The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-03
a WOMAN OF NERVE.
she Had Hnbit of shooting First
and Then Painting.
From The Warrington Star.

From the Washington Star
During the past summer a Star reporter
found It necessary, in one of his trips
through the West Virginia mountains to
take wagon from the small town at the
railroad station. In order to reach a coun-
ty scat he was seeking. The driver OF
that wagon was a character Lark and
lean and wiry. he was the color OF SAT-
from, and there was varying express,o
in his black eyes which indicated that he
could be fully as bad as he could be good,
with ample capacity to be either, accord
ing TO circumstances. He was tallSy and
interesting and before FIVE miles had been
traversed he became confidential. In the
meantime his passenger had become IA
miliar and was calling him by his first
name.
by the way Sam" he inquired, 'how
did you lose that foreinger?"
The driver looked down at the place
where only half a finger remained and
shot Off" he said, sententiously.
In a mountain fight?"
kinder sorter that away"
it?''
Thar wuzn't no other feller.9 he grin
. no? DID you do it yOurself?"
He stopped, but he showed such an in
chnaton to go on with the explanation
lndl lne OLdF man asked MN Tor IL.
We'll, yer see il wuz this away: Bout
twenty ye'rs ago. that Is. when l wuz %,
] reckon / was the orneriest cuss In these
parts. wuz drunk most Nv the time, and
when | Wuzn't, / Wuz huntin' round fur
liquor to git drunk on. Fightin', too,
and raisin' cain generlly; disturbin' pub
lie worship on Sundays when there wuz
any, and Dustin up the school in the
church house on week days. Nobody
couldn't do nuthin' with me, an i got
ter thinkin' ! owned the whole neck NV
woods.
81 reckon it must have been goin' on
fer five er six ye'rs that away, an 1 wuz
gittin' wuss, when one winter a little sin
NV a red-headed gal come to town TO
teach school. Some said she come from
Pennsylvany, an some said she come frum
old Virginny, but that didn't make no diff
ference to me. and when she'd been thar
about two weeks, 1t come round time fer
me to go on a spree an ] went, an the
fust place l struck fer wuz the school
house.
II knowed the little gal wuz powerful
sassy, an she knowed | wuz powerful or
merry. but | wuz jist drunk enough 10 fer
git all the sense l ever did have, includin'
Nv a knowledge that the little school
marin wuz mighty handy with a pop-gun
sort Nv rifle she useter to tote to school
with her and bang away at squirrels up
in the woods arter school.
when a man gifts fool drunk thar ain
and laughed a little well, / struck the
school house long in the afternoon. list
as the children was goin' home, an when
they seed me, they fairly went whoopin'
leaVin' the schoolmarm all by herself /
wuzn't loodn' fer that egzactly but /
thought I'd tackle her anyhow, an in 1
boted an commenced yelling like an In
jim an tryin' to pen her up in a corner,
jist to skeer her, yer understand
Eyes, / understand" and the passenger
felt like knocking the driver out into the
road.
but, ! reckon. didn't; that is not very
much" he went on, fer afora / kuOWed
what was comm she grabbed that dern
little pop-gun Nv hern and had it p'inted
straight at me. She didn't look Sc purity