The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1896-05-16

through round about the old log
echoolhouse- in them plain old days,
when people want so eonsounded par
ticlar as to keep two schools a runnin,
one for the males and one for the fe-
males-when the boys made Hyin Jen-
MES, grapevine swings, seesaws and
SIGH lille-when you boys and girls
went royin after ehiniSypins and chest
nuts, after heart leaves, after sweet
| shrubs-when the sap is bilin upards
and the bark slips on the hickory. and
you feel like you would love to make
some whips and flutes and Whistles
anything to please the children-when
you feel too dadburn lazy to do any
thing to speak Of
Well, that's the time for fishin.
So it come to pass one day last week
the weather was SO warm and dreamy
like and pleasant@that Bunk Weather
ford and old man Jeems ". Staggers
they took their hooks and lines and bait
gour(s and went down on Murder creel,
a fishin.
Maybe you would love to know who
in the thunderations is Jeems w. Stag
gers? You ask me ruther quick and
student, but l will tell you all know.
He is a son of old Misses Staggers. In
his own wild and wicked way, he is a
right tolerable good man. But so far
as | know the pulpit and the amen
corner never have been seriously threat
ened with his manly presence. AS to
religion, Jeems ". staggers never did
even sorter make out like he had got
any, and l reckon Aunt Nancy New
ton was right when she put him
down as "about the most wiekedcst
man in this wide and wicked world"
nut the good Lord never blowed tho
bIvath of life into better soul than
old man Ebenezer Staggers, which he
wac preacher of the word in his day
and generation and the father of Jeems
w.
No Dlore of that. It leaks ont now
that Bunk and old man Jeems W. didn't
have no tremendous big run of luck in
regards to fith. But a man by the
name of Jeems W. Staggers got snake
bit, and that is what makes me tell you
what | do
"You see, RUFF, l bad went down
the creek, whist Bunk he took up the
creek" says old man Jeems w, in
giving out the facts to me. II was 50
scandlous bad off for one good mess of
fish till | could smell the gravy, you
understand, and eonsequentially |
didn' go down there looltin for snakes.
But, by thunder, | found one, RUFF,
and he found me. All of student |
stumbled over one of these big old
rusty moccasins, and he naile1 me on
the calf of my left leg. Naturally, of
course, ] jumped up and down right
there in the same place till the snake
turned loose and | had stomped him
to death. Then | laid down and hol.
lored for Dunk. and him a mile up the
creek, So there | was, Rufe, way down
there in Murder creek swamp snake
bit, three miles from home, ten miles
from the doctor, with my Oil leg swell
in to beat six bits, and marry drap Of
sperits. Somethin had to be done,
Rufe, right away Immediately, and for
the first time in my lifo l felt Ike
would love to pray. But, to be plum
honest with you, / didn't know how.
Up to then, you understand, Incver had
scraped up any acquaintance with the
Lord, and l felt like was rank stran-
ger to Him. In the main time the
hurtin and the swellin went on, with
Bunk Weatherford a mile up the creek.
So at last pitched in and told the Lord
who l was and where l come from, and
then prayed to the best of my feeble
abilitvv