The Iuka vidette. (Iuka, Miss.) 1894-1912, 1895-02-14

will put up for few days at the old
Newton place, and you and Aunt Nancy
will have 10 run the kitchen and look
will take pot luck and run my chances
with the rest of the boys and girls.
Andy Lucas and Blew Scroggins must
go too, and by gatlins when we three
slip the brides and turn ourselveY
loose it will be Christmas oncst rnord
down in the old settlement, and Christ
mas right"
That was Sunday before Christmas,
mind you, and bright and early Mon
day mornin we packed up and lit out
for the Panther Creek country. l had
went over to see Blev and Andy Sun
day evenin, and whilst they couldn't
home Monday, they both promised if
they lived and didn't die and the Lord
spared 'em they would round up in the
old settlement by dinner time on
Christmas day. Now there aint no ifs
nor ands nor why's nor wherefores in
the case when you make arrangements
with Blev Scroggins and Andy Lucas.
1t is like dealin in spots when you
name the time and place with them
boys. If the hamestring holds and the
traces don't break and the breechin
don't fly up they'll be there.
When we drove up to the Newton
place about dinner time on Christmas
Eve Aunt Nancy was as busy as forty
thousand bees in one tar bucket. The
men folks had killed hogs that mornin
and she was at work up to her elbows
fixin the sausage meat and souce and
chitlens, and so forth and SO on. But
the dear, delightful old sould said she
lowed we would be comm down to the
settlement bein as we hadn't sent her
no invite to take Christmas with us. /
didn't do anything in particular that
evening but lay about the house and
loafer around the kitchen and eat the
scraps and trimmins whilst mother and
Aunt Nancy tended to the coolSin.
That night borrowed one of moth
er's stocl1ins-the blamdest biggest one
I could Finland hung it up in the jam
of the chimney and went to bed soon so
old Santa Claus wouldn't be slSeered to
call by in passin. After l had went to
bed aunt Nancy come into the room
and put an extry quiet on the bed, and
tucked the cover around me snug and
nice like she use to way back yonder,
when / was yearlin boy and she was
my mainest friend amongst the women
folks.
Well, to be certainly of course old
Santa Claus come that night, and what
do you reckon he brought me? One
pair of home. knit wool gloves and two
pairs of socks of the same stuff and ma
kin, one plug of fine tobacco, one new
pipe, one orange, one apple, sixteen
ginger cakes and fresh stuffed sau-
sage three feet long. Inotice one thing
in particlar about old Santa Claus-he |
has still got powerful smart and pc |
curious way of finding out mighty well |
what fellow would love to git in his |
stockin. If somebody don't tell him he
must be monstrous bright at guessin.
beat the whole shootin match up next
nornin and caught everybody on the |
place Christmas gift before they know
ID it. But it didn't take aunt Nancy
ong 70 recover and respond, and whilst
was coolsin she was tixin up |
the family eggnog.
"You see Andy Lucas and Blew Scrog-
gins had both sent down bottle of |
that everybody needs when |
they go to make eggnog, Andy said it |
was white ink" and Blew called it |
"sperits of cats-a-f ghtin," but it was
all the same to me and aunt Nancy and |
the rest of the folks Christmas mornin. |
christmas wouldn't be Christmas at |
the Newton place without little fresh
meat and eggnog." says aunt Nancy as
she mixed the sugar and eggs with the
other vegetable matter, but if it want
for you, Rufus, and them harum-scarum
side partners of yourn l reckon the
eggnog would of been nussin this load
of poles. / had plenty of eggs saved up
but marry drap of nog, and we are run
min powerful light on these little nee
essaries whilst the price of cotton stays
down to rock bottom.
Taking Christmas With the Boys.
Blew and Andy come up that day in
plenty time to take out and feed, and |
then henceforwards for three days we
slipped the brides and took Christmas
in the good old way.
Late in the evenin we got the news
that a big candy pullin would come off
that night over at the Weatherford
place, SO after supper we saddled up
and lit out. There was big crowd on
hand when we got there, but we put
our names in the pot, and it want long
then before we had worked up the all
iredest mixtry of girls and boys and
candy and music and fiddlin aud dan
Gin you ever heard tell of. don't know
how it is in the country around where
you live, but down in the Panther Creek