Evening journal., 1903-03-02
zEB lHAS ENCOUNTER
WITH A BIG BEAR
Was::Taking a .Keg Of Moon.
o shine. in HisTArms When
.-1....g He Me-. Bruin 'ie

.sr1.ung He Met Bruln- 1i
'i was reckonin 20 50 IN with some
oS the men on a moonshine still," said
the old po.susn hunter "hut the old
woman raised Sch n fuss about It that
L had to give It up She Jest sulked
Ind cried and acted rp fur a hull week,
and she couldn't sleep nights fur think
IN Of them reyencw fellers. When
they got the still runnin. they wanted
somebody 10 carry the kegs over the
mountin TO market. aud they coaXed
me into tie job II was a trip Of TO-
teen miles and. Of cosc, it had to be
made at night dasn't let the old wo-
man know what / was doin. but as
had TO hev an excuse to he out told
her l was coon huntln. I'd bin out
three or To- nights when she turns on
me and says:
"'How about them coons. Zebf
Yo've bin out every night since Sun
day, but yo' hain't dun brung back a
coonskin.'
"'Coons is mighty shy this time of
year says l.
"'Oh, that'sitl Coons jest keep right
away from yo', do theyy
"''Pears like they do, but I'm hopir
to strike a big lot Of 'em all to once
"'Waal, Zeb White yo mind what I
tell yo' says she as she looks straight
through me. 'Yo' jest keep right on
coon huntin, and yo'li find a coon soon
or OF later, and it'll turn out a mighty
bad find 70 yo'.'
'Then knowed she s'pected what l
was up to, but as she didn't say nuthin
lmO' / didn't. That night when l went
over te the still felt little skittish.
The old womans words had kind Of
skeered me. Them revenew fellers was
around lookin fur stills, and l was LA.
BILE to run across 'em in the woods any
time. If they ketched me with a keg
OF moonshine on my shoulder, it meant
q year In prison fur me fur suah.
When Jim Harper found / was skit-
tish, he says:
"If it's got to that Pint whar Zeh
I White, the celebrated bar killer and
3 possum hunter of Tennessee, has be.
z come afraid Of rabbits, then he'd better
l. stay home OF nights and play check
: ers.'
!. 'Then Bill Hope chips In and says it,
, wonderful that a man who has killed I
Il wildcat with a club should be afraid o
i woodchucks. The other two mel
= laughed at me and said l was gittil
u old and feeble, and, Of co'se, the tall
r'iled me and made me determined {
l. 60. 1t was about 10 o'clock when
! slung a keg OF moonshine on my shou
- ders and sot out. 1t wasn't cloud
=. might, but man wanted the eyes of
- cat to foller the paths over the hill
oo and through the bresh. tried to thin
N ii was all right, but the old woman
- words kept comm back to me. and
felt my knees grow weak as l scuffe
- along. l was jest about half way ovt
~ the hills and had sot down TO rest whe
- heard bar sniffin in the bresh. III
noise he made was a sort of sniff-snuf
with 'woof at the end Of It. That
the way a bar allus does when /
J.. smells a man at night.
"Look yere. Zeb White says 1
n myself as that bar kept comm neare
'if 20 amt in a scrape then I'll ei
'e' my butes In the darkness and ov,
ne these hills yo' can't run fur shuck
al and how 20 gwine to fight bar bar
er handedY
OF "Yo' bet l wished l had needed Il
w old woman, but it was too late then.
j. thought the best way was to git l
rk and go along and give that varmint
se cold bluff. but | was tremblin all oy
al as / made forward. | tried to whist
rd but my llps was dry as paper | star
We ed TO sing, but my own voice skeer'
me. l was mOvin along slow and no
IN the bar would take the bluf WHIT
he / run up ag'in sunthln in the darknes
al, ! put out my hand and felt the fur of
A bar, but | hadn't more'n teched hi
he when sunthin hit me longside the hea
as and | went head over heels down b
er, and into the bushes. Ii WAS as If
mule had kicked me on the ear. and
had Jest sense nun TO wonder how
would feel when the critter begun
ds tear me 10 pieces. heard him snuff
to and snutiin anG movln around, but
re- didn't come 70 me. and blueby | hea
he him movin away.
IN when I went head over heels. Il
k the keg didn't stop TO loox fur
Id when the bar moved on. but crawl
IN back 10 the path and started OF. W
la ferlln the thankfulest man in Tenn,
w see though my head felt as big as
he b;r'l when somebody grabbed me n
ad lh-sied light IN my face. True
nd you live. ] had run ag'ln three re-
gh new fellers who was hidin and wal
es- fur me.
'or ''Good eyenin. Zcb White, said q
ed Of 'em as they made suah IL was me.