The Van Buren press., 1897-03-06
HOId Spot," tho Horse.

The little tea-bitteH gray which now
belongs to your wife's husband is a
granddaughter of old Spot" says | to
Andy-which naturally Of course that
brung on more talk.
In my day and generation l have had
horses on top of horses, but for general
road work-for speed and bottom and
stayin qualities old Spot was the gamest
and the best one of them all. He was
a strawberry roan-built from the
ground up-with big white spot in
his left flank. From pure niger luck
| had got the horse in trade with a
Kentucky drover. and better and better,
faster and faster every day the good
Lord sent so long as he looked to me
for his corn and fodder. By gracious,
on a smooth hard road you could hear
his hoofs pop for mile away when he
hit the ground with his feet!
1t is the naked truth-for L would
mortally hate to tell anything else in
regards to a horse-that nobody ever
driv up behind me whilst l was trivin
old Spot. We would sometimes meet
people and pass people along the road,
butwhen Ioncst artedanywheres with
that horse nobody would overtake us.
And by and by that winter-when the
crops had turned out bully and bought
built buggies-there want a livin piece
of horsefesh in the country that could
pass US by, and there want a young lady
in the settlement but what was moro
than willin to ride in nice new buggy
behind old Spot.
So consequentially when the party
came off that time at old man Berry
Ringstaff's, over there in the hills,
put right in, did, and made my engage
ments with Miss Callie Hickman, with
the general understandin that would
drive old Spot to my new buggy, and
thing the country mought turn out
And Miss Callie-well, she traded with
me on the spot.
Right then Miss Callie was another
fellows sweetheart, and nobody didn't
know that any better than me. Her
anu lpOD udNi pCCu SNlllI hlOhS
powerful sweet and swimmin for two
years past and threatenin to git married
all the time. But that didn't make a
blessed bit of difference with me. Twas
foot loose and fancy free, as Aunt
Nancy Newton calls herself, and my
onlyest chance was to keep company
with some other fellows calico and rib
bons, or turn old Spot in the paster and
stay at home.
Now then. On our way to the party
that night me and Miss Callie we soon
got rale friendly aud famillious like.
| tried my level blarnedest to do some
cld-fashion courtin and carryin on, but
she was Jest the least bit skittish and
pulled on the bit considerable. She fin
ally at last owned up to il that she al
ways did think pile of me, but she had
give her hand to Bob, and she must let
him take her heart along with it. Come
TO find out, and by gracious they had al
ready set the day and laid in some of the
weddin fxments. Man, sir, ] never
would of thought it up to that time
but I'll be hanged if it didn't make me
feel plum sick for Miss Callie to be
tellin me how clost she was TO steppin
off with Bob Travis. The moon was
shinin bright like day. ] could see her
face peepin forth from :he wrappins
and trappins and by gatlins did think
in my soul that she was the prittiest,
the neatest and the most sweetest thing
that ever wore clothes. Up to that
time | never did have no rale serious
thoughts in regards to Miss Callie, but
somehow it was mighty hurtin on me TO
hear her talk so kind and loyin like
about another fellow.
We'll, the general circumference of the
calamity was that had fell heels over
appetite in love with Bob Travis sweet
heart. And that want all, white people.
didn't have no better sense, and l
didn't do a blessed thing but pitch in
and teH her so.