The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-02-09
MOUNTALNEER YARNS
The Game May Be a Little Short,
But Not the Stories.

THERE has been no lack. of sports
manlike activity among the noun
tains of West Virginia this sea-
son, but as yet the slaughtered game
have not been taken out in very large
quantities. says Ion Clinord in the
Washington Ssar. Years ago. accord
ing 10 old-timers, things were different
Then every man with a gun could
boast of a ten-P ronged buck slung over
his saddle-bow and a string of turkeys
at his belt. But now: '.They's a dozen
men ter eve'y deer, an hits the men
as mos genully gifts shot" NsVerthe-
! less. for the unterrified sportsman who
ventures into this primitive wilderness
I there are rewards enough in store
/ There may be dearth of game. but
there is no dearth of venerable MINI
rods, with yarns that smack OF the
days Of 'Dannie" Boone, whose mighty
/ gun, according to tradition, once rang
/ through every square mile of Ken
tucy and Virginia forest land There
are some pretty blue" game laws in
/ West Virginia, but as yet no restric-
lions have been put on the hunting
! stories a man can tell. and the contest
| as 10 who can bring down the biggest
yarn goes merrily on, without fear of
/ spy or warden.
So far this year the palm for this
particular kind of woodcraft has been
i awarded TO Jim Oxley of Shaver's
mountain, Pocahontas, in Randolph
county. jim is an old hunter, but at
| present he is running a mill amid the
/ scenes of his former shooting exploits.
| It would be more veracious, perhaps,
| to say that the mill ruPs itself, while
Jim sits in the doorway, with his old
rebel gun across his knee, relating
| his experiences to the huntsmen who
drop in on their way to the valley be
yOnd.
This amt much of a MILL says
Jim. but hit II turn out a right smart
o meal eff no one amt foolin' with hit.
Two bushels a day, reckin'. MOre'n
I kin use, a blame sight. Well. sir, q
queer thing happened to that mill
tother day, you'd better believe.
fixed her up all right. same as usual,
in the mornin'-chucked two bushel o
corn in that thar hopper an let her
went Wen, come night, 1 mOseyed
| round fer tn meal an thar warnt
! a grain of hit en- tn trough, nor no
corn en- tn hopper neither I'd been
Settin' en- this blessed doorway all day,
so I knowed no sneak had stole hit
off'n me, and hit kinter made me IN
easy fggerin' what had become o all
| that thar feed / allowed thar must
| be Suthin' wrong en- tn ole mill that
| time, an 1 made out I'd come perty
/ near diskiverin' of his befo' ve'y long.
So. mex mornin' J started her up a eff
thar warnt a thing the matter, an
! then, Std o settin' hyah wastin' my
time yarnin', spied about bit Well.
| sir, hit were a Gurus thing, jest about
tn mos Gurus thing 1 ever seen.
reckin, an nit shows tn powerful idees
some o. tn animals o these hyah
mountings kin hev. Jest as soon as
them two millstuns commenced ter rub
one agin t'Other, I seed a big wood
pecker fly inter that thar winder and
stand watchin' tn perceedins. An
when tn fust grain come tumblin' out
O them stuns what did ole woodpecker
do but scoot in an grab hit, fore hit
could reach tn floor, an cut O. tn win
der an back agin en- time ter grab
tn mex grain. Well. sir. fer near an
hour l stood watchin' that thar animal
snakin' off that feed jest as fast as tn
ole mill could grin, an befo' any o. hit
could reach tn trough. Then I got
kinder vexed an tired an / tux an
folIered tn thievin' cuss an tracked
him ter that tree yander. Well, sir,
that tree I found was holler; an jest
so sure as I'm settin' hyah, ole Mister
Woodpecker had filed her Up with my
feed from tn roots cIar ter tn top
an no bills paid ter this day neither.
''Speakin' o. BIRDS continued Jim
without so much as a wink, that thar
turkey tied up yander are jest about
tn cutest animal o any o them
| Caught him en- a trap one day when he
were young, right on top O. that mount
| ing thar. I liked tn Teller, an ne
kinder Tux ter me, so I made out not
ter send him fun this vale O. tears
Perty soon he got used ter my way o
| Twin, an I let him went jest about
whar he was a mind ter. One day he'd
| been hayin' a reg'lar cracker jack time
WI tn beechnutS yander- Guess he
must hev eat more'n a bushel o beech
nuts by tn way he acted; kinder chOkeC
an tried ter gobble, but found hi
I Warn'J no use-Same as a preacher wi
q tough tex or a sassy mOurnerS
bench. I paid no 'tentiOn ter old tur-
key. Fact is, I amt got no use fer NJ
enc what makes a hawg O. hisself. 81
! went right along WI what I were
: dom, fixin tn ole mill. TIL stun.
were wore out q bit, and I'd fetched
: up two o tn pertiest mill stuns fun
town you ever see. The new ones was
settin' on tn floor near tn door, an
was pulIin' at tn ole stuns tryin' tel
! git them out. Ole turkey were
|, a-skrawl1in' an a-cOughin' en- q tur-
! rible way right back O. me. but. as
were sayin', I paid no 'tentiOn ter him
Perty soon I didn't hear no more of HI:
~a~'-pt an +hen I'll - sudden ht
begin ter gobble an gobble, Jest as
he were too proud nIsself ter keeI
quiet any longer I turned round jes
en- time ter see him stroll out o. IN
door too happy ter speak, eve'y feather
a-standin' up, an his neck red enough
ter scare a bull inter fits. Well. sir
after he'd gone I found thar warnf
no mill stuns on tn floor whaf I'd lef
them, though I mos upset tn mil
trying ter find them. And-perhap.
!, you won't believe me, though I never
lied to no mani found out afterwards
that that thar turkey had swallerei
them mill stuns jest SOS ter grind VI
them measiy beechnuts at were wearin
out his insides.
Did I ever do much huntin'? Well
> mebbe I hev; jest enough ter keep me
limDered uD a bit when thar warn
no corn ter grind. That's my CUR
an hit amt fer sale nor gone out o
bisnis neither. FuSt time I tried that
thar gun I didn't know hit s wei as
! do now. That were befo' I fit tn
Yanks 1ongside O. Stonewan Jackson
I loaded her up wi a sight O slugs
an a fist full o. powder an tux ain
at a pheasant on that thar hill yam
der. Well, sir, 1 let her went an I
i 'peared ter me that gtsn d never qui1
kickin'. She kicked me clean .doWr
! tn hill an then she kicked me cFal
up tn mex one, an I declar' I got tel
| tn top jest en- time ter feel some o
: my own shot a faliin off'n tn trees
an fOun' tn ole pheasant so plum
full o. lead hit were more'n I could dc
ter lift him. Hits a powerful fine
gun. but hit kinder got mad when
showed so many slugs inter her, an
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