Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1897-06-24
SHEPHERDSTOWN W. VA, THURSDAY, JUNE "a, 1897

wan t worth a cent but to set around
and look ornery and lay for a chance
to steal somethin. But as soon as mon
ey was upon him he was different
dog. His underaw'd begin to stick
out like the 70 castle of steamboat,
and his teeth would uncover and shine
savage like the furnaces. And dog
might tackle him and bullyrag him and
bite him and throw him over his shoul-
der two or three times, and Andrew
Jackson-which was the name Of the
pup-Andrew Jackson would nCver let
on but what he was satisfied and hadn t
expected nothin else, and the bets bein
doubled and doubled on the other side
all the time till the money was all up,
and then all of sudden he would
grab that other dog jest by the j'int Of
his hind leg and freeze to it-not chaw,
you understand, but only jest grip and
hang on till they throwed up the
sponge, if it was year. Smiley al
ways come out winner on that pup TIL
he harnessed dog once that dldn t
have no hind legs, because they'd been
sawed off by a circular saw, and when
the thing had gone along far enough
and the money was all up and he come
to make snatch for his pet holt he
saw in a minute how he'd been imposed
on and how the other dog had him IN
the door, so to speak, and he peared
surprised, and then he looked sorter
discouraged-like and didn't try no
more to win the fight, and so he got
shucked out bad He gave Smiley
look as much as to say his heart was
broke and it was his fault for putin
up dog that hadn't no hind legs for
him to take hold of, which was his
main dependence in fight, and then
he limped off piece and laid down
and died.
Wou tbis yer Smiley had rat-ter-
riers and chicken-cocks and tom-cats
and all them kind of things till yon
couldn't rest, and you couldn't fetch
notbin for him to bet on but he'd match
you. He ketched frog one day and
took him home and said he calklated
to edercate him, and so he never done
nothin for three months but set in his
back yard and learn that frog to Jump.
And you bet you he did learn HIM too.
He'd give him a little punch behind,
and the next minute you'd see that
frog whirhn in the air like doughnut
see him turn one summerset, or may
be couple, if he got good start, and
come down fat-footed and all right,
like cat He got him up so IN the
matter of catchin flies and kept hlm
in practice so constant that he d nail a
fly every time as far as he could see
him. Smiley said all a frog wanted
was education and he could do almost
anything, and I believe him. Why,
I've seen him set Dan'l Webster down
here on this hoor-Danl Webster was
the name of the frog--and sing out,
"Flies, DanI, flies !" and quicker you
could wink he'd spring straight up and
snake fly of'n the counter there and
nop down on the floor again as solid
as a dab of mud and fall to scratchIn
the side of his head with his hind foot
as Indifferent as if he hadn no idea
he'd been doin any more'n any frog
might do. You never see a frog SO
modest and straightfOr ard, for all he
was so gifted. And when it came to
fair and square jumpin on dead level
he could get over more ground at one
straddle than any animal of his breed
you ever see. Jumpin on a dead level
was his strong suit you understand
and when it come to that Smiley would
ante up money on him as long as ne
had a red. Smiley was monstrous
proud of his frog, and well he might be-
for fellers that had travelled and been
everywheres all said he laid over any
frog that ever they see.
Well, Smiley kept the beast in lit
tie lattice box, and he used to fetch him
down town sometimes and lay for a
bet. One day feller-a stranger in
the camp he was-cOme across him
with his box and says:
What might it be that you've got
in the box ?"
And Smiley says, sorter Indifferent
like: ait might be a parrot or it might
be a canary, maybe, but it amt. It's
only just frog.
And the feller took it and looked at
it carefully and turned it round this
way and that and says "H'm-so It's.
Well, what's he good for?"
]