The Somerset reporter., 1900-07-19

AXE 10 X NAME ZEB WHIIEI
morrer, but today I've got to go up to
them limestone caves. | had a power
full yishun last night. In my vishun l
saw a cave, and that cave was chuck
full of coons and possums. l can't say
what brung the varmints together, but
thar they was, and thar was 500 of
EN-
al don't believe nuthin of the sortr
says the old woman. 'Yo' are allus
hevin vishuns bout bars and coons
and possums but nobody ever knowed
yo' to hey vishun bout chopin wood
or hoein corn
"She was right bout that" said Zeb.
with a smile, but it riled me up jest
the same. l answered back purity
briskly, and she got mo- sassy and SO
we had row. l 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. l was lyin on my
back in bed. eyes wide open. when that
vishun rz up befo' me, and | seen
things so clear that | fell into a trem-
bic. Thar was cave full of coons and
possums, and | went In and Stayed 'em
by the hundreds and got huff money
out of their skins to buy me a mewl
wanted to fix that leak, of co'se, but it
seemed a powerful sin to let that VI
shun 60 by. | 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 womans side
whenever we had row. When | no.
ticed him hangin back, l yelled out at
him and grabbed up a club, but he
went out of sight like rabbit. |
wanted that dawg to hold the mouth
Of the cave while went in and slaugh-
tered the varmints, and l jest made up
my mind TO kin him when l got home.
Thar was three caves, and 1T was six
mile trip. The middle cave was the
| biggest. and when reached 1t looked
all around fur tracks. Not one was to
| be found, but that didn't discourage
me. / peered around fur a spell and
then went In. 1t was a narrer openin,
| and the cave was dark. but l had
brung along a taller candle. | lighted
"Dod rot 1t, but what a fule a man
kin make of himself when he tries!"
exclaimed the old man after a pause.
Anybody of sense knows that coons and
possums don't go hangin around caves.
That vishun was a tarnashun lie. That
! cave was as big as half an acre. and
walked all over 1t and found nuthin.
was mad and kickin myself when
started to go out, but / hadn't gone
fur when the roof Of the cave 'peared
| to fall down upon me. Mebbe 1t was
half an hour later when / opened my
eyes and found myself on my back
and 1t seemed as If one side of my
| head had bin caved in. / found my
rifle with the stock broken, and
| fould smell bar all around. 1t didn't
take me long to flgger out that a bar
| had follered me into the cave and
fetched me n whack 'longside the head.
In mint heard him sniffin and NOV
In around outside the cave, and as
| crawled along | found him on guard
He was lyin down fair in the way, and
| was his prisoner If my rife had bin
all right, could hev got rid of him In
short order. but it couldn't be fired.
"As the bar heard me movin up he
showed his teeth and growled in a way
to make my h'ar stand up. He didn't
come in after me, but IL was plain
huff that he wasn't goin to let me out
thought 1t was best to keep still fur
awhile and see If he wouldn't go away,
and, d'yo' know, sub, to the best of my
belief that critter went right to sleep.
| couldn't git out without steppin over
him, and 1t was too risky to try that