Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-09-22
BY SAM WILKES.

night at Squire Waldrip's over in the
Hickory Flat. He give a big log rolling
and a frolic at night, and his gals sent
me word to be shore to come to the frolic
eff 1 didn't get to the rollin', so me and
Babe Williams went We got thar jest
a little after dark and hitched our horses
in the scope of woods above the house
and hid a bottle Of corn under the side
of the house and went in. Everything
looked powerful nice and a big crowd
was thar-the Tippins gals from up on
the river, the Pugh gals, the Massey
gals from Bullocks barn and all the
folks in the Flat. Old Squire Waldrip
was glad to see US and we went round
and took one with him. old Miss Wal
drip and the gals was powerful busy
fixin' the cookin and the table, and the
boys and gals was all a talkin' and en-
joying themselves. The four fddlers was
a tunin' up and Buck Bice and Jim Kitch-
ems was ready to beat the straws and
Rufin Crow was TO do the calm. Pur-
ty soon the dancin' commenced and me
an Miss Mat Waldrip led off in the fust
set. Well, sir. 1t was fine. Everybody
was happy; the gals was all rugged out
in their best and the boys was all lively.
Between sets they dipped and talked and
laughed and got cool. About IL o'clock
the fiddlers had just been out and had
horn with me and Babe and had began
agin like new. Everybody it look like was
a dancin' and IL was shore hot. You could
a heard Ruffin calm a mile. When all
at once the gals commenced to sneeze and
cough an in a few minutes ever dancer
thar was about to sneeze thar heads on.
It got worse and worse; the fiddlers took
it. Rufin got so he could hardly call
and everybody quit dancin" and COM
menced fussin and sneezing and coughing,
an sech a mix-up never seed; false hair
was a fallin' on the floor from the gals
heads at every sneeze, and directly Susan
Latham jest sneezed her false teeth clean
out of her mouth and they fell on the
floor and Liza Holcomb she stepped on
UNI and broke UNI, so she couldn't wear
UNI any more and Susan lowed she had
done ii a purpose and they like to mt
rite thar I'm spite of all we could do.
whilst this was a-goin' on Squire Wal
drip rushed in bare-headed, mad as a
bull. He looked at the table in the
tother room, saw them three fat pos
sums with er apple In then mouths, them
nice dishes full of boiled eggs, fried
chicken. I've hominy, and stacks of later
custards all thar and nobody could eat
'em. Wen, sir. he few around and cussed
like a storm, everybody was a sneezin'
and a coughin', and he got at It, He
swore and fumed and shucked his coat
thowed II I'm the middle of the floor and
swore he could whip any d-n man who
done his house that er way. Miles John
son tried TO paeify him and he commenced
TO cuss and ii now looked like everybody
was goin at II. The hounds begun to
bark and the chickens TO cackle and me
and Babe made slide fur our horses an
I'm goin' round the corner of the house
Babe knocked over a bee gum and they
seem the light flew in the window
amongst the folks, and the last we seed
was Squire Waldrips bald head bo5bic
around. his arms flynn, slappin' like all
the rest at the bees. We jumped In our
saddles and never stopped runnin' fur four
miles. I hain't heard from II since. !
amt goin' into The Flat for some time
to come
When we had all laughed and laughed at
his story. 1 ventured TO ask him who he