The times., 1897-04-18
'POSSUM SKETCHES.

said old Zeb White, as we sat together
one evening, "but 1 reckon my son, Sam,
who died five vars ago, was about the
wust. That boy had a powerful good
heart in him, as u gineral thing, but
thar was days when the devil Seemed to
hev possession of him. 1t WASH I no good
to switch him, and when he was outer
sorts it wasn't no good to argy with Iim.
He was fifteen vars old when l cum
home from the wah, and his head was
swelled up big huff fur IA man of fo'ty.
He finally got that he felt like rubbin'
up agin me. | was at work in the garden
one day when he Gums home from the
Corners a-spittin right and left, ami bime-
by he Gums out to me and sez:
Pop, mebbe yo calls yo'self the best
man on this yere nountin.
:. 'Mebbe L do, sez /, ds cooks at
him outer my left eye.
But yo' amt, though, and / kin prove
it.
:. Then who is?'
- He stands right yere befor' yo', and
his cognonien ar Sam White. Dad, I'm
goin' to whop yo'l'
- Better go inter the house, boy, and
hev yo'r mother gin yo' some bread and
butter and lasses on it,
But that boy had the wust kind o.
swell head" said the old man, land lie
was aimest In thinkin' he could whop
bis pop. He gifts higher and higher, and
himeby he sails fur me. / knowed what
was comm, and befo' he could wink twice
flopped him on his back and then whopped
him till he tollered fur mercy. He lived
fur two vars arter that, but he didn't
try that game on me mo-. One day
he was down TO Bristol and thar was a
circus in town We went in, and as we
was Iookin' at the animals ole Of the
lions lies down, with his tail stickin'
through the bars of the cage seen sam
a-grinnin and | says:
'.'Young man, don't yo' go and make
no fool OF yo'rsef with that lion."
- I'm ewine to pinch that tail sez he
What's the use?'
1--we heard as how they We're made
o. leather and had no feelin' Ill 'en, and
I'm eoin' TO see about it,
II didn't say notfn' mo-, kase | know ed
Sam was bound to have his way If it
busted him. He gifts clus 10 the cage and
grabs that tail and gives II q pinch and
a twist and then hangs on TO il with all
his might. The lion jumps up with roar
fit to shake the hills, and in about a
mint that hull menagene was upsOt and
the circus folks a-piln' onto Sam. One
Of the older lions in the cage clawcd him
across the hand, dog bit him on the
leg, and them circus folks whopped hirn till
he didn't git outer bed fur six weeks.
He was into all Jest sich scrapes as that,
and the wonder was that he lived as long
NJ. - h.. t-ud F,.ar ft.f
cantankerous be got, and one day the ole
woman cum TO me with tears ia her eyes
and seq:
'Zeb White, Sans a-gittin' wusser and
yvusser al the time and / IN almost hopin'
the Lawd will take him away.
The Lawd couldn't manage him if
lie did git him. sez /.
'Mehte He could. Mebbe He's got a
pen up thar In Heaven TO put Sam into and
keep him till he's bin made over. I'm
goin' to dye my shawl black and fix up
mournn' bonnet, fur that boy o. ours will
be brung home dead befo' he's month
older.
Wall, so he was-so he was, said the
old man, with a touch of pathos in his
voice .fIe was down to the Co ners enc
day to blow and brag with the crowd a.
hangin' out thar III them days, when a
man Gums ridin up on a mewl to say that
Bill Clark's bull had broken out o. the
field and was comm up the road. That
bull was big 'un, and hooked two hosses
to death AS the man was givin the alarm
the bull showed up down the road. He was
PAWN up the airth and maxim the heavens
quake with his beller, and sich as had
hoSses tied up was mighty spry to set EN-
ouse and git EN- away. Nobody didn't
propose to gitin the way of that bull and
take chanceS-nobody but my son Sam, 1t
was a chance fur him to show off, and he
riz up and yelled:
g This is the day hev bin Twin furl
I'll 20 fo'th and take that bull by the horns
and flop him on his back.
The men tried to argy with sam, but
he was sot, and, pullin off his coat and
ningin' down his hat, he walked out
and begins to paw and beller, same as
the bull The critter stops to look at
him, and fur a mint or two he must
hey wondered what it was. Then his
ewes began to glare and his tail stand
out. and the crowd hollered to Sam to
git over the fence. He never minded
'em. but with a roar and beller he run
in on the bull.
''And what happened?' | asked, as
the old man paused,
Jest wnat might hev bin looked fur, :"
he replied. Sam was tossed twenty
feet at the fust go off, and when that
bull got through with him thar wasn't
much left to bury. A man Gums up To
break the news to us. l wasn't home,
and he sez to the ole woman:
MRS White, ar yo'r son Sam home
today?'
He amt says she.
land do yo' know why he ain't?'
.'.Not exactly, but L reckon it's kase
he's sumwhar else
".That's right, Mrs. White-perfeckly
right and proper Yo'r son Sam amt
home and amt comm home, kase he''
got bizness up thar in the land o. angels
and golden streets which will detain him
fur sum time"
College Women as HOusekeeperS.
There is q n old falIacy n argument ca He'd