The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-10-23

| of co'se he hain't," exclaimed Mrs.
White, who sat in the big rocking chair
teeins off sock for winter wear.
Inns decent man. and no decent
man ever has to do with SIGH varrnints.'
WAL, sickness hain't no name fur
en-, continued Zeb, without looking at
some recollection. That thar critter
( mad good clothes and lots of money, and
ne was the smoothest incest talkers l
/ ever Old listen to. We is mostly Bap-
4 lists saround..yere, and hardshell at that,
/ but land save yo', he jest knocked the
I legs out from under us in no time He
made out that he had a religion so much
/ better that we was tumbled over in
fortnight. 1t was the Mormon religion,
or co Sc, and he made it out so nice and
purity that yo could jest feel angels
wings a-growin' on your body
Nobody but the men folks was took
i in by his talki' snapped Mrs White.
! Mebbe not but it's no use to say he
wasn't powerful on the talk. Yo' Jest
orter heard him tell bout that land of
/ UTAH. Nobody we're ever heard tell
much about it till he cum along and it
+ jest did one a power of good to h ar
him go on bout the vineclad hills and
! the pearly streams a-rushin' along.
! Thar was woodchucks in every hill,
coons in every confeId and possums
! hangin' on to every limb and watin
+ to be picked Thar was apples and
{ pSACH21 anu grapes ana DerSlnInO0S
and melons the hull var round. and
whisky, terbacker. snuff and pipes free
4 to all. Everything growed without bein
teched. and nobody had to work an
hour a week except he wanted to git
/ the stiffness outer his legs"
/ What an onery liar he was! ex
claimed Mrs. White as she ceased knit
ting to reach for a handful of chest
nuts
"Of co'se he lied said Zeb to me
/ "of cose he did. but 1 never expect to
h'ar such smooth and easy and bewti-
full lyin' ag'ia if I live to De a hundred
Vars old. lie was willin' to take twenty
+ families of us out thar at his own ex-
pense, and arter we get out thar every
family was to Eev land and a cabin
and do nuthin' but sit around and sing
hymns and uphold the Mormon relig
ion. 1t wasn't exactly paradise, but was
next doah to it,
*'Zeb White. why don't yo' tell he un
the truth bout them twenty fam'lies?"
demanded Mrs White
4 don't 'zactly mean twenty FAM
lies he humbly replied; mo. of co'se
not He picked out twenty men and
'leven women to take along. The other
women was too old and scrawny. The
rest of them twenty men was to git
new wives out thar, yo' know
And yo' was one of EN-, and never
kin forgive yo fur it."
Now. mother, what's the use? Did
go? Did I wanter go Didn't l say I
wouldn't go without yo'? Yes; thar
was twenty men and that critter said
/ they could have five wives apiece arter
they got out thar If they wanted to-
Some of 'em was nightly struck on
the idea, but 1 wasn't sayin' a word. l
didn't keer bout bein' fined to no five
wives, and as fur gwine off and leavin'
this one behind 1 never could "a dun
it,
s'Yo' jess fgger that yo' couldn't!" ex-
claimed Mrs. White.
Are yo' gwine to keep putin In on
me?" queried Zeb.
If I. wanter!"
Then I'll go out and chop some wood,
and yo' kin finish the story"
He seemed pleased at the opportunity
| to get away, and when he had closed
the door behind him Mrs. White said:
''Zeb's powerfully ashamed of that
pesky bizness, but / hain't never gwine
to let him h'ar the last of it. Yo' see,
that miserable critter of a Mormon dun
most of his talkin' to the men. The
first thing us women folks knowed he
had nigh all the men around yere Jest
bu stin' thar buttons off to go to that
paradise. I don't think Zeb was quite
as bad as the others, but think he had
a noshun to go along. At least he acted
mighty quare and strange and didn't
talk UP like q man"
We'll, you heard of the scheme?" I
queried as she paused.
of cose. l didn't lay much store by
it at fust, but arter awhile l knowed
ish people would make start One
day I got on the old mewl and visited
every cabin fur ten miles around. At
s o'clock on the next night twenty two
| of us gathered UP yam at the sl1rAe
/ house. The Mormon was lOdgin' Tat
night at Davis house, almost across fthe
road Yes, sab. thar was twenty two
women of us and nary a man, and we
didn't stop five minits to talk
You went somewhere, then?"
Reckon we did. sab. Went right over
to Davis and surrounded the cabin. Then
1 took three women with me and went in
arter the Mormon. He LATED when we
woke him up and axed him to take walk,
but he got over that when he saw the rest
of the women and the switches i'll than
hands. We took him to the trees jest be-
yand the skulehouse and tied him fast He
talked soft, and he threatened but it made
no difference to us. When all was ready
we begun to use the switches. and if ever
a pesky critter got worse IicAin' ! never
heard tell of him. I'VE switched him until
he was like dead man and then went
away and left him tied up. Next mawnin
he was gone, and from that day to this
no Mormon has dared to show his face
among u.s.
And of course that put a stop to tho
plan of going 70 Utah?" I said.
''Of CO Sc it did. If it hadn't, thar would
hev bin some mo- lickin's, and 1 reckon