in
thc act of doing little chopping to
,n;ous when Long Jake stepped over
the garden fence and stood in front Of
him.
'Mornin', old man"
'Howdy, Jake"
."old man," said Jake, thrusting his
hands down deep in his pockets and
dropping down on the bean arbor, "be-
in, as have been workin' so steady of
late | Knocked off for to-day-thought
I'd like little rest, you know; every
fellow docs mostly. S'pose you take a
holiday too, an we'll go for a hunt.
simu;ns says bar tracks was seen
down by the Pint. P'raps we might
tumble crost bar"
"Mebby SO, Jake" replied Nathan,
as he took the quid of tobacco from his
mouth stuck it on his hoe-handle and
seatedh imsclf on head of cabbage
'mebby so; but more an likely the
bard tumble ross us. Look here, man,
did you ever kill b'ar?"
"No, sir.
"Did you ever see one?'
mo, 'cept in circuses," answered
Jake, slowly.
"Then you better not tackle bars.
You don't know nothin' bout 'em.
There's as much difference tween a
show bar an one in the woods as there
is tween me an mule. Them in cir
cuses is made to order, has to be drawed
up, you know, to fit the cage. If they
won't, why no tent in the country
could hold two of 'em. Great day in
the mornin' man, if you want to see
what outlandish thing bar is, you
mus see him in the woods; then he's in
his element, an sure's my names Ma
than you'd think he was an elephant.
LET me tell you something bout
these creeters, and when get through
ifyou are still struck on huntin' bar
I'll not say word agin it. When we
was livin' in Mississippi l gardened for a
livin', just as / do now, an there want
aman roun' who made as fine turnups
asI did. remember that in pertic'lar.
he'd one bed bout eighty foot squar',
chuck full of milky-white turnups
pretty nigh as big as your head. Well,
that bed was the pride of my heart.
They was sight! AT first one was
'nough to last us all day, an after while
We just took half of one an sent other
half to Miss Jones, our neighbor, who
was an old maid an not very good at
raisin' things.
well, one day Cinda came in putin
an blowin' like some old steam engine.
She drap down in chair, an rollin'
her eyes bout like somethin' was
mighty wrong. She said: Lord, Ma
than, every last turnup's gone. There
anita leaf left of none of 'em. I'm
tired OF that kind of business. Last
week that old po' calf of Miss Hannons
broke off picket an stole turnup
10 | could catch him. Bet 'taint moth
IN but him. Git your gun, Nathan, an
I'll take the broom. Well just 60 down
to that old brier patch, where that
BEAST stays, an fix him SO he won't
poster our crops no morep
u was mad as a wildcat. So, while
linda was putin on her sun-bonnet an
lookln' for the broom, I loaded up my
gun. When both of us was ready we
started down the road that led to that
orler-patch, an if you had seen US you'd
athought we was out for a weeks
camp in woods filled with wolves, TO,
mats just what we looked like. 1t was
fisnt smart OF walk, so long fore we
got there Cinda got SO tired that she
mad TO take her sun-bonnet off.
We was bout an hour gettin' there
On when we did we didn't see nothin
out ourselves. l looked at Cinda an
oeSan to cuss. was SO mad cause
siere want nothin' for me to shoot
oinda looked at me and said: 'Yo,
needn't be Uneasy; he's in thar; he ha
% stay out of sight to keep folks from
iaashin' at him. He ant only po', bu
Mar ant much hair left on him, SO he
sorter shamed, you know. There's ;
piaee to go in that thicket somewhere
ma thirst, then you'll be all right. Hav
your gun ready We went roun' an,
RUN that place, but blessed if we foun
where the door was. We was rathe
tusa ut first, but now we was tired al
oyer again. Cinda says: Never mind
oa man; I'll fix him. You git on tha
s,ae and I'll stay here, and when ca
Ath out You shoot-I can give him
shack with the broom afterward.' "A
right, says l, go ahead
0nda begun, and said 'Suke, Suke
sei was sick of hearin' it an she sic
VI sayln' it. Then she walked up clos
" the oriers, took hold of q vine ths
"as rannin' through it, an commence
p Paihh an shakin' for all she was wortl
Im nese was an awful crackin', an twie
Thought heard u Gurus noise. D'recl
=, oinaa said: I see him, the ugly, hat
.ui thlng He don't look like the sam
~ oia brown calf; them turnups is b
s.liin to him, sure. He's got life
,a n' too, standin' up there on his hir
ess an grinnyn' at me like was funr
'ooAln. I'll show him how to grin.
with that she gived him NIGH
uaia punch with the broom, hollere
,., o.u nave mussy, look out, Nathal
- sook to hcr heels, leavin' the broo
~ her sunbonnat In the r 'ey pate