The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1893-10-20

4
His name was Tugg-Coriander Tugg.
Now somehow or other he got the name
O. bein' man ez couldn't tell the truth,
! but IL want so at all Tha never were
truthfuller man ever lived in Sugar
Swamp an don't 'cept myself
nuther-than Coriander Tugg were.
But folks wouldn't blieve anything
he said, an things got so bime-
by that Coriauder begun to git
worked up over 1t, an said that II
folks didn't look out he show 'em one
o these days wuther he didn't tell the
truth or not. usety argy with folks
and tell 'em they was wrong, cause l
| know'd Coriander want the all-per-
vadin liar they said he were, an they
actu'ly got to sayin' that the fust thing
they know'd they'd be spectin' me O
| stretchin' things! The folks that had
| fust set everybody ag'in Coriander was
| Jepthy Hibbly an his OIL aunt Mandy.
| They was in the storekeepin' business
an so were Coriander, an Jepthy had
crowd up with the reputation o. bein'
u man ez couldn't tell lie. He said he
was setch, an folks somehow had got
in the habit o. bl.evin' him, an so
when Coriander Tugg started in the
| storekeepin' business in Sugar Swamp
Jepthy give it out that Coriander
couldn't tell the truth, an folks had to
b'lieve what Jepthy said. So things
went kind o tough with Coriander, an
one day he come TO me an says:
"'Sile,' says he, I'm gointer turn this
here deestric' topsy-turvy,' says he.
&C 'Coriander,' says /, how?
'Sile,' says he, 4 kin out-bewitct
the witchin'est witch es ever lived
says he.
" 'Coriandcr, says I, I never know'6
ye could says l, but if We say so
know tha huin't no doubt ye kin
'Sile,' says he, we kin bate yer
boots fer ten ginerations that kin
says he An wat do ye s'pose Tn
gointer do?' says he.
'Coriander,' says I, 4 dunno
'Silc,' says he, you know, and sc
do l, that Jepthy Hibbly is the bigges,
liar on the face o. the earth, an so i.
his Aunt Mandy says he.
- Coriander,' says l, If tha's any
thing do know, it's that says l.
'Sile, says Coriander, I'm gointei
bewitch Jepthy's store things SOS he'll
show all his customers what durn
lyin' feller citizen he is, an yit he'll be
a-tellin' them the truth all the timer
says he. 'Ye couldn't do much wuss to
a chap than that, could YEP says he.
'Coriander,' says !, 'bgosh ye
couldn't
80 Coriander he tells me to go over
to Jepthy's store mex day an hang
around I did, an ev'rything looked
jist ez it allus did, till in comes OF Sis
ter Duntubbs, a p'tic'lar friend
.Icpthy's an Aunt Mandy's. She or.
dered pound o pork an yard o. cal.
iker. Jepthy weighed out the pork,
an ez he done it up l see that Sister
Duntubbs looked kind o starey at Jep-
thy. Then he measured off the caliker,
and Sister Duntubbs says:
Brother Hibbly, says she, 4 said
pound o pork an a yard o caliker.'
" Yes, Sister Duntubbs, says Jepthy,
that's wat l heerd ye.'
But ye only give me half a pound
o pork an half a yard o caliker, says
she.
oh, no" says Jepthy.
oh, yes" says Sister Duntubbs.
Then Jepthy weighed the pork over
ag'in. 1t weighed a pound. He meas
ured the caliker II measured yard
There" says he. That's right, sis.
ter! A pound O. pork an yard O. cali.
kerr
It's no setch thingr says Sister
Duntubbs, mad. It's only half pound
an half yardr
And then Aunt Mandy come an
jined the chorus, an pooty soon there
were the liveliest kind Of quarrel 60
IN on, an Sister Duntubbs hustled out
O. the store, yellin' that she'd never
come in setch cheaty place ag'in.
Coriander's witchin' were worlsin' fine.
The pork were a pound an the caliker
were a yard, but the store were be-
witched to Sister Duntubbs, and she
could only see half u pound and half a
yard. An so 1t KEEP ON goin. Folks
came in an ordered things, an Jepthy
weighed an counted an measured em,
but they never came out right an
ev'rybody bimeby got IL into their
heads that Jepthy were an OF cheat an
a liar arter all. So they quit his store,
an had to do the mex thing, which
were trade at Coriander's store, an
when they found that he could tell the
truth about ez we'll ez anybody, they
KEEP on tradin' there. Sure enough,
Coriander had turned the deestric'
topsy-turvy!
We'll, Sir, the conscience were that
Jepthy an Aunt Mandy had to pull up
an leave the deestric'. an they'm rec
omembered there now ez the most
onblushin' liars ez ever lived, an il
were tellin the snuggest kind O.
gospel truth sumpin' they hadn't done
afore-that give 'em the reputation.
An so, Peleg. l were allus glad fit
ag'in folks buildin' me up reputation
for bein' one ez couldn't tell a lie,
though they know tol'able well that |
fight shy o doin' of IL. An I'm glad
that thar hain't nothin' in that story
bout the little hatshet an the cherry
tree, cause now kin look folks in the
face when thew Sav m mo that mo ON