The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-09-26
'POsSum Sketches.

| Thar is times, sah," said me old pos.
! sum hunter of Tennessee 10 ne one day
thar Is times, sab, when ny old woman
/ Is as gentle as a rabbit, and thar is times
/ when she's as cantankeroUs as a coon
| with sore foot. One maWniu' five OF
! SIX years ago. she got up cIntlnkernus
! and l knOWed thar d be a row befO' ]
| could dun eat breakfast and git out She
| slammed cheers around and busted disn-
es, and purity soon she haGls off Oh me
and says:
=" 'Zeb White, you are the mos. onery,
shacklety, good-fur-nuthin' crit;er on this
yere Cumberland Mountin'. ami J won't
abide 1t no mo-! If you don't so to work
at the con and 'taters and let huntin,
alone thar's gwine to be an awful row II
this cabin
Il was gwine out to look fur a bee
tree that day." continued Zeb. and the
old woman kept naggin' at me tin go.
riled. Thar was a powerful lot o.
weeds in the con and 'tatecs and no mis-
take, but it wouldn't do no great hurt to
let EN- go fur another day. When I was
ready 10 go | was so frustrated that for
got 10 take my gun along, and the Old
woman was so mad that she was almost
p
How long you gwine 20 be gomez she
calls after me.
Two or three days. I calls lack.
Make it a week. she saws as she
jumps up and down in her cautankc--
business.
III make 1t a month" says I, and
of l goes. II was fall mawnin'. with
the air crisp and cool, and , didn'- stay
mad very long. / knOwed I was shack
Lefty about the con and 'taters, and as
went along / determined to turn to next
day and go TO work. BimeDy | found !
bee on a flower, and as ne rIz up went
chasin' him up the mountin'. / hal fol-
Tered him half a mile WHEN l suddenly
heard a wool! close at hand, and / dTol,-
ped my eyes TO find a big bar almost
within arms length. The criuer Was
mad about sunthin', and ready fus row.
He was comm fur me when / mace a
bolt fur IL He took after me, and fur
eighty rods II was nip-and-tuCk He'd
have got me fur suah, but / come 10 a
big chestnut tree which Vas holler. The
openin' was none too large, but / turned
aside and dove into it head fust. / lost
a heap o hide on the ragged edges, and
almost cracked my skull On the lar side
OF the tree, but was in and the bar was
out. Reckon he wasn't over three feet
behind me when l disappeared. He tired
10 foller me into the holler, but the hole
was too small. He could 81 his head il.
sut that was all.
For about an hour I injoyed the stu
ashun," said the old man. Il had aIlus
Wanter a chance 10 tell a bar what |
thought OF him, and yere il was. l called
inn 7 H..
As he put HIS head in the hole / spit in
his face and slapped his jaws and poked
my finger into his eye, and the critter
would have given up all his fur to git AT
me. Bimeby / got tired Of the fun and
wanted him To go away, but that bar had
plans OF his own. lie couldn't git in. bur
/ couldn't git out He jest lay right down
in front OF The hole and got over his mad
ness. on my honah, sab, il wasn't an
hour befo' that v4rmint had a grin as big
as yaller platter, and my thoughts begun
TO be mighty serious. The holler in the
tree WAS none too big fur comfort. and il
didn't take long 10 figger II out that the
bar had all the advantage. BY noon !
WAS fee.in' powerful humble; BY sundsNn /
! had ripped and cussed Till I was hosrse I
When night fell that varmint was right 1
thar, and as l dozed of 10 sleep l heard .
him sorter chuckliu in his throat and
rOliin' over and over IN gO0i-nature.
Il slept purity well, and was awake az |
daylight. II was no use TO look out and /
sec If the bar was gone. he was Iookin' |
In on me as soon as / moved d leg. Cant
say whether he went OF duEin' the night |
or not. but he was as lively as ever in the |
IL amt no use FOR a man IN a 4
holler tree 10 yell fur help, fur nobody kin /
dun hear him. l could call that bar
names and slap his mouth when he put /
his head in. but that only made him the 1
mo determined 10 hang around The sec /
ond day went by and night come again. 4
le have given my old cabin fur drink OF 4
water and a bite TO eat but il was no use 4
thinkin' about IL. On rhe second night. as /
/ was lynn awake ! thought I heard the I
b ar mOyin' OF. / begun 10 crawl out at I
once, but befo' ! was half way the critter /
come runnin' back and jest missed my
head with a blow OF his haW-a sorter 4
swipe that made the bark and sp!lnteEs ny |