St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1897-07-31

OAS OuAy pidtu uOuSC Ctts ANT
that want all. It was the old lad,
Stoudemire's pet cat. and she was liv
In then jest over the creek q mile anG
half. or maybe . little better, from
our house.
Through . Cold Sweat.
With the wild and wayward naturs
Of = boy. nothin would do then but
must clam that tree and make the ca,
jump out and let my dog Mack put ths
hnal hxments of death upon him. No
body couldn't see US, and nobody
wouldn't never know il. There was
only Jest m two-Mack and me-and
Mack couldn't tell no stories out oi
school II he wanted to.
BY this time me and my dog to.
gether had caught and killed most
everything that ranged the woods
except : ring-streaked and striped
house cat. In the main time the old
people had told me more than oncst
that = cat had nine lives, which OF
course ! only believed my pro rata share
OF that.
So consequentially / cut me des-
perate and warlike hickory stick and
up that tree went. outraged and
crowded the cat till presently she
punched her feet and made . dark
streak through the native air. When
she hit the ground old Mack he was
right there with her. The committee on
credentials had made their report and
the convention was now ready for busi-
ness- hurriedly backed down out of
the tree SO as to get in on the ground
moor and witness the proceedins.
Well. old Mack and the cat they had
tt-up and down and over and under
whilst the blood spurted and the fur
dew like dust and dead leaves in
whirlwind. For q little while it was
hard to tell for certain who would and
who wouldn'Ewho could and who
couldn't Sometimes it seems to me
~ il the cat would take the chips, and
sometimes it would look like old Mack
held four aces, with fiushes barred.
Al time wore OF and the fight went
on fast and furious l got monstrous
rick and tired Of the job. was raley
sorry then that me and Mack had ever
opened the pot, but bein as we had got
into the game felt like we must win
out, or die. Oncst in awhile, from all
the general signs and appearments of
the case, would think old Mack had
killed the cat. But. dadblame her, she
wouldn't stay dead. She would catch
her breath and come again. and every
time she riz q Equallin and fightin to
beat six bits. ] thought in my soul it
must be true about . cat havin nine
lives, and maybe more than that.
Boy like and fool like l wept and
prayed in fear and tremblin-which
! do reckon l prayed the most out
prayinest prayer that white boy ever
sent up to the throne of grace-prayin
the good Lord to help old Mack and
let him whip that fight and kill the
eat, II He thought that would be fair.
or ut any rates not to help the cat any
to speak OF. But l still had my doubts
60 to who would take the gate money.
and 80 finally q last thought about
my warlike stick-which l took that
and waded into the fight. By-and-by
me and Mack win out ahead and put
the cold and everlastin fixments on the
cat.
In the general scrap and scrimmage
old Mack had lost one eye, whilst he
got swallow fork in his right ear AID
IN under bit in his left-which the same
had to explain when returned back
home. But to . boy Of my general
shape and talents explanations come as
and easy as fallin OF of a wet
lcR. All I had to do was to make tre-
mendius big nanny coon out of old
Misses Stoudenmire's house cat. and
oncst more all was lovely at the con-
duence Of the streams.
i Nlght Of Terr0rs.
That night was my regular time to
70 over the creek and see Aunt Liza |
Raiborn. Al usual when bedtime |
come she took me ont in the little shed |
room which she kept for us boys and
tucked me away for the night. But
to save my life I couldn't sleep marry
blessed lick for thinkin about old
l(ises Stoudenmire's ring-streaked and
striped cat, which mo and Mack had
left for dead down In the spring
branch. / knowed tremendous wel
that me and the dog together had
whipped the fight and killed the cat.
but / didn't know for certain that she
would stay dead and remain there
/ had e0rne mnnatrvnY1 serious and