The Tomahawk., 1903-10-08
ketched. tia be states prison, sire ~

ketched. tia be states prison, s'lrs ~
cats, he says.
""The bear that Simeon had ketched
asleep was layin' there by its pole, pre-
tendin' to be snoozin, but when my
gran father spoke them words it opened
it's eyes and looked up student and
queer. Then it got up and took 10
thinkin' like, and KEEP turnin' it's eyeson
Simeon, and gran'father says to Simeon
ag'in to beware O. that bear; but Sim
con jest says: 'Poof!'
"'Next day,'Ssays the Squire, gram
father went away on three weeks.
raftin' trip, and the day after thaq
young Steve, who lived TO SIM
con, got up early and found three OK
his sheep gone But the thief had LETT
such trail that Steve follered 1t TIL
it stopped, and then he almost ker-
hummixed, he was SO astounded.
But he went right oif,' says the
Squire, and woke up the justice of the
peace, and told him he wanted war
rant for the sheep thief; and when young
Steve told him who it was he most fell
in a lit. Then Steve routed out the con-
stable, and where do you think he led
him? Straight to Simeon's!
First says the Squire, they went
to the milk house. There hung young
Steve's three sheep. And they were
skinned! Then they went to the barn.
There laid the pelts of o. them sheep
on the barn floor
THAT was all they wanted. They got
Simeon up, served the warrant and
marched him of in spite of all he could
say. Young Steve said afterward,' says
the Squire, that he see the bear dancin'
around the pole, and huggin' itself as II
it was jest about Dustin with Joy OF
somethin', but Steve didn't think nothin'
about lit, bears bein' queer
"The Squire went on and told Uncle
Jase how the upshot of it all was that
the day his grandfather got back from
his three weeks raftin' trip he went over
to Simons to see how him and the bear
was gittin' along, the Squire's grandfa-
ther, Of course, not havin' heerd any
thing about Simeon bein' took up for
sheep stealin', and there was the bear
layin' down by the pole, ponderin' like.
when along comes young Steve with the
news from the county seat, and he hol-
lers. out:
Hooray! Simeon gifts three years in
Jail! Hooray!'
with that says the Squire, the
bear jumped up and danced and hugged
itself, and almost hollered hooray, too. >
when the Squire's grandfather heerd
all about it, he up and says:
81 warned him! I warned him ag in
the bear, but he poofed at me! The bear
stole them sheep and put it on to Simeon,
sure as guns!'
Then says the Squire, the bear quit
huggin' itself, and laid>down and looked
skeert and sneakin' But there wouldn't
nobody else believe that the bear had
done it, and the unfortunate man that
pooled at my ancestor, who knowed
bears from A to lizard, and that scoffed
at Natur', not KNOWN she was so won
derful in bears that bear ketched
asleep was bound to git even with It's
ketcher, even If it had to make him out
sheep thief-that unfortunate man had
to serve his time. Uncle Jase,' says the
Squire, the best thing you can do is to
send Evander warnin'.'
"Uncle Jase he sot a spell, and then he
says to the Squire, sort O. as clincher:
Squire he says, happens that
Simeon was an ancestor o. mine,' he says,
and not SO long back, neither he says,
and it's little queer, seems to me- he
says, that never heerd of bear maxim
Of him out to be sheep thief! says he.
What! says the Squire, jest as If
he was s'prised more than he could say.
Simeon an ancestor O. your'n?' he says.
he says. Kin it be,
then,' says he, that the bear didn't steal
them sheep after all?' says he.
'And says to the Squire then, and I'd
say it to him now:
esquire says, you hadn't ought 70
done it!'
But the Squire he jest only grinned."
IN. Y. Sun.