The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-04-15
THAT PRIZE PORKER
BIZ w. BERT FOSTER.


~ declare fort, Uncle Sammy, you're
gittin' SO big't that ere chair won't hold
ye much longer" exclaimed Jed Perkins
one evening, as Uncle Sammy settled him
self in his wide, old-fashioned chair,
which he did indeed fill from arm to arm.
"Ye'l be gittin' as big as Ben Holcombs
prize shote t granther useter tell abeout,"
and Jed chuckled inordinately.
~ am gettin' pretty fieshy, amt II"
returned Uncle Sammy, good naturediy.
81 remember bout that porker o. Ben's,
an 1t was q master big un, too, till Ben's
father got ter feedin' ont.
al was livin' daown ter Searsport then,
workin' for Josh Amherst, ye know
Mandy Bush's husban'. So l never seen
that ere hog. But I've hearn granther
tell abeout 1t, time an time agin.
"Wal, 1t was q whopper, and no mis-
take" said Uncle Sammy reflectively. 81
guess you young folks'd like to hear the
story, for twas rally amusein' to every
body but Ben"
We all signified our willingness to lis
ten, we were always ready for story
from Uncle Sammy, and he commenced
"Ye see, Ben Holcomb's folks lived
down Maiden way about ten years ago;
they've all gone West now.
"Old man Holcomb was stingy, dread
full stingy. Fore Ben grew up his fathers
horses was so thin that We could almost
see through 'em In a strong light. But
when Ben got ter be eighteen or nine
teen, things begun to look different
around the old place. The horses an cat
tie begun to flesh up an look quite re-
| spectubte, I'M the OF man cd rally drive
to town without being in danger of git
TIM arrested by the prevention of cruelty
ter animal folks. -)ut John Dermott told
me John was workin' to the Holcomb's
then) that twas an etarnal fight between
Ben and his father over feedin' the stock
"Wal, about this time the folks here
about started q cattle fair, an for a few
years it took amazingly. was very much
interested in 1t myself, an SO was my
brother Ben over ter Maiden, an, Seth
Whel6en, Pete Arkwright, Squire Cor
ham, an some Others. Pretty solid men,
all OF US" and Uncle Sammy chuckled as
he thought OF his own corpuIent form.
The first year we did very we'll con-
siderin'; but the next year we did rally
lay right out for one of the finest cattle
shows In the State. We had six or seven
hundred dollars in prizes, an among 'em
was one Of ten dollars for the biggest hog
raised in the county.
"Now, Ben Holcomb had likely two
year-old that he'd raised himself, and he
give out down to the store at the Corneru
one night that he was goin' ter try fer
the prize with his big poker. Pele Mann
heard him, Pele was as mean little runt
as ! ever see; never seemed ter care how
much Ire hurt folkses' feelin's with his
tongue, an says he:
"tI don't believe ye kin do It, Ben, fer
ye'll have ter watch the critter day an
night ter keep the oil man from usin'
stomach pump on him ter save the wasted
feed!'
"Of course this raised laugh on Ben
among the crowd an madded the young
feller consider r'biy, for he was master
ashamed of his fathers niggardliness.
But he was pretty determined feller
once ye got his dander up, and he told Cal
Potter afterwards that he'd get that prize
and beat Pele Mann (Pele was goin' ter
enter likely young porker himselD If he
had ter use fifty dollars wuth o. feed. So
he set to work a-feedin' of that porker,
good solid fodder, too.
-s useter go over to see 1t myself occa-
sionally, an 1t rally was a proper big
'un. 1t grew fast, too. l don't think /
ever see critter grow 30 fast before in all
my days.
hWal, il run along till two, 'er mebbe
three months fore fair time, when Ben's
cousin, Jim Steele, come up from Sears
port and wanted Ben to run down to Bos-
ton with him ter see the folks. Ben had
any quantity Of cousins down that way.
Besides Jim had a vessel lynn in Searsport
hnrbor, an they was short-handed, so
Ben said he'd go. But before he went, he
told his father expressly ter feed that hog
WELL He left lot o. feed sep'rate that
ned bought a-purposs, an money ter buy
more. His heart was just sot on gittin'
that prize.
"John Dermott said he thought he'd
die a-laughin' when oil man Holcomb fed
the critters the fust mornin' arter Ben
went away. He cut the horses down to
less'n half o. what Ben usually give 'em,
for kalkerlatc Ben was as free handed
as his father wns close about fodderin' the
stock. All that hog got that day was
about three pints o. meal an some swill
from the kitchen. John said he could al
most see the flesh drop of IL every day,
an the poor thing kept up an etarnal
squealin'.
:" Bout a week before fair time there
come a letter up from Boston from Ben
tellin' the folks that he shouldn't get
homo time enough for the opcnin' OF the
fair, but for them ter be cure and get that
hog over there. BY that time the critter
had shrunk to little moro'n skin an bone
an was gittin' out OF the pen right along
ter forage round In the garden for suthin'
to eat.
$50 the porker was taken to the fair.
John Dermott was great hand for Joke
any time. and he made sure TO get the
critter over to Maiden where the show
was held, though oil man Hoicomb didn't
rally like to have Il 20. There was more
sport than little over that hog, and to
can Il all, Ben got back from Boston the
second day of the fair. He hurried right
over TO- Maiden without even going home