The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-04-30
THE YANK AND THE RATHER.
A Story OF the Wet virsinia Mouutains,

@stSt eta @'SNCt
hcarn 1t, 20 say? In courso not; how
could ye, bcin' so consumed %ontrcqnint-
like h'ar. WAL, d~og.gono my hidn Of l
don lot 20 hsv it. incurcumspest like
an with malice tow'd none, ez thet thar
circuit Methydis. SEE when he's a col.
lcctin' O his Twin what no amt never
collected yiI But it dew kinder pear
tor me, kurnel. like 70 mought loosen
the strop o yer saddlc-bngs and lot a
teller git the stopper outon that thar
bottle o moonshinc. SOS lie kin cl'ar
up his recollection bout tho Yauk an
at the same time dew ~jcs.ice to the
snake. WAL, hairs my kin obleege,
sab. r
'T'war some'ers rom sixty.si1-jis'
arter Clawhammer hed busted up an
knowed the war war over-a quar-.
lookin' critter " orter seer that cuss,
kurnel. l sw'ar he war funuier'n my pet
coon), he kim long through our coun.
try a sellin' o books and planners. Not
precisely tibet, nuther, fur he was a
selliu' o his books OF five dollars apiece
an n promisin' ter throw in a piauner
ter every Teller what bought q book. 1t
looked purity thin, but ez the TELLER sed
ez how We could pay three dollars fur
tho book an keep the tew tell We got
the piarner, we felt he war a gentleman
o. his word, specially ez he toll US tibet
when winter broke he would go ter
maxim the planners on the crick, whar
hecould git timber handy.
Seemed like tibet thar whole country
war jis' plum starved.ous tor music,
kurnel.
The men an the women an' tho gals,
they all TUX a book an got the promise
in writin' o a patent lever. tongue an
groove pianner. The book wasn't with
much. case it hedn's nary pictur in /,
'ceptin' Dan'l in the lions den; an Of
tibet war a true pictur I'll be burned el
the varmints didn't show judgment in
not tryin' ter make 4 meal of'n the ole
a Them lions iis' showed they
bedn't no appetite, an tibet they war
willin' to compromise with Danl Of
they could save their W bacon.
Bnt, kurnel, I'm a migratin' from the
iank an the snake. an q gitsin' inter
the deep waters o scripiu, an' nary ford
in sight; an without deviatin' further
from the straight. an narrer path III
consume the thread O. my yarn by in.
terducin' ye ter my family ez abe war
when the iank war on the crick. Thar
war me an Nandalla. thet's my ole wo-
man, an Cautharides. thst's my boy,
an the Yank. what wal a boardin' with
us ct six bits a week an waahin'
,hrowed in.
Cantharides-he air a Crubbin' FUR
sang bsyant tibet thar ridge now-was
apow'iul likely boy in them days, an
while he was benin tho Yank in book.
larnin' he war a long way luther aide
o him in some pints tibet counts when
4 %ieller's illustrated. Mr.. Yank an
Cantharides bunked together-'coIe
they he'd ier,-aud so they got acouaint.
ed.like, OF Cantharide, did object ut
tus'. An one night | hesrd them Il
arguin'. 1t warn't long afore | knowed
snakes war the subjec. O their dis.
course, and ez I'm high up on snakes,
pizen and onpizen, l was interested.
Purity soon I hearn Mr. Yank sw'ar
tibet he kim from q country whar they
amt 10 snakes and whar sech O thing
ez the sting o the sarpeut and the bot.
tie O snake medicine wArn't recognized.
He riz up in bed and he lowed he
warn't afeard er no burned snake o liz.
in, and ,hct he would DO pleased to run
acrost one. Cantharides wal amazin'
quiet, and knowed thet didn't mean
no good ter the Yank, fur the more
quieter Cantharides air tho moro the
apirit O. onrighteousnesa pears to work
in him,-yaas, l have prayed bout it,
but 1t dew 'parently aoom ter me
sometimes, kuruel, tibet the Lord don't
take no count er boys. WAL, thsy
warn't M great shakes more or talk
'twixt them ,ew toll after the fire he'd
diod down, when | heord Canstiaridos,
CT OF he war jis' skeered tor death, hol.
Ter: Look out thar! They air n snake
in bed. l hearn him rattle an ! felt
him a crawIiu'l" an thar war the dog.
gondest rumpus yev ever seed. an one
yell from tho iank; an ! looked ou,er
the winder jis' in time ter see some.
thin white a hyin' through with six
feet O snake a hangin' on an a within
an a rnttlin' ter boat creation.
1t war eyydint tho iank had sloped.
an it war purity clear thet the
snake war tho movin' cause. | didn't
take no time tor put on my close. but
started arter tho Yank. an onct or
twict got on his trail. but ths neatdor
got the faster no run an the louder
the rather ratified. | iollcred him ton
milo or moro an then he got clean outen
sight an never seed him in the flesh
no more. When | got homo CantharideB
war n whoopin' an n laughin', an 1t
'peared he war responsible fur it all.
iea' or waf afecrd. He he'd tied tho
skin o n black RATHER, what hc hod
stuffed with co'n.meal. on,cr tho Yank,
an he'd thea pcrtessed ter feel tho crit
tor in bed; nm 1t took n passed. o days O
lickin' an prayin' ter bring tibet hoy ter
n rGalizin' sunso o. his misdoin'. Fur
yew know, kurnel. tibet a Ynnk an six
bits a weok, not tor speak O. planners
m piCturs, amt n comm down tins
yar crick every week: in course not.
Mex spring, bout co'n.plantin' time,
Kurnol Perkins was a goin' down tho
crIck, and ho seen, n lynn acrost a log,
tho las romans 10 n a what waa
dressed in n pair O. drawers and tho
skin O n %rnttlor; an wo know cd thot
thoy warn'tino chance tor cit our pinn-
ncrs.without n auin' O. n administrator.
Tho worst O. it VIM thot n hornory
cuHs from down in Maino or Alabamy,
or como other burned Yankee country,
kim up h'ar nm got a indictment agin
C~antharides fur murder; an thoy wont
so fur OF tow try him iur 1t. But l
sholled out, an in the 'oond al! was
vol, fur the jury brought In n verdick
to tho effect thet Cnntharidos was not
to blamc. an ,hrowod 1t all on tho
apoko ,Twiyt von mn mo. kurncl. pvo