The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-07-13

morrer, bur today I've got to 90 up to
them limestone caves. | had a power
full vishun last night In my vishun
saw a cave, ana that cave was chuck
full Of coons and poSsums. can't say
what brunS the varmints together. but
thar they was. and thar was 500 Of
EN-
! don't believe nuthn of the sortr
says the old woman 'Yo' are allus
heyin .vishuus bout bars and coons
and pOSsums, but nobody ever knowcd
yo' to hey vishun bout chopin wood
or hocin corn.
"Shc was right bout that" said Zeb,
with smile, but it rilcd me up Jest
the same. answered back purity
briskly, and she got mo- sassy, and so
we had n row. | got up from the table
and took my gun and whistlcd to the
dawg and started off, and the old wom-
an called out to me that she hoped I'd
be clawed by wildcats. wasn't yarn
In bout that vshun. | was lyin on my
back in bed, eyes wide open, when that
vishun riz up bcfo' me. and | seen
things so clear that | fell into a trem.
BILE Thar was Il cave full of coons and
posSumS, and went In and Stayed 'em
by the hundreds and got 'nuff money
out of their skins to buy me a mewl. |
wanted to fix that leak, of co'se, but 1t
seemed Il powerful sin to let that Vi
shun go by. hadn't got morcn half
q mile from the house when the dawg
begun TO hang back. The critter allus
'pcarcd to take the old woman's side
whenever we had a row. When | no.
ticcd him hangin back, yelled out at
him ana grabbed up 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 jest made up
my mind to kill him when | got home.
Thar was three CO yCs, and il 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 narrcr openin,
and the cave was dark, but had
brung along taller candle | lighted
the candle and begun to look about me.
bod rot it, but what a fule a man
kin make of himself when he trics!"
exclaimed the old man after Il pause.
Anybody of sense knows that coonsand
possums don't 20 hangin around caves.
That vishun was tarnashun lie That
cave was rs big as half an acre. and |
walked all over 1t and found nuthin.
! was mad and kicllin myself when |
started to 80 out, but hadn't gone
fur when the roof of the cave 'pcared
to fall down upon me. Mcbbe 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 cavCd in. | found my
rifle with the stock broken, and l
could smell bar all around. 1t didn't
take me long to ngger out that bar
had follcred me into the cave and
fetched me Il whack 'longSidc the head
In mint heard him sniilin and NOV.
In alNrnd 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 rifle had bin
all right. could hcv 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 1t was plain
'nuif that he wasn't goin to let me out.
! thought it 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 cit out without steppin over
him, and it was too risky to try that
I kept quiet fur two hours, and he new.
er moved. Then l flung a stone at
him. and he woke up and growled till
! had chill.
"Mebbe yo'll say | orter hev taken
comfort In that cave, but when | found
the afternoon wearin away and the
bar hangin on was mighty miserable
over it, The bars of Tennessee owed
me a powerful grudge fur the way l
had slaughtered them, and who was
to tell what this critter proposed to dot
He could finish me off any time he
wanted to. but he 'peared to be playin
another game. Bimeby it come dark.
but he didn't move. was hungry and