Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-02-05

1--WE soT DOWN AND SUNG
I'D man as he hitched back a
n the blazing fire, "and 1
hat the old woman said in
bizness. 1 went ahead
Fky as hard as l could, and
days had gone by when a
Moved UP at the cabin. He
bundle of tracts, and he
TO ba a preacher, and his talk
IbA good that I should never hev
sdbted him but fur the old woman.
When he said he had cum to preach
us, and had gone out to see the
ayburs, she turned on me and said:
That's the eritter, Zeb. He's got
ythe same face as the one I saw in my
Rdreams, and he amt no mo- of a
PREACHER than yo be. He's huntin' fur
still, he is, and you'd better look
diSp,t skaasly believe it The crit
lpked SO much like wanderin'
her, and he prayed so loud, and
1ell, that l couldn't think he was
Yin a game On US. All the other
olks agreed that he was good man,
ID when he gin out that he would
Ibreach to us in the skule-house every
'|body went to h'ar him and said it was
h powerful sermon. The old woman
went along with the rest of US, and
hough he made her shed tears and
ELL lament she cum home to say to
e:
tZeb, that's the best preachin' we
Pv heard fur ten vars, but yo' look
all the same. | want yo' to set
pr trap on the path tonight. If he's
right he won't be cotched; if he's
reyenoo critter we want to cotch
D..
7 didn't wantrsQ go to all that
olin', but she talked SO much that l
Fok my biyfb'ar trap over the Hill
Id sot it/@ir in the path leadin' down
e and the still. Nobody had
. in the path except the
aSYknowed of the still, and | give
all \due warnin' about the trap.
was On Sunday evenin'. On Men
maInin' the preacher started out
the r@g'lar trail fur Benson's Cove,
all Of us byt the cid woman reck-
d weld seen the last of him. She
d US to lag lay till noon, and when
Anally stag&Ed fur the ravine she
Mt along. I'm tellin' yo, sub, that
may live thousand vars and never
so surprised as I was when we got
that trap. Thar was our preacher,
tin on a stone with his left leg
ched full in the trap. He'd bin d0in'
best to open the jaws, bat he
ouldn't do it. Thar was five of US
ii the gang, and when we got UP to
= him he was. smilin' and rubbin' his
hands and tryin' to make out that it
| was all joke. The old woman winked
yto&us, and nobody said a word to him.
We jest sot down and sung one O. the
hymns he'd given out the day befo', and
then we got up and left, The teeth
o. that b'ar-trap must hev bin bitin'
the bone O. his leg, but when we sung
the hymn he sung with lis, and never
let up on that smile! Lawd, sab, but
he had mo- grit than an old he-b'ar,
and really felt sorry fur him. We left
him alone fur about two hours, and
then the old woman went back to him.
Shej sot alongside o. him and asked
him if he had any tracts on the spyin'
dizziness. He pretended not to UNDER
stand, and he went on to preach the
s same as if he had congregation bafo'
him, He wouldn't own up to a thing,
nor ask to be let out O. the trap, and
! bime-by we all went off home and left
him thar. Nobody went nigh him
gain till the next mawnin'. was
\and down dozen times durin' the
t, but he never yelled out. At
ght I wus fur lettin' him loose,
old woman was agin it. She
ben yo' git man in a trap
"a hurry to let him out
to think it over and dis