The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1903-09-19

4
Then, says Uncle Jasper, you kin
settle t'Other un, he says. and youli
have 'em both, and I am glad you come
along. he says, SOS to set me to thtnkin'
about wildcats, and SOS / could sort O.
locate these two fer you, he says.
Them two is all there is in these parts
to-day. 'cordin' to the signs, he says.
That's the way Uncle Jasper laid out
the programme fer me that day as to
wildcats, and / foIlered it out and got
'em both A leadin' and valuable citi-
zen Uncle Jasper was, and IL was big
swat to the Knob country when he
passed away.
1T was somethin' tough on him that
he had to go, too, partic'Iy as he had to
leave setch woman to be a widder as
Hammer was. Why, whenever I remem-
| Der Hammer and them three bears I al
/ most have to set down and shed tears for
Uncle Jasper to think he had to 20 and
leave setch a woman a Widder.
Them three bears. the old she one
and the two spring cubs, they come down
into the corn patch at Jasper's clearin'
| Jest about dusk one day, when the milk
was in the corn, and laid out to have q
high old feast on to it. They knoWed.
them bears did, jest as sure as you're
born, that Uncle Jasper was way back
o. the Knob, havin' the gun with him.
and wasn't comm home that night; but
they didn't know that Hammer had so
many p'ints about her.
"They had been rompin' around in the
corn, tearin' of roastin' ears and havin'
a good time gener'Iy, before Hammer dis
covered EN-. There want no gun In
the house. but Hammer didn't calc'late
to let that bear family harvest that corn
crop, gun or no gun.
Uncle Jasper had both the dogs with
him, too, but the little yaller Whiffet
was to home, So Hammer, she grabbed a
pitchfOrk, and callin the whiffet start
ed fer the corn patch to attract the
bears.
''The bears didn't see her till the
whiffet begun to bristle up and bark,
but when they did look up and see what
was comm they only shifted, jest as If
they considered that here was more fun
than ever cut out fer EN-. But Hammers
dander was way up, and when the old
bear riz on its hind feet and made
big shown o. teeth. Hammer marched
right on, and give the bear jab with
the pitchfOTk that made it holler.
The whiffet attracted the bear in the
rear at the same time, and the three Of
em scrambled away and Skinned up a
chestnut tree that stood in the patch.
IF them bears had an idee that by
gtttin' out O. the way o. the dog and the
pitchfork in this way they was goin' to
have the field all to themselves when
Hammer got tired O. waitin fer 'em to
come down and went away, they was
terrible mistook. Ellis Sam lived only
a mile from there, and Hammer could "a
soon skited over and got him and his
gun, but she want goin' to take no
chances on them bears gittin' away. so
she plunked herself down at the foot &
the tree and KEEP the bears from gittin'
down Outen 1t, though they tried to do
it more than dozen times.
Hammer knOwed that Ellis Sam d be
along by there early in the mornin', so
there she sot and sOt all night jabbin
the pitchfork good and deep into the
bears every time they'd think they had
a chance to sneak down, and sendin' 'em
back outen reach agin, hollerin' and
griffin their teeth.
"A little after daylight next mornin'
ELS Sam come along, on his way to his
chopin, and as luck would have it he
had his gun with him. He heered some
one hollerin' to him, and he see Hammer
standin' in the corn beckonin to him
with the pitchforB
What's the matter Hammer? says
Ellis Sam.
There amt nOthin' the matter!
Hammer hollers back. But I got crop
O. bears here, and want you to help
me gether 'em! she hollers.
Then Ellis Sam, he see the bears in
the tree, and he trotted over there on
the double-quiclI and picked of all three
Of 'em as easy as turnin pancakes.
"a shame to leave setch a woman as
Hammer a wilder? Should say so; and
leadin' citizen and valuable to the Knob
country though he was, I wouldn't a.
thunk Uncle Jasper would "a done It.
But Hammer didn't stay a widder
long. How could she? A lumber con
tractor with considerable money res
cued her, and they tell ne she's livin' at
the county seat now; in a real board
house with shingles on to it, an hes a
woman to do her washin'.' IN. Y. Sun.