The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-01-06
Zeh White Tells q Fireside Story.

'possum hunter Of Tennessee, I asked
him to narratc an adventure, and after
bit of thinking, he said:
"Up to 10 vars ago there used to
be heaps and heaps Of painters (pan-
thers) on this yere mounting, and now
and then they would cum skulkin'
bout the cabin O. nights and cry cut
in way to make yo'r ha'r stand up.
| One afternoon / cum home from town
to find my ole woman in the sulks.
She used to get. that way now and
then, and it allus ended in a row.
When she began to jaw | began to
| whistle, but arter half an hour I got
mad. I'd agope out and slept in the
woods, only it was gwine to be dark
and rainy night. She sulked and I
| sulked and when it cum time to 60 to
| bed I sot right yere and never minded
the time. She didn't offer to make up
| and so was sittin' yere when mid
| night cum. She was asleep and SO
| was I when thar cum cry from out
| doahs. 1t was Just like the hoot Of
woman lost in the woods, and it was
| ringin' in my ears when the ole woman
sits up in bed and calls out:
"'Zeb White, what on airth was
that p
GA woman hootin' fur help, SEE I.
"'It can't be. No woman would be
hootin' around yere this time o might
'''Then it may be an OWL
"'Then you may be u fule.
"Her calm me fule riled me up"
said Zeb, "and, though I was purity
sartin that it was the scream of a pain,
ter, I determined not to gin in. Purity
soon we got it again, and it was higher
the house. The beast was prowlin'
around, and that scream made chill
creep up by back.
"'It's painter, said the ole wo-
man, as she got out O. bed alookin'
purity pale.
"Sho It's one of them Davis gals
lost in the woods. Reckon she was
out arter chestnuts and got turned
around
"'Then you don't know sugar from
| sand. Listen to that. Does that
sound like the hoot of woman p
"sJest exactly. I'll bet my ole
gun agin a coon skin chat it's a;wo:
man. I'll open the doah so she kin
see the light and the9Rall to, her:
Powerful dark night for aAoman to be
stompin' around in the woods by her
self
"'Zeb White, I'm a-tellin' yo'} it's
painter, no woman. If yo' Wasn'G
so tarnashun shuckless and low down
yo'd know it fur yo'rself. Ifyo' open
that doah somebody's gwine to git
clawed and bit
"That riled me sum mo-, said the
old man, as he hitched back from the
fire, "and I was bound to open that
doab or bust. could even h'ar the
painter prowlin' around but, yo' see, ]
wasn't gwine to let the ole woman
bluff me down. I riz right up and
was listenin' when she sez:
"'This yere painter is arter meat
fur shore.
"'That yere woman is lookin' full
our cabin, yo' mean, and yere goes to
let her in.'
"'Zeb, hain't yo' got no sense il
yo' head p
"'Not arter livin' with yo' ful
twenty vars !!
"With that I crossed over and open
ed the back doah, an as did so the
ole woman made dive fur the bed
and kivered up her head. I had just
swung the doah back and opened my
mouth to hoot when sunthin' knocked
me clean across the cabin and uttered
an awful scream. Itwas a sure-enough
painter an mighty big one at that
He fust jumped on the bed and
scratched at the clothes. But as
got up he turned and tackled me-
Ever have fout with a painter p
"No, I never did,
"Yo needn't sign for one. They've
got teeth like the biggest kind of 8
buzz saw an thar claws are like red
hot knife blades. was took so sud
den that the critter had all the ad.van'
tage at fust, but bime-by got hole
of stool and sorter held my own
He kept me mighty busy, but san
the ole woman sittin' up in bed artel
bit and heard her say:
Zeb White, if that's one O then
Davis gals, then she's powerfully
changed about since last Sunday
Why don't 20 as her to take off hel
bunnit and stay all night p"
How did the matter end?' | ask
ed, as the old man was a long time re
filling his pipe.
"Wall, I finally druv the critter ou'
doahs and got the doah shet. an then
| I fell down and tainted away, and
didn' know nuthia mo 70 an hour
I don't rightly remember how many
bites and scratches I got, but [ was
laid up for six weeks, and had tuf
time of it. "
"AIrs. White didn't have anything
more to say, did she-anything more
about your taking the panther s scream
for the hoct of a woman p
Sartinly, she did, he replied
''Bout the fust words I heard arter
| cum To was