The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-10-31

$500
time Of year for me to lay low and say
nothin. He next went down into his
clothes chist and got out his bullet
molds and three new bar of lead, and
went to moldin bullets. As to me /
soon had to 60 ont and look for a
shady place on the back porch-which
you understand I want nobody's part
ner in the bullet business. But the fire
hit roared and the bullet molds they
ratified. Old man Pleas got SO worked
up and hot till by gatlins he was sweat
in like q free Niger on election day,
whilst I could hear him talkin and goin
on with himself at a high and
dlous rate:
"Let the rumblin go on and let the
war come.
There IS plenty Of lead in town, and
my old army musket she amt gone mo-
where's.
%We win fight 'em. dadblame 'em, till
the cows come home and the eyenin
stars sing together.
'sThey call me old man Pleas Warner
now. but I ft plum through one war
and got my horse drownded in the Ten
nessee river, and dadblamc 'em, + viii
pick my fints ana try 'em another bar
rel.r
When the SIM went down the very ma
tive air was Thick and hot. But in the
main time / had throwed two buckets
Of water on The fire and got the old
man ii a notion to go down to the
spring and cool off.
Now you mought maybe think old
man Pleas Warner is crazy, and to be
plum honest / don't raley think he
knows anything for certain right now.
But he don't have to do all the war talk
for the settlement, and if he is crazy
he can find lots Of company around
Rocky Greek. There are plenty of peo-
pie in this pleasant skirt of woods talk
in about blood and war and the like OF
that. They haven't got it quite as bad
as old man Pleas yet-which / believe
he is the onlyest one that's started to
mouldin bullets-but they have heard
so much internal fool talk about poll
tics and free silver till they have come
to the conclusion that somethin ter.
rible is bound to drap.
1t will take a whole passle of salts and
snakeroot, and maybe a dost of Gallo
mel here and there, and then about
three good frosts to bring this country
around on her feet onct more. But it
viii come. We must live in hopes il
we die in the crazy Sloan.
-
ssPure Meanness and PIzen stinginess."
The onlyest plain and reglar spell Of
crazy that has come to pass here lately
was Jude Collins. which Jude he lives
down in the old Panther Creek country,
and politics and free silver didn't have
anything to do with the case.
sFrom what they tell me, Rufe, and
from all the general appearments, /
think it was pure and pizen
stinginess that made Jude's headgear-
ms jump a cog,'' said Ben Chris Weaver
in givin out the mainest facts to me.
"0f course you are bound to recollect
the Collinses, which lived over there ON
the ridge and on youder side of what
we use to call Stinkin branch. Well,
after the old folks died fof Jude he
turned out to be the mainest man in the
family for business. The other BOYS
was all wild and wayward, harum-
Ecarum youngsters, but Jude be was
regiar and steady as a rale old man be-
fore he got good grown. IF the rest of
the family made a livin Jude was dead
shot to make some money, and if there
was anything in the way of money
from shin plasters to free silyer-foatin
around the Collins place it was more
than probable to land in Jude's flank
pockets.
Whereas naturally of course in the
run Of time it come to pass that the
old Collins place belonged to Jude,
and the other boys didn't have a blame
thing to do but to pack up a few old
clothes and move. Then I reckon it
was somethin better than a year ago
some time in the fall of the year 1t any
rctes-when a stranger from the city
come bruisin around through the set
Element and took up a notion all Of
a student that he would love to own
the old Collins place. The stranger
had plenty of money on him-which
as everybody knows, Jude loves that
stuff better than a town hog loves
slops-and it didn't take him long to
make a deal and close up the trade.
He paid Jude 5000 smooth and ever
for the whole entire place.
well, Jude never did git married
he was too rotten mean and stingy
for that-and. CONSEQUENTLY, he didn't
have no big store accounts and feed
bills to pay on. With what money be
had saved up and what the old placs
brung IN be had d gracious plenty
to make any one man feel easy IN re-
CARDS to this worlds goods.
shut durin the winter the stranger
which had bought the old place sold
out 10 q big company for $4,000, and all
on account Of that big spring up there
at the head Of Stinkin branch. You ne.
member that big spring, Rufe. and Won
are bound to recollect how bad it smelt
We use to think somebody must Of
broke q hamper basket full Of spilled
eggs into it about the first settlement
OF the country. Now. bless goodness
they say that water is out Of sight fol-
sick and suRerin humanity. They say
it is chockfun Of soda and alum andiror
and eufnhur and n lard knows vvhaa