The Opelousas courier., 1895-12-28
Some Heroic Boys.

Some Heroic Boys.
In my CROWN up and bruisin round |
have seen many and many a cotton
headed, gander-legged, hatchet-faccted
y~earlin boy that was every inch a hero.
l hold to the doctrine that a boy
which will git up with the sun on a raw
frosty mornin, when the weather is cold
enough to freeze the tail off of a brass
monkey, and chop the wood and fetch
in the water, and tote out the Stops and
feed the stock, and drive up the cows
and rope off the calves, and never ON
plain or get out of sorts-that boy is a
hero.
And 1 likewise also think that a boy
which can pull the bell cord over a
blamed old lazy mule, on a long, hot
ummer day in a new ground full of
stumps, and still use nothin but Bible
la~nguage-by gatlins l know that boy is
a hero.
Oncst upon a time l saw a boy hero
in school, and l remember the general
circumference of the surroundins as
bright and clear as if it was yesterday.
1t was whilst Miss Susy Tolliver was
teachin OF the school over at the Cross
Roads. One mornin a youngster, with
red hair and a freckly face, come in
from somewheres back in the hill ouE
try. He give in his name Johnny Led
better and said he was nine years old
past, ten next grass. There was more
pure, honest devilment in that boys
face than 1 have ever saw done up into
one little package. We boys called hin
"Spech" for short and OWN to the sun
dry different shades and colors of his
countenance.
Well, Speck he had plenty Of sense,
but 1t didn't run very much to books.
Miss Susy didn't give out any lessons to
him on the firstoday. She slipped the
bride, as it were, and let him have the
run of the grounds till ho could wear the
new OF. But the next mornin she made
him trot out his blue back speller and
come down to his knittin reglar. He
when he went forth to say his first les
son every eye in school was turned on
Speck. But he stood the fire like a man,
and never fickered nor houndered, nor
flinched. He come through smooth and
sasy on the first letter, but struck a
enag on the second.
I"What makes the honey that you
eat?" says Miss Susy.
3D." says speck, quick as hshtnin.
That's right" says Miss Susy.
"What do you do with your eyes??"
says Miss susy when speck struck the
nextsnag.
&C." says speck, with a loud voice and
a proud smile.
Correct, my little man. You'll be a
scholar by-and-by," says Miss Susy.
Well, they went on at that lick till
finally at last they got down to G, aud
Speck he backed into another snag.
when your father starts to pillow,
and wants his horse to go to the right,
what does he say?" ask Miss Susy.
HE don't plow no horse" says Speck,
.'he plows a steer.
Well, when he wants the steer to 60
to the right what does he say?" says
Miss Susy.
And then Speck he stepped back and
s%praddled his legs and drawed his face
up till it looked like a pine knot on
fire, and sung out at the top of his voice:
'G-e-e there! you dadburned old
wabbledy-lcgged, slab-sided, razor-back
son-of-a-gun."
Man sir, the school then broke loose
with the most terriblest conflsement
you ever read about, and I thought in
my soul Miss Susy would faint and fall
over in it. But Speck had answered the
question and went through with all the
motions besides, and you couldn't blame
him for that. 1t took nerve to do it,
but Speck was a hero, and in the run of
time he turned cut to be the brightest
scholar in that school.
A Hard Sum to Work.
Oncst upon a time q stranger driv up
to the Buckalew place to spend the
night. In them days they use to keep
a stage stand and run a public eatin
house at the Buckalew place. When
the stranger driv up that day the old
man sent Nick Buckalew, which he was
the onlyest boy on the place, out to the
gate to take the horse and tend to him.
And when Nick showed up the stranger,
which It seems like he had nibbled at
his bottle till he was about six bits in
the dollar, went on to say:
young man, extricate that quad
ripped from the vehicle, stabulate him,
donate to him an adequate supply OF
ailments, and when the au-
rora of mornin shall oncst more en-
tighten the eastern horizon I will award
thee a ~pecuniary compensation for thine
amiable hospitality"
Well, Nick he run back into the
house and told the old man that there
was a Dutchman out there that wanted
to see him. The old man and Nick and
amongst 'em got the stranger to put it
down in writin, and after he left every
body in the settlement put in and tried
to fgger out what he was drivin at when
he made that speech to Nick Buckalew.
The old man is dead and gone now, but
Nick is still Twin and wonderin what
that stranger meant, and whether he
was druYk OF crazy.
A aBrass Collar Democrat"