The Van Buren press., 1895-06-01


mebbe both IL kill each other says
she, AN then therell be two painters
less, says She
"Susan KEEP on patchin', an the paint
ers KEEP op yellin', first one an then
t'other un answerin' Of it, till they got
SO close that Susan could hear 'em
growliu'.
"'WuA says she, putin down her
patchin' an gettin' up, If them paint
ers is goin' ter hev their scrimmage in
our clearln', ! guess got right to
see It, says she.
Susan walked to the winder an
looked out. The moon was shinin'
about on the half full, an the patch O.
clearin' ON that side O the house was
purity we'll lit up. Susan could hear
the painters yellin' an growlin', but
she couldn't see 'em, count of it bein'
SO dark on the edges O. the woods.
Fore long, though, on the right-hand
side, sumpin' come stealin' out in the
moonlight, like big shadder, an not
more'n a second later another one
come stealin' out from t'other side.
They crept along, an they crept along,
till the moon was shinin' full on to 'em,
an then they both stopped, not more'n
fifteen foot apart.
"'Gloryp says Susan. Amt they
sockers? An amt they jest more than
fightin' madP says she.
"Susan said that as them painters
stood there sizin' each other up, their
hot 1p
streaks o. FIRE shot out from 'em, like
strilsin' flint. They wasn't more than
twenty yards from the house, an Su-
san could see em pant, an their long
tails a-swishin', most as plain as day.
They didn't scrooch there an glare an
snarl an spit at one another long.
Suddenly each one of 'em give q
screech that Susan said most made her
deef, an leapin' to'ards each other in
the air they buckled in, and the scrim-
mage was goin' on.
"'Moses,' says Susan, when she was
tellin' me bout it, that was the first
time l ever had anything to be sorry
fer
"Whatl' says I. Fer the painters?
"'Fer the painters!' says Susan.
Course not Sorry fer what pap was
missin'l Sorry to know that there was
setch scrimmage as that goin' on,
right on his own h'arthstuu,' says she,
an pap wasn't there to see it! He
never got over it to his dyin' dayp says
she.
"Wu]l, them painters tore an clawed
an chawed each other round that
| openin', Susan said, an yooped an
yelled an shrieked an hollered in a
way that was most cheerin' sight fer
a ten-year-old gal all alone on back
woods clearin', an Susan said she al
ways felt obleeged to them painters,
as she wouldn't IN issed it fer farm.
Sometimes they'd be standin' up like
men a-rasselin', an gnash away at
at each other, an then they'd tumble
an roll on the ground, first one on top
an then t'other on top, now an then
rollin' out o sight in the dark edges O
the woods, an then bouncin' out ag'in
into the moonlight Of the openin', an
all the time a-rippin an a-tearin' away
with teeth an claws, an yellln' with
fury an screamin' with pain.
'By an by, in one of their rollin' an
tumblin' rounds, the two painters
come divin' an pitchin' an rippin' an
tearin straight to'ard the house, an
KEEP on comm till they banged agin
the door till 1t shook an shivered.
Then Susan see that both painters was
tore up pooty bad, an was bleedin' like
stuck pigs. She didn't keer nothin'
bout the bleed, but when she see the
way their skins was gettin slit, she
most turned cold.
"'Glory!' she says. What hev' I ben
thinkin' OFF says she. Them skinsll
be spilled If this here scrimmage
goes on! Less sumpin's done pooty
quick them painter skins won't be
wuth the shuclin' of 'em off their
wuthless carcassesv says she. I've
got to take hand in thisr says she.
'Ten year old, mind yc, an two big
painters madder'n fury, an gittin'
madder every minute!
'Susan's pap's rifle hung on couple
O. pegs ag'in the wall. Susan had to
put sap bucket upside down on a
bench to stand on fore she could reach
the gun, she was SO little, but she got
it. The winders in the house wasn't
made to raise, an SO Susan had to open
the door fore she could git shot at
the painters. They had rolled an
tumbled away from the house, an was
both up on their hind feet, fifteen or
twenty yards off, locked together
an chawin' one another as Susan
stepped out. The moon lit 'em up, an
it glistened on the gun barl as Susan
run her eye over it for second or two,
an fred. When the gun cracked both
,,ainters tumbled to the ground. One
didn't get up, but t'other un did. He
sprung In the air, Susan said, as much
as ten foot, with yell that beat all
the rest o. the hollerin's she had heard
that night, an then dropped back kerr
chunk. Susan trotted out to where the
two painters laid, an give 'em few
kicks to see if they was dead, an then
lugged em into the house.
"Powder an ball was mighty
skeerce in them days Susan said, tell
in me bout it, an wouldn't used
up any o pap's on them painters IT it
hadn't ben fer keepin' 'em from spile-
in their skinsr says she.
"Susans pap didn't get home till mex
mornin', an Susan usety say that she
was powerful glad, cause If he'd
come that night he wouldn't had a
wink o sleep, thinkin' O what he
missed in not seein' the scrimmage.
"'Them was the biggest painters
ever killed in York state, said Susan,
tellin' me bout it, an when think O.
the size O. this'n we killed tonight,