Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-03-16

round the circle was that same old bushy tail trailin' along, and jest roundin' the corner ahead of him, as usual. .
 Now, Uncle Spitzer had been cir cleatin' the girt' O that tree fer goin' on to 20 minutes, and, havin' tramped somethin' like 20 mile over the hills besides, he begun to feel his wind git tin leetle skeerce. Consistently, he wasn't as gentle in his mind as lamb on the hillside, and he said that if he could only got his hands on to that fox jest at that minute he'd a. treated him worse than Samson did that little flock O foxes he ketched wunst on time, as you mowt a heerd about, Dan1, and tied blazin' pine knots to their tails. While Uncle Spitzer stood there a-cussin' like sojers will, he see fer the first time big holler place in the tree, nigh the ground. He got an idee in a second. ...
 "'Chasin' the fox round the tree two or three times as fast as he could jump, Uncle Spitzer flopped down and crep' into that holler place. The fox came on, and as he was passin' the holler, Uncle Spitzer showed his gun bar'l out like flash, ketched the fox under the belly, and give it sweep up that sent 1t fiyin' clean amongst the branches O the tree. Uncle spitzer was out on his feet in a second, and had dead aim on to the fox before he had time to turn and drop back to'rds the ground.
 "'As he drawed bead on the fox in the air, he sees a tremendous big wildcat scroochin' on the limb of tree, right in range of his gun, and not 20 foot away. The yarmfnt was all ready to spring on Uncle Spitzer. Uncle Spitzer had an idee that his bull let would slosh clean through the fox and pink into the wildcat, too, and he'd git 'em both without putin his self out any, and he whanged away. "'Down come the fox. deader than gate post, but the bullet missed the wildcat Before Uncle Spitzer could take his gun down to get another load into it, the wildcat sprung for him. It struck the end O his gun bar'l with its jaws wide open, and it was goin' so fast that the bar'l slid clean through 1t, like stringin' bead on a thread, and Uncle Spitzer fetched it in strung that way, draggin the fox along by it's big brush. So if anyone ever had any idee O sayin' anythin' ag'in Un- cle Spitzer wearin' that Britisher sojer coat O. his'n they never said 1t after he fetched in that wildcat and that fox.
 "'Then by and by Uncle spitzer took to sayin' that there wasn't nothin' in ,Js, hot m " body's while to tackle. and he swore reglar every fall that he'd never be happy till he could git som'rs where he could run ag'n lions or tigers or somethin' O that sort. So. one fall, when he didn't come home from goin' out a-huntin', pap and all of 'em thought, of course, that he had pulled out and gone to seek country where he could tackle lions and tigers.
 "'The next spring, though, pap knocked over big bear down back O Dark swamp. So fur as anything showed on the outside there wasn't nothin' about that bear any different from any other bear just like it, but no bear that ever was killed in the Knob country or any other country never had the somethin' in its inside like this bear that pap killed that day did
 "'When that bear was dressed they picked 12 brass buttons out of its maw. Twelve brass sojer buttons. Uncle Spitzer hadn't gone away to the lion and tiger country, after all. He had tackled this bear, and bit off more than he could chaw. But the bear hadn't. Uncle Spitzer and his sojer coat had digested all right, but them buttons hadn't, and there they was And this button here is one of them. Here 1t is, and if it ain't primy f1shy evidence that bears Fl do it, Danl, then produce your evidence that Uncle Spitzer went away to git lions and tigers and wasn't eat by the bear my pap killed says Uncle Jase.
 "That primy fishy evidence looked for all the world like the buttons that was on the old blue army overcoat that wore wunst. and I says to Uncle Jase: s..
 "'Why,' I says. How's this, Uncle Jase? This old Britisher button has got U s. on to 1t, in big letters, says.
 "'Course it has!' says Uncle Jase. Tt wouldn't be primy fishy evidence if it hadn't says he. Uncle Spitzer was a mighty careful man. Everything O his'n was marked with his initials, even to his sojer buttons. There they be, right before you, Danl. U. s. Uncle Spitzer.' says he.
 ''Eli's Sam got up so student from the shoe box that he almost knocked Uncle Jase offen the three legged cheer, and he says, sort as if he was disap- 1 p'inted and sort O as if he was goin' to take Uncle Jase by the neck:
 'T've always believed It., says he, and I've always stuck to 1t and argy- fled the strongest kind that they'd do it. says he, but I see now that they won't, and I take 1t all back!' says he
 'I guess that tough and strong in situation must 8 doubled up on Uncle Jase's absent nt-mindedness, fer he sot there half an hour, chawin' on Ellis