The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-07-20

riz up 20 once. 1t wasn't no coon tail,
but one of the biggest wildcats l ever
laid eyes on. He hadn't bin hurt by
the fall, but he was mad huff to eat
nails had skeercely made out what
the varmint was when he lit on me and
got to work. | don't reckon you ever
met up with a 20 pound wildcat with
teeth and claws in good trim, but if
you ever do you'll find that buzzsaws
amt in I. with him. The varmint
knocked me down at the fust Jump,
and he had torn off half my clothes be-
TO could git up. Then we went at it
hammer and tongs. had denied the
children of Israel, and so / had to de-
pend upon the club. 1t wasn't much
of weapon to fight a wildcat with
The critter lodged half the blows. and
the other half didn't seem to hurt anv.
l yelled fur my dawg, but he didn't
cum. | yelled fur the old woman, and
bout the time | yelled | cotched sight
of her two rods off lookin on. She had
my rifle in her hands, and | hollered
fur her to cum cluser and shoot the cat.
Zeb White SEE She. it amt fur me
to mix in this fout. You went out in
defiance of the Iawd to cotch a coon,
and if you've cutched wildcat in
stead its proper punishment
Her words made me mad and
teched my pride. and l determined to
kill that cat without her help or be
clawed to death a-tryin. | got in two
or three good blows and sorter evened
up things. but it was nip and tuck
Bimeby, when l begun to weaken.
says to the old woman:
81 amt akin you to shoot the var.
mint. but you might shoot off a paw or
two and gimme far show
How about Sunday" she asks,
never movin a foot.
It's a purity good day
is it the Lawd's day OF a coon's
day?
1.-The Lawd's day. reckon. Gwine
to stand thar till the meat is clawed
off my bones?
Cant tell yit. When the Lawd
brings abou a calamitous calamity to
punish man fur denyin him it's fur
folks to be keerful how they mix in
Nobody has aXed you to mix in,
says l, and then | went fur that cat
like a hawk fur chicken Fur the
next five minutes l had the advantage
and was beginnin to feel peart, but the
loss of blood began to tell, and l found
myself CROWN weak. The old woman
noticed it and called out:
"'Zeb, how about the Bible?'
Tim, a-believin in it, says l as
makes an awful blow at the cat.
"'And how about the children of
Israel?
"I'm a-pelievin in them too
"'Did they cross the Red sea dry
shod?
"I'll bet they did,
"sNNas Phario overwhelmed?
"'He was, and I'll lick any man who
denies it,.
| "'Jest one mo- question, Zeb, says
the old woman as she Gums forward
Are thar gwine to be any mo- coon
| huntin on SundaysT s-ssspsss-esss.
"'Not if we never hev another pipt
of lasses in the cabinv says l as thu
| cat rakes me across the shoulders.
THAT ended the fight. The old wo
| man mixed in and shot the cat through
| the head, and | tumbled down and lay
thar fur half an hour befo' she could
help me hobble home. Bout all the
| clothes | had left on me was one boot
and shirt collar, and 1t was fo' weeks
befo' the bites and scratches let me git
| around ag'in. On the fust Sunday
| could sit out | saw q bar up the noun
| ting and started fur my gun. but the
old woman held up her hand and said:
1 I" Zeb White. take a cheer and sot
down. Yes: know it's bar, and We
are powerfG. short of meat, but we'S7
got somethin else to Go. AS soon as !!
| git my hands cut of this dishwater III
fill my pipe and sot down. and you'll
read to me bout them children and thu,
Red sea. II you read slow and don't
skip anything mebbe you'll find some.
thin bout wildcats toon"