Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1899-06-01
TWO "FORRESTERS.' .

In Georgia in the fork of the Coosa-
wattee and Connesauga rivers live the
Forester families They have been
known for many years as the Fighting
Forresters because of their propensity
for pugilistic encounters. Old Hiram
Forester had for long time been
known as the "Bull of the Woods, and
had never been licked by an antagonist.
He had two sons. Bill and Ben For
rester, who inherited much of their fa-
theirs love for fighting. Bill was about
10 and Ben year and a half younger,
but the brothers were pretty evenly
matched in size, Bill being five feet six
and weighing $50 pounds, while Ben
was FIVE feet five and weighed but
few pounds less than his elder brother.
Both were bull necked, blue eyed and
sallow complexioned youths, with
shocks of fiery red hair covering their
bullet heads. Slow in movements. after
the manner of the typical Georgia
mountaineer, they were also quiet and
slow of speech, and neither was ever
known TO betray the least excitement,
no matter what the emergency.
One day was passing through the
settlement, when. sitting on stump
by the roadside, l saw Ben Forester.
with his big slouched hat pushed back,
nibbling straw in meditatiye man
ner. as if revolving some serious prob
lem in his mind. One eye was blaekened
as if by a blow, and his right hand was
bound up in piece of rag.
"HelIo, Benz" said l, drawing rein.
"You seem to have been in scrim-
mage"
"Yaas, Jest had little scrap.
"Why. didn't take you for fight
err
s'I hain't BEN tell this mornin. .
seNNho have you been fighting 7"
t4Jest fit Brother Ben
t.Whatl Fighting your own broth
er 7" said in amazement. tTell me
about it. -
"Wull, hit war this way: Me an
Ben's alters ben the best nv frien's.
Pap has tole us time an ag'in that we
didn't have no spunk He says that by
the time he war our age he'd licked ev
cry feller nv his size in the settlement.
But we hahn t nuver tuck to fghtin tell
this morniD.
eve war out in the 4iel' knockin
round, when Ben, he perches himself on
the fence an looks so burned indepen 'ent
down ON me as | stood leanin ag in
tree that hit suddenly come into my
min that he thought he war better
man than me.
@ Look a-here. Ben, says /, don
look at me in that kim nv quizzikil
style.
+" 'In look at ye as / please, an ye
can't hep yerse'f, says Brother Ben.
'' Then p'raps ye think ye're bet
ter,man than me. said an felt my
dander rise at the very mention nv his
biggitiness.
g Eff We don't think So p'raps ye'd
better try me, says Brother Ben.
" Jest crawl down off'n that ere
fence, an III show ye in bout three
shakes nv sleeps tail which air the
best man. says |.
'sNo sooner said than done. Ben he
lipt down f'om the fence an Topped bis
VIKINGS an crowed like a rooster Wull,
that Jest sot me afire all over. Isquared
myself an let drive, an Ben staggered
back ag in the fence made fur i'm,
All he kofcbed me under the eye, an
theunwe went at it in good yearnes'
Hit WIS bfim, blim blim. fur bout
two,nnnhts, an we dion neither nv us
have muchtthe vantage.
"Then we stopped to blow a bit, an
Ben comesat me ag'in. | met i'm ha f
way, an the way we fit war caution
to the Jews. Finally we clinched, an
Ben tripped me mp. an we both come
down kerwholIop. Ben on top.
q That's onfair TO trip, says I with
my mouth ha'f full nv dirt an leaves
'Lemme up,an fight fair.
s'Ben turned loose. an we rig apuffin
an a-blowin Nike two young bulls in the
spring NV the year, Finally | hauled
away all struck Ben a lick under the
chin while he war otf'n his gyard, an
he reeled backards then, bowin his
neck. he made airush at me, an | could.
see the Ole Scratch in his eyes.
''AEe scuffied and shuffied round an
tore ap the grouD tell we war both wet
with sweat, an still neither one nv US
didn't have no vantage over t'other.
But Iseed,that Ben war a -gittin winded,
an / struck ont ag'in. He lodged, an
run jam up ag'in the fence, an Ben
fetched me reg lar maulin lick on the
side NV the head
.'That made me good an mad, an
turned round an peeled him one ON the
nose that fetched the blood 'Hooray Z
says ], 'fust blood 5 mine.
"Ben wheeled round, an pasted him
IL. 1..4 49, didr,A nt..., Li.,, :, hi Z