The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-11
A WEASEL ROUNDUP.
How n BackwOOdsman Was Attack
ed by the Little Beasts.


Isaac Bryans experience with "A swarm
of weasels is one of the queerest back
woods stories that has turned up in the
Pennsylvania woods for many a day. Wea-
sells. ordinarily, are impertinent and bold
little creatures, but the animals do not Of
ten get together in numbers sufficient to
warrant their attacking a man, as was the
case this time. That Ike Bryan tells the
truth was substantiated by the appear
ance of his hands and face Immediately af-
ter the encounter occurred the details of
which are as interesting as they are
strange. Ike is one of a number who in
summer turn out on the mountains on the
Scootac region of Clinton county herds of
cattle that find rich browsing off the wild
grass and tender shoots. Several times a
season the owners of the cattle go to the
mountains with salt for the animals and
aside from this they pay little attention
to them until the autumn roundup"
when the CRITTERS" are taken In. Ike
Bryans experience with the weasels oc-
CURED about a year ago. In the fall of
found that one of his finest critters-a big,
black steer was missing. He hunted for
the steer several days without success.
Then he decided to walt until the first
snow, when he expected to be able to track
the critter. The first snow came about
Christmas, and 1t was a heavy one-so
in and out among the mountains were inn
passable with any sort of conveyance.
steer on foot, and ii was on this trip that
he ran against the weasels. The story is
probably best told in Ikes own words
''Ye see, I'd tramped nigh onto fifteen
miles a lookin' fer that durn black steer,
without as much as seem hair o. the
critter The snow wus most knee deep,
an gittin' long in il wus mighty hard
work. Then to make things all the wus,
l got lost-yes, sir eff ! do hev to say it,
KEEP goin an a goin' till 1 cum plum onto
a mans tracks in the snow. / seed as
how they wus fresh an l made up my
min tibet some other poor cuss like me
wus out lookin' fer some lost critter
hollered till my throat got hoarse. think
in tibet the other feller'd hear me- but
only the SCUM O. my own voice goin'
over gin the next mountain came back
to my ears. WAL, l wurried long, keep
| in the same track as the other Teller, fer
the snow wus so deep tibet / wuS mighty
| glad to keep in the path tibet the Teller
ahead o me he'd made. 'Twar well long
after dinner an l wus gfttin' mighty
calkerlated in gettin' back to the house
bout 4 o'clock in the afternoon. The ole
woman lowed as how she'd hev a chicken
stewed fer me when I'd git back, an
gosh dern eff 1 didn't keep a smeln' an
| a smellin' of tibet chicken all the time,
until got so ALTERED hungry tibet jist
! concluded tibet I'd let the durn steer go
and turn back home.
but turnin' home was a different
/ thing. I'd bin potterin' round an rOun' so
much thet to save me couldn't tell whar
! l wus. But l calkerlated the other Teller
whose tracks l wus follerin' knowd whar
/ he wus a goin', so l kept on. But purity
/ two tracks. Now, tibet struck me as bein
| kind O. funny an still more so when seed
| as how both trucks looked so much alike
/ as two Berkshire shoats. Then the thing
| Jest come into my mind-I'd bin follerin'
my own track an wus goin' roun' in
''Now here was a purity mess. I know'd
| as how it'd soon be gittin' dark an which
way to take to git home | didn't know.
break hit or miss Once 1 heared a ingine
whistle blow, but thar in the woods 1
! couldn't fer the life o me tell FIN which
direction the SCUM come. I started right
out long the top o a ridge, an jist as it
was gttin' purity dark. | cum out in sort o
a clearn like, an cd see as how far
| wuS an ole buildin' or two in it. An sure
'nuff thar was. 1t wus little settlement
whar a party o miners that used to dig
coal onto the Scootac lived a good many
years ago. When / got than 1 know'd
my bearin's. but rally, the tuckerin'
/ aroun in the deep snow had Just bout
beat me out. an 'cluded TO haul uD in
| one O. the ole buidin's an git rested. In
! side the shanty l foun a bed o straw as
| he'd bin fixed thar probably by a party o.
| corner wus a pile o. dry wood. I calker-
| lated on maxim a fire an dryin myself,
! fer 1 know'd as how 1 couldn't worry home
thet night any more. Fer the time bein' l
! got over my hungry spell. But Internal
bad luck wus with me that day. Afore
| left home l he'd put two or three dozen
matches in a paper an put 'em on the in
| side pocket O. my coat That durn pocket
/ he'd a hole in it an the matches Slipped
/ down atWeen the linin' o my coat an had
/ ben draggin' long in the snow all day. The
! heads o 'em Wus all wet an mushy like,
/ an I know'd as how thar wus no airthly
1 use. By this time II he'd got raal dark, an
! | wus shiverin' with cold. But the only
! thing fer me to do wus to SILVER. l stood
+ my hickory cane UP in the corner long
side the straw bed, fer 'twar the only
/ weppin 'cept a pocket knife tibet I he'd
/ with me. Thar wuS purity good lot o.
! straw in the heap an l shook this up, then
/ crsiwled under a lot o. the stuff thinkin'
/ so | cd sleep / know'd as how my folks'd
! be worried sick bout me. but 1 couldn't
| help it. l made up my min tibet I'd scoot
4 home next mornin soon as the daylight
! 'peared n l cd keep the ole road through
/ the woods.
WAL l don't know how long I laid
| scrooched up under that straw, but arter
/ warm. | had lost all my appetite and was
1 a-feelin' kinder weak like I'm my long to-
J tin roun' in the snow. 1t must a bin well
| long to'rd o clock when | foun' myself
| a-gittin' drowsy. The straw bed he'd BY
] tibet time got puryt comforta BILE an
\ lowed as how I'd better let myself crop
/ off TO sleep. fer mornind come quicker
| tibet way. ! never gev a thought to dan
/ ger, fer I'd managed to prop the door
I light with several sticks OF wood an aside
! I'm several holes I'm the floor Their wus
no place fer Varmints o. any kim ter eit
/ in. fer thar Wus no winder IN the room
/ But when ! went 10 sleep / didn't know
what Wus a-cOmin'
Il got 10 dreamin tibet me an the ole
woman he'd a light, an she was a-scratch-
| IN me IN the face. Then / woke plum IN
| an darn ~ l 1fHrtit DrI fhnt -. ~