The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1902-02-01
The Courtship of
Hold and Jason o
BY HAYDEN CARRUTH.
toopyrisAssd by Daily story Pub. Co.,

TT WAS probably the biggest lie ex-
tant at Hawleyburg, the home OF
many experienced and intrepid liars.
1t is doubtful if the Hawleyburgers
themselves believed it all, though of
great capacity in this line. But the
Widow Gilbert certainly did exist,
though now married in accordance
with the tale; she also had farm on
which was likely hollow where the
chief occurrence might have taken
place. Perhaps it was the simple truth
after all. Truth is stranger s.san nc
tion--at Hawleyburg it was very much
more of stranger.
There were several versions OF the
legend known; let us take that o." I'D
Dad" Highbottle, who maintained sa-
loon at Bofnger's grocery store.
'When the Wilder Gilbert was a.
running her farm" Old Dad would say, |
as he munched dried apple and looked
at the newcomer with fabby eye,
'she used to have to keep a couple o.
hired men, that there boy O. her'n not
being able to do much work beyond
hooking my watermelons and raising
the Old Harry generally. The wilder
was q pretty likely-looking woman,
femme tell you--bloo eyes and fetch
ing way. Abe Trotter and Jim Buck
was going to fight duel about her,
but they compromised on pizening each
otherses dog and sowing pusley seed
in each otherses garden. Used to think
in them days that the wilder put sort
ola soft-appearing eye on yours trooly,
but fit shy.
''This summer the wilder had her
usual two hired men. One was Hod
Buckley and the other Jason Dobbs.
Wei, now, you know how it is with
hired men-always lazy as all get-out,
or more so. Bound to soldier on you
no matter what you do. The only way
to get anything out of 'em is to work
right alongside of 'em and prod 'em
along. Leave one of 'em working alone
and he'll just naturally lay right down
and never wiggle wiggle till he sees
you coming. And these year men, Hold
and Jason, was just the old great
grandfathers of all lazy hired men. Go
to sleep right in their tracks, stand
ing up, with their hoes h'isted into the
air ready to hit weed. They'd both
worked for me, and the only way l
ever could get anything out of either
OF 'em was to use 'em for scarecrows;
and finally it even got so the crows
would roost on 'em-'and the fowls OF
the air roasted on its branches as the
good book says about the ginger seed
But what do you think?-both of these
year shiftless galoots fe,l dead in love
with the wilder. And il had the queer.
est effect on EN-. Hold braced up and
went to work like steam engine
Work? wy, he just sot up nights t.
work. Worked in season and out o
season, rain or shine. Done the worl
of three men if he done a stroke
Thought sure he'd catch the widdel
with his pesky industry, you see. Blu
it had just the opposite effect on tina
there Jason. Seemed to just sort @
petrify him. Couldn't seem to NOV
II he tried. Managed to stir about
little if the wilder was watching him
but at other times just elapsed. TIL
wilder had pertater patch down bacl
of the barn in little holler where sh
kept Jason a-hoeing the main part o
the time. But all the hoeing he don
you could a-put in your eye. Didn'
work enough to keep his hoe brigh
just as soon as the widder's back wa
turned Jason would get up on the fenc
and set down and go to sleep, his fee
resting on the second rail and his e
bows on his knees and his face in h
hands. Always, regular, al day lonI
there Jason sot, snoring steady. ! tie
you Satan never found no work ft
them idle hands to do, cause
wouldn't work at nothing. The rel
son that Jason got on the fence WI
that the ground down there in II
boiler was sort o. wet and sudgy and
was afeerd of rheumatic.
swell, it made Hod mad to see hi
self doing al the work and Jason .
the resting. even though he was SUI
he would catch the wilder by it. I
didn't ike it cause the wilder wouldn
discharge Jason. and be sot sbo!