The Wichita daily eagle., 1893-11-22
Ehe aha Daily 1Hornue Boumber 22 1888
amazed to answer the Old Settler, and


the latter resumed bis subject
''Tha want nuthin'," said he. ''ez
give young a9ricultur' IN the fust days
O the Sugar Swamp deestric' bigger
shove forrid than the root b. 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-h'istin' tushwobbler were twenty
seven foot long. not countin' his nose,
which were nine foot long, made o.
horn harder'n iron an built for usin'
ez scoop or a pry or q crowbar. He
were shaped e'zac'ly like . seegar, an
: his eyes an his ears was sot on his
body jist about where ye mowt say his
tail fined it. The tushwobbler's bust
ness were to dig down clean to the
out, roots an all, fer the only thing he
lived on were the roots O. trees; so if
his eyes an ears had been 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 'em up
high an dry on the critters rump, an
consekently he know'd all that were
goin' on under ground an 'bove 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' tha want no hurri-
cane ez ever gallivanted through tho
woods could do it quicker'n he could
or half ez proper. About six foot O.
the tushwobbler's hind end we're stuck
full o the cur'ousest holler things
that looked like spiles, an they was
spiles, too. They was mebbe four
inches long and had Qusrter-inch
hole runnin' clean through 'em. But
w'at'd . knocked ye the dattest were
the raisin' O. the tushwobbler's hide,
all over his back. inter sorter loops,
fist e'zac'ly like handles on yer carpet
bag. Tha must ben q hundred o
them handles on the tushwobbler's
back, an. haviu' not even q sign of q
leg, he were pooty nigh the funniest
lookin' critter that ever was He
hadn't no legs. an he hadn't 40 wings
He couldn't wxlk, he. couldn't hy nor
he couldn't creep nor crawl yet he
didn't live. in the, woods, but 6ve mile
away. il" the big rocky hollers GA top
o Squawkee bill. q thsusan' foot high.
an he went. home ev'rX day.
"Ye mowt wonder leetle about how
the tushwob bier pavigated. but nstur'
knowed her business whens she built
the tushwobbler. She knew'd that If
she stuck legs ON him or sprouted wings
on him, SOS he could travel jist Is he
wanted to, he'd eat hisseh outen house
an home the fust thing he know'd, for
he had an all-pervadin' appe tite, an
would q h'isted ev'ry tree tha were in
all that hull kentsy up by. the roots SO
durn soon that his spastur' would a-ben
gone an he'd a starved. So"natur
rigged,him up jist' ''ez ften ye. an then
she built the bibsnook. The bibsneok
were q tofsble queer specimen o.
Sugar. Swamp natral hist'ry, too. he
didn't hev no feathers nor no wings
Tina want bone in him nowhere,
'cept his two legs, which was sat square
where his tail ID ben If he'd a had
one. He had long claws. strong ez
blacksmith's wise. He he'd = bill about
two inches long, shaped jist like them
funny spiles in the tushwobbler, with
hole in it big enough to fit right over
them spifes. Tha Want nutnin' else
about the bibsneok that were funny to
look at, not till he sot down to busi-
ness A flock O. brbsnooks allus went
along with ev'ry tushwobbler.
"Tha hain't no use me tellin' ye how
the tushwobbler h'isted agricultur'
ahead in Sugar Swamp, fer yer orter
know that clearin' the timbe often a
new deestric is the work that keeps
agricultur' back; and the way the tush-
wobbler cleared it by his root h'istin'
beat ell creation. Thas clesrin's in
the Sugar Swamp deestric' that'd ben
q howlin wildernests to-day if it hadn't
ben for the tushwobbler clearin' of the
tim Der off. Course, he didn't keer fer
agricultur', but he wanted them roots
to eat. The bibsnook want rigged up
to get anything to eat fer hisself, but
natur' had fixed that Tha's more sap
in the roots o trees than tha is any
where else, and as the tushwobbler
stuffed hisself on the juicy roots he
took in gallons o sap. The sap run
along an come out O. them spiles a
his'n in streams Sap was the nat'ral
fodder o the bibsnoek an all he had to
do were to fl his holler bill over the
tushwobbiers spiles an jist let the
sap run inter him jist like film
bucket.
when it came time TO 60 home to
roost way upon OF Squawkee, ye'd q
sec an amazin' thing if ye'd = ben
ther, The flock O. bibsnooks d climb
up on the tushwobbler an ev'ry ono on
'em d hook his claws inter enc O them
carpet bag handles. Pooty soon the
bibsnooks d begin to swell, jist like
blowin' up bladders, an in less'n Eve
minutes they'd all be regular blooms
This d lift the tushwobbler often the
ground an he bibsnooks d raise up
with him clear above the trees an then
sail away with him 70 his rocky ha'nts
in the hollers of OF Squawkee. Gosht1-
mighty. shurf! If they had tnsh-
wobbler at the fair mebbe agrisultur'
kin git over it yit. Did they?"
But the sheriff got up and went home
without word, and the only remark
made was by the landlord, with his
mind still on the Mid way Plaissnce:
Thunder" said he But I wisht I'd
q ben therer'-Ed Mott. in y. Y. Sun.
Your bark is awf ully rough" said
Rover as he scratched himself against
the oak-tree. Il don't think you need
talk" replied the oak. III my bark Was
as rough as yours. I'd never make re
fz1