The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-12-15
OLD HARVE LINCOLN.
His Marvellous Escape When Chased by the
Revenue Officers.
Atlanta Journal.

| down an [ could see that [ wus fur
'bove the tree tops in the valley down
below, but the Inns wus thick an
stout an ther' want no trouble in
holm on.
ssI could hear them revenue officers
as they were prowlin' 'roun' on the
fat top O. the mount'n, an a ter while
hearn one fetch a whoop nigh the
place where the still was hid, an [
! krowed they'd found it. In a few
minits they'd all gethered 'roun' the
spot an I could hear EN- talkin an
laughin while they sampled the fresh
CO n Ticker an a'ter while I hearn EN-
Dustin up the still that we'd spent SO
much time on, an hit made me grind
my teeth. AS I didn't hear nothin'
mo Nv Bud I concluded that he'd got
away, an I made up my min that I'd
set right thar on that lin tell they
come alter me fore I'd take any
chances.
cater they'd broke up the still
they gun to s'arch 'rouu' fur
me an Bud, an they walked right up
to the root O that ere chestnut an
two Nv EN- popped themselves down
on it fer a consultation. Ther' wus a
whole lot O. dry leaves in the cracks
O. the rocks nigh the place an one Nv
EN- struck match an lit cigar, an
then stuck the match to the leaves.
They sot thar an talked few minits
an then they got up an sa'ntered off
down the path long the edge O the
bluff.
tI'd bin layin' low an didn' t sea ce-
ly ketch my breath while they wus
thar, but as soon as they got out n
sight I felt SO we'll tickled that I nat
ly shuk that tree latin at 'em. They
KEEP trampoosin roun' thar an hol-
lerin' to one mother till it gun to git
late an 1 got so tired a crouchin' thar
on that lin like hungry painter that
I wus amos ready to drap. The
day d bin br'ilin' hot an long bout 2
o clock hit gun to cloud up an looked
like hit might rain. At las l hearn
'em talkin' to one mother nigh the
slope O. the mourt'n an I knowed
they wus givin up the drive, so l siz
up an sorter crope back toards the
root O. the tree where I wouldn't be
SO cramped up.
"I got bout twenty foot fom the
root O. the tree an I noticed that the
dry leaves had sot an Of rotten stump
afre in crevice o the rock. an jes'
tAen 1 hearn a s-1-a,s that like to
made me dfap shore 'nough. A mon
st'ots big oil rattlesnake'd bin routed
out'en his den by the fer, an he had
+ crawled out on the log an camped
'twix' me an the bluff. Great Lawa!
| I had to ketch hold NV linn to keep
f'om tumblin' off heels over head into
the valley below. He was coiled up
thar in a pile bout as big as a ha'f
bushel measure, an he had his head
stuck up an looked as mad as hor-
net.
eye kin jes' imagine how felt.
The wind wus risin' an the clouds
comm up like they alters does in
them mountns, an I seed that hit
wus likely to be astorm. But l crope
back as far as I could f'om that ere
snake and ketched holt Nv a big lin
I and clung on for dear life. Every
move I'd make that burned snake d
| jar his rattles an' they sounded like
there wus a dozen rattlesnakes all
'roun' me. The col sweat busted out
all over me an wus never so skeered
in all my bo'ned days.
"Thc wind KEEP risin' an atel
while the thunder gun to crash an
seed that was in ferit. The ol tree
rocked an tossed like it would blow
way every mint, an had to cling
on with both my hans to geep f'cm
fallin. Hit kindled the fer in that
oil stump an stidder that snake gwine
back to his hole, he crawled out few
feet further on the log to git way
f'om the blaze. I wus gittin desput
an Irun my han in my pocket to gil
my knife. 1 thought Id manage tc
cut off one O. the smaller Inns an
git out n my misfortinit perdickymcnt
But wus so nervous that the fust
rake made with my knife hit shet
up on my han an the pain caused mt
to sling hit loose, an heard hi
strike the rocks way down below.
"The wind had riz till hit wus
BLOWN harrikin, an hit wus all
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