St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1896-10-17
such ..Felonious BAD LUCK,


Such sFelonious Bad Luck.n
In regards to the gentleman from
Rocky Creek, there is one thing in par
ticlar which you can find stickin out
all along the line so far back as the fam
lily records run. If I never do die till
trouble kills me will live long, long
time, and old Methusalem, which the
good Book tells US about, would be a
mere kid compared to me. And never
was no hand to peddle around and
poster other people with the trials and
tribulations that come to me whilst the
basket is passin round.
But, white people, I have had such a
broad stree x Of felonious bad luck here
lately tillA feel necessary compelled
to speak out the truth if it shames the
devil and unload on the patient and
long-sufferin public. Some folks say
they don't believe in luck, but / do.
And in my own day and generation I
have had more luck of one sort and
another-but mostly good luck than
any liyin white man, = do reckon. II
! it amt luck it looks ike luck to me,
and there you, are at any rates.
On the very first rattle cut of the
box-whieh it was then along in the
first days of June If remember right
Bley Scroggins he rid up to the horse
rack at our house one day and hitched
q big Gne-lool1in sorrel horse, with flax
name and tail. We passed the regiar
compliments in regards to the weather
and the crops, flung in a>few scatterin
remarks on the great question of poll
tics, and didn't say marry word about
horse flesh and swappin stock. But
presently when Blev mounted his horse
to return back homeI couldn't stand
it no longer, In the main time, you
understand, L had sized up the big sor-
rel on his general appearments, rs it
were, and took powerful lilein to him.
So ! told Blev, in my own flat-footed
fool way, that if he would rather have
my mare mule Kate, than Bss horse he
could ridelaround by the lot and do some
swappin.
"Yous are traded WITH says Rlev,
and by the time 4 got out tothe lot he
had pulled off his saddle and turned
the horse loose. And then in less time.
than it taxes me to tell it he had put
his saddle on the mule and lid off to-
wards home in a gallop. About that
time the thought struck me that there
must be somethin dead up the creek in
regards to my fine horse. Bleg was so
quick on trigger-so easyto swapwith,
and then in such furious big hurry
to saddle the mule and hit the hig road
for home. But / looked the big sorrel
over and couldn't find a blelnfsl1 any
where from foretop to fetlock.
Seven. Feet Under saTerry forna.sss ;,s
That night I turned nay horse loose
down into the calf paster, and when +
got up next mornin It come to pass that
he had turned himself loose down into
an old well, which it want more than
seven feet deep and he didn't fall far
enough to kill him. Naturally of course
hy that time anybody could tell what
was the matter with old soriel. He
was Tnoon-eyed. He couldn't see un-
der his feet at night and didn't know
ten-acre calf paster from a hole in the 4
ground. So there was, as the man
says in.the play, and there was my fine
horse seven feet under 'terryforna,"
as Aunt Nancy Newton were won't to
say. ! called up the hands and we
pitched in to dig him out. We had to
cut tunnel and open small mine be-
fore we got him out oncst more on a
level with the broad bosom of the earth.
But dadhlaine the luck, in the main
time it-did look to me like every livin
mortal in the settlement particiar
them that had swappin stock-had to
pass right along the big read by our