The National tribune., 1897-08-26
4 l,A0khsre 1h~
- laurel Blooms
~ ....-..knd Men and Women
49, Live Near Natures Heart.
By JOHN McEIROY.
Bv JOHN McELRoY.

wore were patched with different colored
pieces until they looked like a geological
chart. He stopped his horse within rod of
OF Sol. who had not deigned yet to look up,
and called out in a wheezy. placatory drawl:
Good mornin, Mister Blenker."
"Hello. Pid Pancake said OF Sol, look
ing up indifferently, yo're out airly this
moInin.f
Yes: this is my ager day. I'm 50 full o
misery inside that I'm nigh dead he'd the
sorriest kind Of night last night, and ez soon
ez hit wuz light an got my strength leetle,
| saddled Ole Whitley an cum over heah to git
suthin t ease me. Give me a gouTd o hkker
right away, or I'll faint an die. An wish
you'd please, Mister Blenker, fill this here
medicine bottle fur me t take home. My
ole woman hez the ager powerful bad, too. +"
Pm tol'ble familiar with yo' ager days,
Pid.' said OF Sol, CONTEMPORARY, "Io've
had 'em bout seven days in the week ever
senee yo've growed up I've gin yo huff
lillker fur EN- t I'll the Hiawasse bank-full,
an they seem t he gittin wuss an wuss every
wear I'll give you a drink never refuse
any white man that mHeh-but nary drop
fer yer bottle Yo' owe me fur bout thou
sand gallons already.
But. Mister BlenKer. eff yo' only knowed
how bad my wife hez the ager. Hits the
wust ease l ever seed. >
- know Jest how bad 70 wife hez the
ager," said Blenker unfeehngly. I've
heared 'scriptions Of hit fur 10 these many
years Let her drink doewood- bark tea
Best thing in the world fur ager, :"
" Dogwood bark tea don't do her no good.
She's drunk bar'ls of hit. I've skinned all
the dogwCods within mile o. my house t.
make her tea Hit only tans her insides.
She must have good hkker sieh ez yo' make,
Mister Benker, on these heah YARDS t. take,
or she'll die, sho,''
And Pid Pancakes voice became plead
ing whine. as he held out a fat, round bottle,
known in the mountains as I" Betty"
What that tTnck yo got in the bottom
| thar? ash ed Old Sol, taking the hottie and
! looking at il critically.
Tliar's yaller pueeaen, snake-root, Injun
turnip, willer-bari, ole man, tansy. wafoo,
boneset, black SPIDERS web, an everything
| else that We could find that's good iur the
| ageTn
Pid Pancake, the fnst time I ever seed
that ere bottle was Jest afore President
| PieFoe's election. That's more'n eight year
ago. Hit had edzaetly the same leetie pinch
o. stuff in hit Yo' haint changed hit, an
| yo' haint added ez much ez a spear o grass,
while I've filed hit up thousand times ef
have anet"
But my Oh wornan'n die o. the ager ef
she don git su thin right away" begged
| Pid She wuz q most gone when started. y
Boeky- heah. Pid; knows ye' Of old /
wuzzent interdo9st L yo' Yesterday. IF |
wuz t give yo' a bar1 full o hkker yo're oil
woman'd be monty lucky eff she got so mnch
| , II, -; l.; L.
down that | haint a-gwine t. give yo' no
! likker I take home without hits full yalyoo
/ in trade ] can afford to work an slave Jest
{ make hkl2er ful SIGH ez yo' t lay round an
/ guzzle And OF Sol assumed the air of
steEnly vituoBs industry.
/ Pid Pancake saw that he was at the end Of
/ his resources. He had exhausted pleading,
and was forced 10 the dire necessity of giving
! value received tor his whisky. He sighed
/ deeply. tears filed his weak blue eyes. and
with an air of sacrifice he walked back To his
ragged saddle and somewhere from It's fraz-
/ zled depths drew forth a root of ginseng.
- WIZ a-gwine through the woods Wis
! terday a-huntin' my calf mo Sang-digger
ever admitted that he went out 10 hunt GIN
seng), an / come acrOst the Pnrtiest hIt o.
sang that / ever seed. / dug. Init up. an
tended { take hit over t. BarnstabEe's t
trade fur some coffee fur my ole woman
She's jest a-dylng' fur some store coffee
| s'pose / II have { giEe yo hit fur bottle o.
likker an the ole woman'll be obleeged L &c
| without her store coffee y
q 1aint huff fur big bottle o likker >
said OF Sol, decidedly. He knew the man
had more ginseng on his saddle. faint
half nur quarter huff. An ! haint no more
tine L fool with yo'. ! must 60 back to my
mash. !"
Pid's face showed that his heart was wrung
| Without a word he walked back 10 his sud
die and brought forth his whole store of gin
sepg-roots, and laid them down with hi.
| bottle on the stump which served or SO
| for counter.
OF Sol grinned triumpbantly There wa
enough to pay him 10 times over for hi
whisky, He picked up small gourd, which
:. served the place of glasses in bar>room
dipped it full of whisky, and handed it to Pid
who drained il rs thirsty man would water
Sol filled up the betty, corked it with corn
cob and handed it to Pancake.
Soon there were other arrivals of the sam.
type as Pancake, though rising in the scale o
manhood some few degrees Each primaril,
wanted to trade something for whisky ant
secoDdarily 10 talk politics. OF Sol CAV,
each new conner on arrival drink from tn
little gourd, but rigidly insisted that an,
whisky in bottles must be paid for on the spo
IN barter, and chartered with each one till b.
got all he had.
They had scarcely needed the influence O
the first gourd OF whisky To loosen thei
tongues on the great subject Of the impend
ing struggle. Each one was "A rampant Sc
cessonist-first. because the better class @
mouniaiDeers, whom they hated with the ferv
ent antipathy the dregs of society Away
have Tor the middle class, were loyal to TIN
Union; secondly, the aristocratic slave-owner