The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1897-07-02
Through a Cold Sweat.

With the wild and wayward nature
of n boy, nothin would do then but /
must clam that tree and make the cat
jump out and let my dog Mack put the
final fiXments of death upon him. No
body couldn't see us, and nobody
wouldn't never know it. There was
only jest us twO-Mack and me-and
Mack couldn't tell no stories out of
school if he wanted to.
BY this time me and my dog to-
gether had caught and killed most
everything that ranged the woods
except a ring-streaked and striped
house cat. In the main time the old
people had told me more than oncst
that a cat had nine lives, which of
course 1 only believed my pro rata share
of that.
So consequentially cut me a des-
perate and warlike hickory stick and
up that tree 1 went. bulIragged and
crowded the cat till presently she
punched her feet and made a dark
streak through the native air. When
she hit the ground old Mack he was
right there with her. The committee on
credentials had made their report and
the convention was now ready for bust
ness. hurriedly backed down out of
the tree so as to get in on the ground
floor and witness the proceedins.
Well, old Mack and the cat they had
it-up and down and over and under
whilst the blood spurted and the fur
few like dust and dead leaves in
whirlwind. For a little while it was
hard to tell for certain who would and
who wouIdn't-who could and who
couldn't. Sometimes it seems to me
as if the cat would take the chips, and
sometimes it would look like old Mack
held four aces, with fiushes barred.
As time wore off and the fight went
on fast and furious l got monstrous
sick and tired of the job. was raley
sorry then that me and Mack had ever
opened the pot, but bein as we had got
into the game felt like we must win
out, or die. Oncst in awhile, from all
the general signs and appearments of
the case, l would think old Mack had
killed the cat. But, dadbIame her, she
wouldn't stay dead. She would catch
her lbreath and come again, and every
time she riz a squallin and fghtin to
beat six bits. l thought in my soul it
must be true about a cat havin nine
lives, and maybe more than that.
Boy like and fool like L wept and
prayed in fear and tremblin-which
do reckon I prayed the most out
prayinest prayer that a white boy ever
sent up to the throne of grace-prayin
the good Lord to help old Mack and
let him whip that fight and kill the
cat, if He thought that would be fair,
or at any rates not to help the cat any
to- speak of. But l still had my doubts
Is to who would take the gate money,
and so finally Rt last 1 thought about
my warlike stick-which 1 took that
and waded into the fight. By-and-by
me and Mack win out ahead and put
the cold and everlastin fixments on the
cat.
In the general scrap and scrimmage
old Mack had lost one eye, whilst he
got a swallow fork in his right ear AID
an under bit in his left-which the same
l had to explain when / returned back
home. But to a boy of my general
shape and talents explanations come as
natural and easy as fallin off of wet
leg. All ! had to do was to make tre-
mendius big nanny coon out of old
Misses Stoudenmire's house cat, and
oncst more all was lovely at the con-
fuence of the streams.