The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-08-21


morrer, but today I've got to go up to
them limestone caves. had a power
full vishun last night. In My vishun l
saw cave. and that cave was chuck
full of coons and possums. can't say
what brung the varmints together, but
thar they was, and thar was 500 of
'em.'
81 don't believe nuthin of the sort?
says the old woman. 'Yo' are allus
hevin vishuns bout bars and coons
and possums. but nobody ever knowed
yo' to hev vishun bout chopin wood
or hOein corn.
"She was right bout that" said Zeb,
with smile, but it riied me up jest
the same. answered back purity
briskly, and she got mo- sassy, and so
we had 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. wasn't yarn
in bout that vishun. Twas lyin on my
back in bed, eyes wide open. when that
vishun riz up befo' me, and seen
things so clear that fell into trem-
BILE. Thar wos 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 mewl. l
wanted to fix that leak, of Use. but it
seemed q poy.erful sin to let that vi
shun go 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 woman's side
whenever we had row. When | no.
ticed him hangin back, yelled out at
him and 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 l got home.
+ Thar was three ca YES, and it was six
mile trip. The middle cave was the
biggest, and when reached it looked
all around fur tracks. Not one was to
be found, but that didn't discourage
me. I peered around fur q spell and
then, went in. 1t was narrer openin.
{ and the cave was dark. but | had
brung along taller candle. lighted
the candle and begun to look about me-
"Dod rot it. but what a fule a ma.
kin make of himself when he triesv
exclaimed the old man after pause
"Anybodyof senseknows that coons and
possums don't go hangin around caves
That vishun was talnashun lie. Tina
cave was as big as half an acre. and
walked all over it and found nuthin
was mad and kickin myself when
started to go out, but | hadn't gon,
fur when the roof of the cave 'pearet
to fall down upon me. Mebbe it wa
half an hour later when opened IN.
eyes and found myself on my back
and it seemed as il one side of m.
head had bin caved in. ] found M.
rife with the stock broken, and
could smell bar all around. 1t didn'
take me long to fgger out that b'a
had follered me into the cave an
ferched me whack longside the heat
In n mint heard him sniftin and moy
in around outside the cave. and as
crawled along found him on guart
He was lyin down fair in the way an
/ was his prisoner. Ii my rifle had hi
all right. | could hev got rid of him i
short order. but it couldn't be fired.
"As the bar heard me movin up b
showed his teeth and growled in a wa
to make my h'ar stand up He didn
come in after me, but it was plai
'nuff that he wasn't goin to let me on
] thought it was best to keep still IL
awhile and see if he wouldn't go ava.
and, d'yo' know, sub, TO the nest oil N
belief that critter went right TO sleel
/ couldn't git out without steppln oyt
him, and it was too risky to try tina