Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1900-06-23

ARE 4O h NAME ZEB WHlIEr
morrer, but today I've got to go up to
them limestone caves. I had a power
full Tishun last night. In my vishun
saw a cave, and that cave was chuck
full of coons and possums. I can't say
what brung the varmints together, but
thar they was, and thar was 500 Of
'pm.'
I don't believe nuthin of the sortY
says the old woman. 'Yo' are allus
hevin vishuns bout bars and coons
and possun3s, but nobody ever knoWed
yo' to hev vishun bout chopin wood
or hoein corn
'tShe was right bout that" said Zeb,
with a smile, "but it riled me up jest
the same. I answered back purity
briskIy, and she got mo- sassy, and SO
we had a row. got UP from the table
and took my gun and whistled to the
dawg and started off, and the old wom-
an called out to me that she hoped I'd
be clawed by wildcats. I wasn't yarn
in bout that vishun. was lyin on my
back in bed, eyes wide open, when that
vishun riz up befo' me, and I seen
things so clear that fell into a trem-
BILE. Thar was cave full of coons and
possums, and I went ia land Stayed 'em
by the hundreds and got huff money
out of their skins to buy me mewl. 4
wanted to fix that leak, Of co'se, but it
seemed a powerful sin to let that vi
shun go by. I hadn't got more'n half
a mile from the house when the dawg
begun to hang back. The critter allus
'peared to take the old Woman's side
whenever we had row. When I no.
ticed him hangin back, I yelled out at
him and grabbed up "a club, but he
went out of sight like a rabbit. 1
wanted that dawg to hold the mouth
of the~cave while went in and slaugh-
tered the varmints, and jest made up
my mind to kill him when 1 got home.
Thar was three ca yes, land it was six
mile trip The middle cave was the
biggest, and when reached it looked
all around fur tracks. Not one was 20
be found, but that didn't discourage
me. I peered around fur a spell and
then went in. 1t was "A narrer openin,
and the cave was dark, but had
brung along a taller candle. I lighted
the candle and begun to look about me-
'Dod rot it, but what fule a man
kin make Of himself when he tries!"
exclaimed the old man after a pause.
of sense knows that coons and
possums don't go hangfn around caves.
That yishun was tarnashun lie. That
cave was as big as half an acre. and I
walked all over it and found nuthin.
/ was mad and kickin myself when I
started to go out, but I hadn't gone
fur when the roof of the cave 'peared
to fall down upon me. Mebbe it was
half an hour later when opened my
eyes and found myself on my back,
and it seemed as if one side of my
head had bin caved in. I found my
rifle with the stock broken, and I |
could smell bar all around. 1t didn't |
take me long to f1gger out that a bar
had follered me into the cave and /
fetched me whack 'longside the head.
In mint heard him sniffin and NOV
In around outside the cave, and as
erawled along I found him on guard.
ae WAS IylH uoWu ldlL IL tnS way anu
was his prisoner. If my rife had bin
Ill right, could hev got rid Of him in
short order, but it couldn't be fired.
"As the bar heard me movin up he
,howed his teeth and growled in a way +
o make my h'ar stand up. He didn't
come in after me, but it was plain
huff that he wasn't goin to let me out.
thought it was best to keep still fur
while and see if he wouldn't go away,
md, d'yo' know, sub, to the best of my
,elief that critter went right to sleep.
couldn't git out without steppin over /,
lin, and it was too risky to try that