The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-11-30

they must a had a tushwobbler. An
if they had a tushwobbler, course they
must had flock o bibsnooks They
couldn't had one without t'other, for
/ the tushwobbler can't git along with
out the bibs nooks no more'n the bib
snooks kin git along without the tush-
wobbler / hope We seen jist one root
histin' tushwobbler, anyhow, shurtf
with its flock o. bibsnooks, at the fair.
If We did, agricultur' may git over it
yit. Did yep
The sheriff seemed to be too much
amazed to answer the Old Settler, and
the latter resumed bis subject.
"Tha want nuthin'," said he, ''ex
give young agricultur' IN the fust days
o. the Sugar Swamp deestric bigger
shove forrid than the root-h'istin tush-
wobbler But he were an uncommon
curious critter, an showed how natur'
usety lay herself out, b'gosh, to make
things handy fer Sugar Swamp The
root-histin' tushwobblcr were twenty
seven foot long, not countin' his nose,
which were nine foot long, made o.
horn hardern iron an built for usin'
cz n scoop or pry or crowbar. lie
were shaped c'zac'ly like seegar, an
his eyes an his ears was sot on his
body jist about where We mowt say his
tail fined it. The tushwobbler's BUSH
ness were to dig down clean to the
lowest roots o. trees an hist the trees
out, roots an all. fer tho only thing he
lived on were the roots o trees; so II
his eyes an ears had bccn in his head
they wouldn't ben no use To- him,
cause they'd been stuffed full o dirt
all the time. So natur' fitted en- up
high an dry on the critters rump, an
consel1ently he know'd all that were
goin' on under ground an Dove ground,
though he mowt be twenty foot down
in the airth, diggin' an pryin' an
scoopin' the roots loose SOS he could
hist 'em out--an' tina want no hurri-
cane ez ever gallivanted through the
woods could do it quicker'n he could
or half CT proper About six foot o
the tushwobbler's hind end were stuck
full O. the cur'ousest boiler things
that looked like spiles, an they was
spiles, too. They was mebbe four
inches long and had n quarterback
hole runnin' clean through en- But
watd knocked yc the --LATEST were
the raisin' o. the tushwobblcrs hide,
all over his back, inter sorter loops,
jist e'zac'ly like handles on yer carpet
bag. Tha must a ben hundred o
them handles on the tushwobbler S
back, an, havin' not even sign of a
leg, he were pooty nigh the funniest
lool1in' critter that ever was. lie
hadn't no legs, an he hadn't 40 wings.
lie couldn't walk, he couldn't fly nor
he couldn't creep nor crawl, yet he
didn't live in the woods, but five mile
away, in the big rocky hollers on top
o Squawkcc hill, q thousan' foot high,
an he went home cv'ry day.
"Yc mowt wonder a lcetle about how
the tushwob bier nav;gated, but natur'
knowed her business when she built
the tushwobbler. She know'd that if
she stuck legs on him or sprouted wing
on him, SOS he could travel jist as he
wanted to, he'd cat hisself outen house
an home the fust thing he know'd, for
he had an all-pcrvadin' appe tite, an
would h'isted ev'ry tree tina were in
all that hull kentry up by the roots SC
durn soon that his pastur' would n-ben
gone an he'd q starved. So natur'
rugged him up jst cz tell ye, an then
she built the bibsncol. The bibsnools
were q torable queer specimen o
Sugar Swamp nat'ral hist'ry, too. lie
looked sumpin' like an owl, only he
didn't hev no feathers nor no wings
Tha want bone in him nowhere,
'ccpt his two legs, which was SGT square
where his tail ID ben if he'd had
one. He had long claws, strong ez q
blaclsmiths wise. lie he'd bill about
two inches long, shaped jist like them
funny spilcs in tho tushwobblcr, with a
hole in it big enough to fit right over
them spiles. Tha want nuthin' else
about the bibsnooll that were funny to
look at, not till no sot down to bust.
ness flock o. bibsnoolSs allus went
along with ev'ry tushwobblcr.
"Tha hain't no use me tellin' We how
the tushwobbler h'isted agricultur
know that clearin' the timber often {
new deestric is the work that keep.
agricultur' back; and the way the tush
wobbler cleared it by his root h'istin
beat all creation. Tha's clearin's il
the Sugar Swamp dcestric' that'd Der
howlin' wildernests to-day il it hadn''
ben for the tushwobbler clearin' of the
timber off. Course, he didn't keer fei
agricultur, but he wanted them root.
? to cat. The bibsnook want rugged W
, to get anything to cat fer hisself, bu
, natur' had fixed that Tha's more sal
, in the roots O. trees than tina is any
where else. and as the tushwobblel
. stuffed hissclf On the juicy roots hC
, took in gallons O sap. The sap rur
along an come out O. them spiles o
his'n in streams. Sap was the nat'ra
, fodder o the bibsnook an all he had t.
do were to ii his hollcr bill over tn,
| tushwobbler's spiles an jist let tn,
sap run inter him Tst like film ;
bucket
, when it came time to go home t,
: roost way upon oil Squawkee, ycd
/! see an amazin' thing II ye'd bel
r there. The flock o bibsnoolSs d climI
/. up on the tushwobbler an ev'ry one OIL
;. 'em d hook his claws inter one o thea
4 carpet bag handles. Poorly soon tn