Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1892-08-11

- f~'rf NVAtA HtiNO iNNhAAANl llOhto
with moro skin of their own than they
did, to say nothing of clothes,
IL Ia q great place for wild grapes
around and about the Devils Rut. The
vines extend from tree to tree, some Of
them in continuous stretch for City
feet or more. 1t took Joe Crane no
longer than two minutes to think out q
plan for securing the wildcat and all
that it implied. lie traced out n vine
that had thrown itself through the
trees for tifteen or twenty yards from
its parent cane. He climbed the trees
In succession, cutting the vine loose
from the branch vines and tendrils
that held it, and at last had IL free, d
long, strons natural rope, fully fifty
feet in length. The two boys tested it's
strength by both putting their weight
on it at once, and hanging from It, 1t
held stanch and safe to its native tree.
Joe lowered the vine to the bottom of
the DEVILS Rut, and went down into
tho ravine, hand over hand upon it.
Ills intention was TO fasten the wild,
cats carcass to the vine and haul 1t up.
But while Sam was waiting for the
signal to pull away he heard Joe shout
ing something else.
"Hello, Sam" Joe's voice came up
from the Rut, "Drop down here with
the gunsl Tha's a hole full o moro
wildcats."
Sam couldn't drop down with the
guns, 30 he tied them to long grape
vine and lowered them to the bottom.
Then he dropped himself down Joes
grapevine and joined Joe in the Rut.
Look in yondere' said Joe, pointing
to n big hole In the rocks Sam looked.
and saw four balls of fire, all in a row.
Each pair o. them balls o. fire." said
Joe, sis two dollars fer bounty nm two
dollars fer hide. That's tootems four
is eight, and this fellar layin' over here
is tootems two is four, maxim twelve,
'cofdin' Ia Duboll. You take the two
balls on the nigh side, Sam, an I'll
take the two on the off side. When i
say three, let her bimm
1t seemed good while to Sam before
Joe said three, but when the word
came he ''let her bim," according to di-
rections. Both guns went off at once,
and the four balls of fire disappeared,
but something else came in sight. Two
wildcats bounded out of the hole IN the
rocks, over the bodies of the two Joe
and Sam had shot, and while the re-
port of the guns was still bowling
along the narrow passage in booming
echoes, and before the boys had time to
be surprised they found themselves
mixed up on the rocky bottom of the
Devils Rut with wildcats, grapevines,
guns and stones in such way that the
impress of it on their minds will be
fresh and vivid long after the impress
sions it made on their bodies have
healed up and disappeared.
Neither Joe nor Sam can recall just
how they managed to bring the end
about, but the appearance of the two
wildcats heads conveyed the impress
sion that it was accomplished princi-
paiiy by the butts of gnns. At any
rate, when the rush and whirl and yell
ing was all over the boys found them
selves sitting on the bottom of the Rut
without much clothing on to speak of,
and with scarcely spot four inches
square from their shoulders down that
didn't have the marks of wildcats
claw imprinted on it. AS they sat
there wiping blood with such bits OF
shirt and things as still hung to them
Joe was the first to break the silence.
"That hole" said he, was a leetle
fuller o. wildcat than | calllilated on.
But them last ones makes tootems four
is eight more, Sam"
Sam said he "know'd it," but made
the apt suggestion that they had better
be digging out of there and making for
home to get patched up. So they agreed
that they had done their share, and
would go home and send their paps
back after the guns and the wildcats
They hauled themselves out of the Rut
by the grapevincs and limped home
ward.
1t happened that not long after Sam
Pomeroy had abandoned operations il
the potato field and joined Joe Crane ir
the wildcat hunt, his father strollec
over to the field to see how he was get
ting along, Finding the hoe there
alone, Farmer Pomeroy hurried home
to see what had become of Sam. Not
finding Sam. but noticing that the gur
was gone, he started for the woods. Ir
the course of his accommodating he al
last came upon Sam and Joe as they were
making the best time they could home
ward, tattered and disabled.
"Jist what l ben 'spectin'r ex
claimed Farmer Pomeroy. THAT CUR
has gone and busted on you at last
Sarves you right, an I'll give yer hide
u tannin' when git ye home"
Don't know about that, pap" sale
Sam. you won't find much hide left
on me to tan, I'm thin1in'. "
Then the boys told the wildcat story
and Farmer Pomeroy helped them home
on the double quick, turned them over
to their mothers, sent for the doctor
and he and Joe's father went to th(
Devils Rut and brought in the wildcat:
and their guns. After Doc. Barnes ha(
patched Joe and Sam up, he said
"Potato planting will all be over
Sam, when you get around again"
80 s'pose," said Sam. But ther
comes the grass and the rye. Then
wildcats seen me through the plantin
all right. only wisht that me an Joe
could find another hole full o more o
'em. That'd help me over hayin' an
harvest, too. Ed Mott, in n. Y. Sun.
A Famous Carriage.
The carriage which Napoleon |. usec