The Savannah morning news., 1904-08-06
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for. as if it was afraid they'd steal it?
Ninety-nine's cave! That's the reason
for that club.
Don't know about Ninety-nine's
cave? Sh-h-h. Don't say that out
loud, for if folks around here should
hear you they'd wonder where you
come from, and just as like as not
treat you cool!
Fury of the Cave.
"Never heard of Ninety-nine and his
cave! Then l better tell you about
'em before 'Sopus folks begin to point
you out as something to keep shy of.
LAS to Ninety-nine, some say that
he was an Indian and some say he was
Spanish. It's too late in this day and
generation to say which one o. them
critters he actually was, or to say why
he was called Ninety-nne instead of
an even One Hundred; and / don't
know as 1t makes a bit of difference
now. The important point is that he
was here and hereabouts once on a
time and had his cave.
There's people now alive and I'm
one of EN- that had fathers who re-
| membered hearin their fathers say
that they remembered hearin' about
| Ninety-nine comm down from some
| where's back in the mountains, appear
| in now here. and now there, and now
| yonder, and never sayin' word until
he had called for rum.
II suppose that in them days that
was about the easiest call to answer in
the affirmative that anybody could
make, and consequently whenever
| Ninety-nine come down from his mys-
FERROUS hidin place in the mountains
| and made that call he got what he call
ed for, and got It quick.
| He was ponderous fond Of rum, and
| after had got loaded up toler bic fair
| with it-and that seemed to be his idea
| of what rum was for-he had way of
| pullin' out of his pockets handfuls of
| gold and silver money and clinkin' il
| most aggravatin' to the folks of them
! days, and takin out heaps of diamonds
! and pearls and rubies and all sorts of
| glitterin' jewels. and gloatin' over the
way the sight of 'em made most folks
| crazy.
But what sot our ancestors to think
| in most about Ninety-nine was his al
ways braggin' that there was bushels
| and bushels of money and jewels where
! them samples come from.
! 'Ninety-nine's cave is full of emf
| he used to say.
And when he got all the rum he
could well toddle under he'd get up
and pull two big horse pistols and say
to the folks that they could follow him
IL they wanted to, but that they would
never come back.
And So II Was Lost.
80 nobody never followed him. and
! consequently nobody could find out
| where his cave was. with all its heap
| of money and bright shinin' jewels.
| There was but one man that Nine
| ty-nine ever took any sort of a likin'
! to. That was Benny Depew of Ker-
honkson. The reason for that, so Nine
! ty-nine used to say. was because Ben
| ny could shirt more rum yet then he
| could. and so was a fellow TO be look
| ed up to and made a friend of.
Anyhow. Ninety-nine and Benny
was thick. and one time when Ninety
nine had come down from the noun
! tains and got his load he asked Benny
! II he wouldn't like to go and take
| look at his cave and the things he had
| in it, OF course Benny would, and
away they went
Folks never expected to see Benny
| Depew again for their idea was that
when the rum got out Of Ninety-nine
| he'd turn them horse pistols loose onto
Benny But folks were wrong
Two days after Benny went off with
| Ninety-nine he came draggin' back.
He looked as II he might have been
seem ghosts. he was so pale and hag-
gard; and his clothes were tattered.
and his feet were sore. Not word
would Benny say until he had drunk a