Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1901-02-08


had marked 'em down and would be
back some night aTter honey 1t wasn't
an hour befo' | moved them hives out
of his reach and replaced 'em with two
hives filed with straw. | shet the old
dog up in the house that night, and
long bout midnight he begun TO whine
and growl. | jest got to the winder
when the bar showed up He was
arter that honey, and he hadn't no
time to waste. one hive wasn't 'nuff
fur him, and he knocked both over as
soon as he got within reach and then
made ready fur a feast When he
found them hives hard packed with
straw. he knowed it was n joke. and
he sot up and looked so sheepish and
mean over it that laughed fur half
an hour. That bar went away feelin
hurt In his feelin's. but was suab
he'd come back ag'in some other night
and try to pay me off.
Il had jest penned up likely pig,
and that bar was bound to hev pig
meat if he couldn't hpv honey. He
was suah to be back the next night
and so | spent two hours greasin the
roof of the pen with soft soap. When
| was through. it was so slippery that
even claws wouldn't take hold, On
the second night, bout II O'clock, the
bar showed up ag'in. He had bin
thnkin Of fresh pork all the afternoon
and had got hungry over it. and arter
one look around he climbed upon the
roof of the pen. 1t had steep pitch to
it, and it dropped off into a gully and
that bar had skassly got up before he
was slidin down like a log of wood
He shot eff the roof into the gully like
a big ball and me and the old woman
laughed till the tears came. Three
times the bar tried it. and three times
he was dumped. | yelled at him and
called him names. and his feelin's was
hurt agin He was so 'shamed bout
things that he wouldn't even fight the
dog.
II knowed the varmint wouldn't gin
up that way. but would keep comm
back till he got sunthin. 1t struck me
that he'd go fur the chickens next. and
so ! had a trap all ready fur him. He
was too cute to step into 1t, and arter
roamin around fur awhile he went off.
laughed ut him and called him Il
mighty pore bar, and he appeared SO
lonesome over it that ! almost pitied
him. He didn't come back the next
night or the next. but on the third
night he showed up ag'in, and had
another joke ready fur him. had
headed the old dawg up in stout BARI
and then wrapped the bari around
W it'll, barbed wire. used up 200 feet
of wire around that bari, and the
barbs stuck out like quills of porcu-
nine. AS soon as the bar appeared the
old dawg begun to bark and raise
fuss. | don't reckon that varmlnt had
ever heard of dawg In bari befo'
and I'm suah he hadn' never met with
no barbed wire He jest walked around
TO make sartin of things and then
jumped in.
"Lemme tell yo' that thar was mo-
fun in the next ten minits than most
bars and dawgs and folks hev in hun
| var. Bruin started in to bust that
barl by huggin. but he soon gin u up
! Then he rolled it bout, but every time
he struck it he got prick. Sometimes
he'd chase it. and sometimes he'd run
away from it, and he did hate to gin
ND beat. 1t wasn't no use in nm hght-
IN that bar'l, though, and he finally lei
# 90 and sortef cried over 1t. lie went
off with his head down and homesicK
shamble. and the old woman turns TO
me aud asks:
...Zeb. what'll that b'arskin be wutb
when snow flies?
"''Bout So says l.
..Then yo' air $40 out Of pocket.