Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1902-11-12

quite i~nterestin' aocOrdin 70 the way
Uncle David remembers Il.
81 oouldn't fgger out why In Sam
I'm that snapph' torkle had pitched
In and licked Snedeker's bull says
Uncle David Beckendarter. not till ]
found him in my orchard the next
fall shakin' down . bar1 or more o.
my cheest fall pippinsi then ! got che
idee, an I've had it ' nence, says
Uncle David, that he had them pip
pins on his mind when be took a hand
in that hght and licked snedeker's
bull, on purpose to ave my bull from
= hcdn' jest TO git on the right side
o me, soc / wouldn't say nothin'
when he sniVvlsd On them apples that
he'd sot his mind on says Uncle
David; and II there's anybody here
that wants "a call Uncle David q liAr
TIN be tolsrble safe for him to do
II now, for Uncle DaNid'a comm s.,
and Il all bowed down over the pass
In away o. that amaEin' Drownded
Lands GnAPipn' tOrkle."
II hain't got time to tell you how
chseFiR' that amAEin' snappin' torkls
has been 10 Uncle David and Aunt
Sally ever sence the fall he licked
snsdskar's shorthorn bull" he said.
The pSlta q the mushrats that he
has ketshed winters and give to
Unels David more thAR ria the mort
gage On the farm. and Aunt Sally
Jest seta down and wesps bitter tears
when she thinkH o. The time the ehurn
dog took siok and died, and Aunt Sal
ly didn't know what In all creation
she was goin' 10 do, She couldn't
a'done nothin' II that snSppin' tOrkle
hadn't took pity on her and come up
and run that ehurnin' machine for
her every Ohurnin' day for a month.
"And he's been comm up every fall
and pullin' turnips and diggin' taterS
and shakin' down apples on Uncle
David's place, enough so last him
through winter, and every Fourth OF
July he fetched Uncle David and Aunt
Sally q t~hree-pound trout for their
dinner. Every single Fourth.
HE was on his way back from
takin' 'em their trout last Fourth
when Murphy's bulldog pitched in
and tackled him. Murphy vas there,
and so was Uncle David, and Uncle
David see by the look the torkle give
him that the torkle was willin' to
give Murphy time enough to call his
dog of, and Uncle David told Murphy
30.
"But Murphy said no. The tOrklc
had the dog gripped by the tail, and
the dog had the same hold on the
torkle.
",And, David says Murphy, III bet
you fifty that the torkle let's go first.
"Uncle David looked at the torkle
and the torkle looked at Uncle David
"TH double the bet!' says Uncle
David, and they doubled the bet.
"The dog and the torkle hphg on
to one another and didn't sag a word
"Then the torkle riz up md walked
for the river, holdin' his grip onto the
dogs tail, and the. dog holdin' his
grip onto the t6rkle's tail. The torkl'
clumb into the river. Murphy's dos
give a shiver, but he held his grip.
1.-THE torkle stayed on top a spell
but the dog didn't let go. Then the
torkle went under and took the dog
with him, and everybody but Uncle
David said that Murphy ought t.
called his dog off, but Uncle David
said no; the dog'd let go O. the toTklt
now, and come back, he said, and he't
win the bet.
"But the dog didn't come back, mol
the torkle didn't come back, and BY
and by Murphy wanted to draw thu
bet, but Uncle David said NJ unless
that torkle didn't show up this fal
at 'tater-diggin' or turnip-pullin' tim'
he wouldn't draw the bet; no, sir.
"And it begun to look as If tn
torkle wasn't goin' to show up, wheI
t'other day Uncle David seen him tot
term along to'rd the 'tater field, bu
he was so thin and wobbly that Uncl
David hardly reco'nized him. And h
cas- carryin' a white bone in hi
mouth and draggin' another on
along that was fast to his tail.
"Uncle David most busted int
tears and sent for Murphy.
""There you bel says he to Nun
ply. The torkle has got the bon
O. your bulldogs tail in his mouth
and there's the jawbones O your bull
dog clutchin' on to the torkle's tall
eyes, sir. Neither one O. them crit
tiers had let go, and the bulldog haI
been eat up by the fishes, all but hi
iawbones that kept their clutch, an
the torkle had held onto the bone
the dogs tail rather than let go an
get somethin' to eat.
"Uncle David took hold O. the bon
TO pull il out o. the torkle's mout
so he could get some ~victuals int
him, but the torkle wouldn't let 81
He tottered ahead a couple O. steps.
"Then Somethin' clicked. The jaw
bones O. the dog had cracked, and
let 90 the torkle's tail and fell OF
Then the torkle give Uncle David
look and spit out the dogs tail bone
He had won the bet for Uncle Davi'