Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1900-12-03

while 70 played the fiddle. I also
want to talk to yo' 'bout5Noer and his
ark,
a.I've got a sore thumb and can't
fiddle, and, as fur Noer, he will keep
till some other time. Nuthin rushin,
bout Noer.
with that she turns on me and
looks me squar in the face, and arter
a mint she says:
. tZeb White, don't 70, go to foolin
with Noer and his ark or sunthin pow
erful bad will come out Of 1t. Dan
Skinner may feel peekish, or he may
be dyin. but what we wants to know is
how all them critters found their way
into the ark. How did it happen that
the hens didn't eat up the later bugs
while they was walkin togetherT
6 Dunno
why didn't the foxes eat ali the
hens?'
/" Dunno.
"sWhy didn't the bars eat the pigs?'
g Dunno.
"tOf co'se yo' don't, and that's why
u want yo' to squat right down we're
with me and try and fgger it out. I
shan't never be satisfied to- die till 1
find out how the elephants and bosses
and cattle managed to git into that ark.
without treadin on the sarpints and
bugs,
Il seen that her jaw was sot fur q
row" continued Zeb, .sbut I had sold
that whisky and must git it out that
night, and SO I told her I'd go along
v e to SINNERS and put in the next
two nights with her on Noer. She
looked at me agin, but didn't say
nuthfn till / was on the doahstep. Then
she p'inted her finger at me and said:
"sGo right along, Zeb White, but IL
the LaWd don't dun git yo into a
heap Of trubble over It then I don't
know chestnuts from punkins!
II hurried of without sayin anything
back and half an hour later vas bring
lin up the kegs. 1t was dod rotted biz
ness. ! had to slide down a rope, hitch
on to q key and then climb up and
pull the key arter me. Ought to had
4 q niger TO help me, but thar wasn't
one around to trust. I'd got up TO
kegs all right and was comm up to
pull the fifth one up when sunthin
happened. Jest as / was nearin the
top of the hole i heard a growl and
a .whoof' and q big bar made a stroke
at my head with his paw. I was that
sdurn skeered that ! Jest let go and
drapped to the bottom Of the shaft and
got q jar that made my bones ache fur
week. S
what they calls the situashun was
this: / was down In a hole and a bar
was waitin fur me to come up and do
bizness with him. Yo' kin see that the
pesky varmint had all the advantage.
He could smash my skull with one
blow Of his paw as my head come
within reach. / yelled and hollered at
him, thinkin to skeer him away. but he
looked over the edge of the hole at me
and growled and shifted and seemed
minded TO fail on top OF me. It wasn't
five minits befo, ] wished | was home
talkin bout Noer, but wishin was no
good. kept quiet fur two or three
hours and then started to climb up.
The bar was thar. He was thar at
midnight and sunrise. and I'm tellin
yos that he was thar at noon and at 10.
O'clock in the AFTERNOON. The shaft
was as dry as a bone, and 1 was thirsty
nun to drink swamp water. The
way things was fixed that bar could
keep me down thar till l persisted,
and when he appeared Al IL he was
like to do IT felt that / hadn't used
my old right and wanted to
ask her to furgiye me. Bout 70, o'clock,
while was keepin mighty quiet, !
hears 9 rifle shot above. and directly
arterward q human face looks down