St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1897-05-22

swamp, where the fCod Woo 0Oppy
and soft enough to hog saddle blanket.
The wheels went down in the mud,
and the horses come to a dead stop.
The driver he whipped and he slashed.
brit there they stuck and there they
stayed. In the main time Maj. Wash
he was thinkin about that big pile Of
cotton, and half crazy to pitch in and
cuss out creation-which, of course.
he would ruther not do that right there
in the presence Of the good old parson
whilst Parson Brittenham, he was
thinkin about the various and sundry
felonious good things he was missin,
and confirm his remarks to Bible lam
guage a. best he could.
Finally a. last about first dusk they
heard the steamboat whistle BLOWN
for the landin, seven miles away. and
the stage couch stuck there in the mud
ard water. Well. Maj. Wash he jest
rimply couldn't hold in nolonger. He
jumped up and down two or three
times in the same place, got rcd in the
face, and said, with q loud and furious
voice:
"Dam them horses!"
The old parson smiled the most
troadest and sympathetic smile, made
a low and heavy bow to Maj. Wash and
said:
sThaak you. major-thank you. sir"
Hamaa People Everywhere.
In my own day and generation !
have seen 4 right smart of this lost
and ruint world. and my notion is that
you will find human people more or
less everywhere.
rumblin through this country two or
three weeks ago, and II he didn't cook
old man Buck Ramage as done as
cracklin then the world must be square
whilst the sun rolls round.
Six years ago Col. ALI Written moved
down here on Murder Creek from some
where's over in Georgy, bought him
good plantation and put in to take the
lead in farmin and everything else. He
built him the most loveliest home, with
plenty OF outhouses, stocked the place
with fine mules and horses, and soon
got fixed up in red apple style.
Now up to that time old man Buck
Ramage had been calm himself the
lead dog of the pack. He lived in the
finest house and rode the finest horse,
and kept the finest mules in his lot. and
cut wider swash than any farmer for
miles ard miles around.
Thus and so it come to pass in the
run Of time that a red-hot rivalment
was worked up between old man Buck
Ramage and Col. AT Written a. to
which was which and who was who. 1T
the colonel turned up with q saddle
horse that went oil the gaits in better
style aad speed than old man Bucks
horse could 60. then about the next
news we got old man Buck had lit ont
for Kentucky and bought him the I'm
est saddle horse that money would
fetch. So here they went who
should and who shouldn't, who could
and who couldn't.
And it would seem like the lightnin
rod man was smooth and quick enough
to take in the general circumference ct
the surroundins, and when he driv up to
the Ramage place that morn:n he had
jest simply come to put up some light
min rods for old man Buck. The old
man swore by the Twin and the dead
that he didn't need any SIGH red tape
and tomfoolery around his house.
"That house has been standin right
there where yon see it for more than
10 years." says he, "and I reckon ]
can risk it for 10 years longer. What
If streak Of l;ghtnin was to start down
this way. do you reckon I am fool
enough to believe that few Of them
neasly little rods could stop it and
turn It back? Young man, may look
like q native born idiot, and l may act
ruther curious ut times, but most any,
body in this country will tell you that
old man Buck Ramage amt gone mo-
where's"
The lightnin rod man turned his
talkin machinery loose. but old man
Buck wouldn't even nibble at the bait,
and finally at last lie got to snortin
and cussin around considerable as to
" hat he would and what he wouldn't.
Everybody to their own notions, but
some people hsyc sense whilst others
have fits. !" says the ightnin rod man
as he climbed on his wagon. II spent
last night at Col. Alt Whitten's and got
the job Of roddin his houee from one
end to the other in less time than
h:-e fooled OF here tryin to show q
good man where he was wrong"
"Hold on there a minnit," says old
man Buck. "Durned il I don't believe
I will let you take the job. 1 mought
be right and l mought be wrong about
it. You can put up the rods
Inside of three hours the lightnin rod
man was done the Job and gone, with a
pro rata shore Of old man Bucks money
in his flank pocket.
Now that was on . Thursday. and
the next followin Saturday old man
Buck Ramage come along by our house
foamin at the mouth and mad enough
to fight his own baby. In talkin with
me he jumped on that lightnin rod
man, and cussed and cussed and
cussed, till the native mir was all but
hot enough to melt the wax in my ears.
You see old man Buck couldn't rest
well at night till he rid down by the
Whittier place to see which had the
finest ligh.nin- rods, him or Col. Whit
ten. And when he rid up in full sight Of
Col. Alf's house he saw right where he