West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1903-10-08
IEB WH|TFSSTORY.
The DAD 'Possum Hunter Tells Tale OF
wild Cat.

kin rile a man the most"
"Just what do you meanI" asked.
"Wall, mebbe l KIN make you un-
derstand better by telling a lettle
story. Up to about 10 years ago
thar used to be heaps of wild cats
on this yere mounting, and now and
then they would cum skulking about
the cabin of nights and cry out in
way to make yo'r hair stand up.
zone afternoon cum home from
town to find my ole woman in the
sulks. She used to get tha, way
now and then, and il allus ended in
row. When she began to jaw /
began to whistle, but arter half an
hour | got mad I'd agone out and
slept in the woods, only it was gwine
to be dark and rainy night. She
sulked and sulked, and when il cum
time to go to bed / sot right yere
and never minded the time. She
didn't offer to make up, and so /
was sitting yere when midnight cum.
She was asleep and so was ! when
thar cum cry from out doahs.- 1t
was just like the hoot of a woman
lost in the woods, and IL was ringing
In my ears when the ole woman sit
up in bed and calls out:
"Zeb White, what on airth was
that, and what are you doing sitting
up thar like knot on log1"
al didn't hear nuthing more'n an
owl hooting," says I.
"Then why don't you go out and
keep him company"
al didn't say nuthing to that, and
purity soon she fell back and went
to sleep again. Mebbe fifteen
minits had passed when the cry
come again and sent shiver over
me and brought the old woman out
of bed.
"Before the Iawd, but what kin
1t be1" she garped.
"a woman hooting for help" sez
/.
at can't be. No woman would
be hooting around we're this time of
night"
"Then it may be an OWL"
"Then you may be fule."
"Her calling me a fule riled me
up,' said Zeb, "and, though I was
purity sartin that it was the scream
of wild cat, l determined not to
gin in. Purity soon we got il agin,
and il was higher the house. The
beast was prowling around. and that
scream made chill creep up my
back.
"It's one of them wild cats, and
he's hungry fur meat, says the ole
woman as she begins to turn pale.
Jest hear him scream.
"Shool It's one Of them Davis
gals lost in the woods. Reckon she
was out arter chestnuts and got
turned around.
Then you don't know sugar
from sand. Listen to that. Does
that sound like the boot of
woman1'
Jest exactly. I'll bet my ole
gun agin coon skin that it's
woman. I'll open the doah so she
kin see the light and then call her.
Powerful dark night for woman to
be stomping around in the woods by
herself"
"Zeb White, I'm telling you it's
wild cat and not woman. If you
hadn't almost got to be fule yo'd
know by the sound. No woman
ever yeowled that way, no matter
how skeert she was. What you
gwine to dor"
"Open the doah, Of co'se."
oval, if you open that doah
sumbody's gwine to git clawed and
bit, and you take my word fur it ,"
THAT riled me sum more said
the old man as he hitched back
from the FIRE, "and was bound TO
open that doah or bust. / could
even mar the oritter prowllng around
but you see, wasn't gwine to let
the ole woman bluff me down. /
riz up and was listening, when she
sez:
''rbis yere cat is ar,er meat fur
shore"
THAT yere woman IS looking far
our cabin, you mean, and yere goes
to let her in"
"Zeb, hain't you got no sense in
yo'r head1"
"Not arter living with you fur 40
years"
"With that crossed over and
opened the back doah, and as ! did
the old woman made a dive fur the
bed and kivered up her head. I
had just swung the doah back and
opened my mouth to hoot when