Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1897-04-09
THE SURVIVAL
M PAUL sHouf.


To its old diInetsions. We could see thS
Stars dodging back ahd forth behind
the tops OF the pines, and the lone
coyote who had monopoly OF noises
down the gulch was indulging us WITH
temporary nest The Patriarch oc-
cupied the seat OF honor, n camp-stos,i.
and the rest OF gs were ranged on 4
tree-trunl<.
The Patriarch looked AZ me. "I'n
do you the favor" he said. ''of filling my
pipe with your tobaklSy. Speal<in' OF
kea-yarns, that storyof Jim's about the
iceoergs that hunted In pairs. Leepin' a
keen lookout TO squeeze n ship caught
without a breeze. while the polar bears
sat by and laughed. was tol'bly good:
and the one you told about the Thing
that could stand on it's head ON the floor
of the ocean and flap the face OF heaven
with It's tail, was purity fair, yes. purity
fair. But they war Just yarns, plain
yarns, neatly unravcicd. And that
makes me think Of what old AbsnloIn
Riggs used TO say: Always tell tho
truth, my lad, IL you're IA master smart
hand at IT, '.-'
"Absalom hnd n distant relative--he
lived In Nantucket, and his brother was
anchored in Jamoiky-who bought nnd
sold everything. from queer shells 60
queer money. His brother was smart
man, nigh as smart as Absalom hImse4s.
ana he might have lived TO be great
one II they had given him plenty OF
rope. As II was, he war leetle too High.
strung To make a s,Jccess OF life. It's
queer how the furriners acquire NIL OF
our improvements. even the art OF
lynchin.'
"Absalom wns master md sole pro
prietor of the good old tradln' brig.
Keep Mum. They war two OF kind, Alb
snlom and the brig. Absalom wore a
suit Of homespun that hung on him like
sail wrapped around n windmill, and
the brig WINS ell right II she was only as
black MS she was painted, for she
needed sprucin' up badly; but they war
both hard to beat I'm their deceptive
lines, reckon. The Keep Mum WINS
one OF the best OF her kind that ever
faded out OF sight OF n revenue cutter.
and Ahsalom wns entitled to q patent
right on lots OF the tricks OF his trade.
He was quiet kind OF man, though he
Ind good command of language, re-
sultin' from hard study OF circus-post-
crs when he was lad. and tho Keen
Mum sailed 40 Silly that the wind
couldn't whistle through her riggin'
even.
"Now, Absaiom was a temperance
man from principle and interest,
though he wasn't particularly religious
and worshiped nothin.' so far as
know, except savin's banks. Never
tnste the intoxicatin' cup, young man,
hc used 10 says. you might miss u
chance TO make n dollar But iust the
same, nfter his brother came aboard at
the end OF my first trip 10 Kingston.
bringin' with him q mysterious mir
(kind of strongly scented), Absnlont
loaded the Keep Mum up with rum.
Nnd such rum! I'm barrels. with rusted
hoops and cobwebs clingin' round 'em,
they hoisted IL on board. The pirates
TINT hid 1t n century before stored
nothin' weak. and every year added TO
It's strength. Our second mate, who
was man Of much liquid experience
ashore as well MS NJ sea. took n cargo OF
one cup. II was Just three days before
he could navigate. and-would you be.
lieve itl-for two weeks after that
whenever he dreamed OF that rum nj
night he'd wake up In the mornin' tipsy.
"Absalom was a man who glanced
over newspapers from curiosity and
read trade Journals for profit SO knew
sOmethin' extremely uncommon was up
when he spent a whole forenoon porin'
over n newspaper. with his elbows on
the table and his fingers clutched In his
hair; and when heard his chnclSle. |
was interested. Absnlom Riggs never
wasted n ch,ickle. I heard him say, NJ
he went out of the cabin! 'They'rc
strong In the body. but weak in the
head
."of course picked up the paper. II
told n story of an awful tribe OF
cnnnybals who resided on the west
coast OF Afrilsy. II seemed they war a
tribe of reg'lar bunkostcerers, for ali
the missionaries who went there war
invariably taken I'm. Then the queen OF
England sent down n gunboat, 0nd the
captain OF the gunboat sent a man with
q white fog and q proclamation in
violent lnhguhRc To these cannybals.
hut there was some misunderstanding
about the matter. for the cannybals ate
both til" gallant tar and the proclama-
ton. 1t hurt the captains feelifi's very
much. so he landed most of his force
md went after the heather. Alas! he
didn't know 'em. I dlsremember all of
the affectin' lines the poet .larYyatc
wrote about 'em. but the centerpicce OF
the work run somethin' like this:
They war an awful hungry lot
Ard havin. nothIn' mitch 10 %,
fnyaygled the tors-thc sun vas hot,
into nicc. seclocded spot.
Then ato that gallant crew
"Her majesty missed reception on
account of that. and the foreign secre-
tnry missed two frst-class races. Then
a cruiser went down there on business,
btft the captain. not bein' onto his Job,
was shortly on the rocks. snd when the
men swain ashore. the beatlien met 'eun
with a hearty reception. And IL was
iwfdl nDnoyin' hiter that 10 the be6plc
chi the English boats that went saiIin'
by 10 sec them safvidges assiitin' on the
rocks and sunnin' themselves. dressed
IN british naval dnif6tins and sarcastic
smiles. And the foreign secretary had
taken TO bis bed. SO the papers said.