Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-09
LITTLE T0MMIE PANTS.
His Writ Up of the School Pfek-Knick--The
sweetscentednest Pick-Knick Pa
Ever Went To.
TExARKANA, TEX, Nov. 6, 1891.

80, cause he's all bunged-up-like and ain1
fbeen outen the house since we took him
some to Miss kneenoggle7s bakery, and its
mitey few donuts I've seen since then, 'cep
tin through the window.
You see Prof. Numbskull, our boss
teacher, has been a promiSin' US pick
knick when the weather got cool enuff, and
the other eyenin' he said he'd call around
to our house to sorter talk it over with Pa
he benz one of the trustees, and you orter
seen all my ants prinkin' up and curtin
their bangs that day, cause all ten of ZEN
is settin' their caps for the Professor, and
every one of EN- thinks as how he's dead
gone on her, and they liked 10 had fte
about which one should go in the pariur
first; Pa, he had to settle the fuss by hayin
'em al stand out ten abreast IN front of the
gate to welcomb him to our house, and he
bein' Sorter near-Slted and SEEM the crowd
he thought somethin' was dead, and asked
'em when the percussion was goin' to start
Well. Pa and the Professor they talked it
all over and agreed that the next Friday
would be a nice day if it didn't rain, and Pa
he went on to say as how he would go along
and take his old gun cause the hickorynuts
bein' ripe now the wild turkeys would be
mighty fat and nice, and he might get a
shot at one, and | was to go along, too, to
help carry home the game and all the nuts
we was to gather in the woods, and all the
W
everybody was to bring lots o. grub, and
we all got quite excited like over it.
1t was agreed that we should go in
wagons, and start early Friday mornin',
and Pa was to hire all the wagons, and he
bein' an old residenter, he said we'd go to
Pulltight's pasture, about two miles from
town, cause there was a pretty grove there
and medder, and nice spring only about
a mile from there; and he said that he heard
as how there was lots o. game out there.
Me and my chum couldn't wait till Friday,
$50 Thursday afternoon we took my cote and
my dog Tuffy and six of Bulbs mas dOnutS
that he sneaked out, and we went out to
look at the place, and found it ever so nice,
Just like Pa said. Bub, he said the best
thingawe could do was to leave my old cote
-ode there till the next day, so we could have
some fun outen him, SO we tied him to a
swingin' line near the edge of the medder
and ct our donuts, and went home to wait
till Friday mornin' the best we could.
My pa, he was cleanin' up that old gun Of
his all day Thursday, and talkin' about
turkeys and the way he used to kill 'em,
and all my ants was tixin' things and bakin'
pie an cakes and everything for the pick
nick, and pa, he went over to the liver
stable and hired five big wagons for dol
lar day apiece, and when We got up the
next mornin', there they was, standin' in
string in front of our house, and petty soon
here come all the boys and girls W 18th their
pales and baskitS full o. grub, and the Pro
fessor Numbskull, he was on hand, like a
wart, and escortin' the two femail gender
lady teacheresses, Miss Penelope Measles
and Miss Dimmity Dusenberry, all logged
out N their best, and everybody was so
happy and excited like thai half of 'em got
in the wagons before we found out that Pa
had done forgot to order any bosses. Poor
Pa, he was thnkin' so much about the tur-
keys that he forgot all about bosses for the
wagons, and so we had to wait till me and
my chum went to the stable and had 'em
charged to the school deestrict aud sent
over
1t was nltey pretty mornin' and nature
had on her best toys, and when we got
ready the boys was all hollorin' "Hooray
for Pantsr' and "Hooray for Professor!''
ana the girls was all singin' Hold the Shore
and Pull for the Fort, and we all started
'ceptin' one boss that had the hawks in his
fore legs, but we bilt fire under him and
he went off like a antiioap.
Professor Numbskull he said he knowed
we'd got all the nuts we wanted and told
the boys meboy they could ketch some
WEIGH rabbits, cause he heard they was
good to eat in the cool, and Pa, he said as
how when he was young man he used
often to kill as many as fifteen turkeys at
one shot with that gun o. his, and the
y
hoped there would be no snaix out there,
and away we went so innocent-like and
happy that it would have maid the pref
tyeSt kind of 4 procession for political
funeral.
1t was mighty nice when we got there and
they all scattered out huntin' nuts 'ceptln'
me and my chum, cause they set us to
totin' water from the spring mile away,
but Bub said as how he thought we was
gettin' even with 'em cause he allowed
they wouldn't hurt themselves eatin' all the
hickory nuts they found under them little
black jacks that made up most of the grove.
Pa, he took his gun and went after the tur
keys, and the Professor, he said he would
find a wild grape tree or a persimmon's
vine, and when they got tired gatherin'
he could show 'em where the
grapes and other things was. Some o. the
big girls, and all my ants and Miss
Measles and Miss Dusenberry, they all I'M
loaded the baskets and pales, and put 'em
the ground near pretty little hill with
nice little gravel sprinkled all around 1t,
and spread Il snow-white table cover and
begun maxim ready for the nice dinner
they was goin' to spread, and me and Bub
spring, and everybody was havin' bully
time.
After awhile the professor he came
back and said he had found
loads O. wild grapes that he'd get for
Us after dinner, and not SEEM any nuts
in sight he said he reckoned they
wasn't ripe yet, and everybody was con-
and happy as could be. Pretty
soon we heard Pas old gun 90 off with a
CRATE bang, and the girls all screamed out
loud and said they hoped he hit the turkey,
and then they commenced for to set the
table and it looked bully. There was do
nuts and pickles and three kinds o. pie Zap
pie pie mince pie and cheese) and donuts
and sandwiches and oranges and donuts
and more things than you could think of. l
bet Miss Paralee Kueenoggle sent more
than forty of her donuts, and they're joe
iarters, you bet Then we heard somebody
list singin' and whoopin' through the
woods and directly we saw Pa comm, and
when he got close enough they all set up
big cheer and half of 'em ran to meet Pa
md help him bring in the game, and Miss
Measles and Miss Dusenberry, they took
he turkey away from Pa and each of 'em
caught hold of one foot apeace and brought
t up to where the dinner was waitin', and
lropped it on the ground. >
Pa. he looked so proud and happy and
said it maid him think of when he was
young, how he used to slay 'em right and
eft every day, some days, and professor
lie says, says he: "My young friends this is
IN emblem OF America, the land OF our
birth" "Ah, rats" saws one of the boys,
,utthe professor is nice kind man and he
lever said nothin' back, but went on sayin':
What a proud and beautiful bird is the
turkey; look upon his shining plumage and
Offering eye, and" Say, professor"
avs my chum, sorter grinnin', ''that amt
he kind o. turkey You're talkin' about that's
turkey buzzard" The professor sat
Iown in a bucket of water standin' behind |
i'm and never said 'sturkeyn ooh the