The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-09-22
BEFORE HE COULD WINK TWICE
L FLOPPED HIM ON HIS BACK.

lone day he was down to Bristol. and
tina was a circus in town. We went in,
and was lookin' at the animals
one of the lions lies down with his tail
stickin' through the bars of the cage.
seed Sam agrinnin' and I seq:
Young man, don't yo' go and make
no fool of yo'self with that lion
I'm gwine to pinch that TAIL seq he.
What's the uSe?
I've heard as how they were made
O. leather and had no feelin' in 'em, and
I'm goin' to see about it
Il didn't say nothin' mo- kase know
ed Sam was bound to have his way if lit
busted him. He gets cluS to the cage
and grabs that tail and gives it a pinch
and a twist and then hangs on to it
with all his might. The lion jumps up
with roar fit to shake the hills, and in
about a mint that hull menagerie was
upset and the circus folks a-pilin' on
to Sam. One of the older lions in the
cage clawed him across the hand. dog
bit him in the leg. and then the circus
folks whopped him till he didn't get
outer bed fur six weeks. He was into
all jest such scraDes as that, and the
wonder was that he lived as long as he
did. The older he growed the mo- can
tankerous he got, and one day the ole
woman cum to me with tears in her eyes
and seq:
'zeb White, Sans a-gittin' wusser
and wusser all the time, and I'm almost
hopin' the Lawd will take him away
1.-The Lawd couldn't manage him if
He did git him." SEE ].
Z" Mebbe He could. Mebbe He's got a
pen up thar in heaven to put Sam into
and keep him till he's bin made over.
I'm goin' to dye my shawl black and fix
up a mournin' bonnet, fur that boy o
ours will be brung home dead befo' he's
a month older
wall so he was-so he was" said
the old man. with a touch of pathos in
his voice. He was down to the Corners
one day to blow and brag with the
crowd a-hangin' out thar In them days,
when a man Gums ridin' up on a mewl
to say that Bill Clarks bull had broken
out O. the field and was comm up the
road. That bull was big 'un and
hooked two bosses to death. AS the
man was givin' the alarm the bull snow
ed up down the road. He was PAWN
the airth and maxim the heavens quake
with his heller, and SIGH as had bosses
tied up was mighty spry to set 'em
loose and git 'ern away. Nobody didn' [
propose to git in the way of that bull
and take chances-nobody but my son
Sam. 1t was chance fur him 10 show
off, and he riz off and yelled;
g This is the day / hev bin Twin fur!
I'll go 10th and take that bull by the
horns and flop him on his back
THE men tried to argy with Same, but
he was sot, and pullin' off his coat and
fingin' down his hat he walked out and
begins to paw and heller same as the
bull. The critter stops to look at him,
and FUR a mint or two he must hev
wondered what it was. Then his eyes
began to glare and his tail to stand out,
and the crowd hollered to Sam 10 GIT
over the fence. He never minded 'em,
but with a roar and heller he run in
on the bull"
And what happened?' 1 asked, as
the old man paused.
Jest what might hev bin looked
fur" he replied Sam was tossed
twenty feet at the first go-off, and
when that bull got through with him
thar wasn't much left to bury. A man
Gums up to break the news to us.
wasn't home, and he SEE to the old
woman:
MRS. White, ar yo' son Sam home
today?'
- He amt says she.
"tAnd do yo' know why he ain't2'
| "'Iot exactly but reckon it's kase