The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1904-04-16


with him. But he didn't When Uncle
Splitter turned and took the back
track, all he could see when he swung
round the circle was that same old
bushy tail trailin' along, and jest
roundin' the corner ahead of him, as
usual
CHOW, Uncle Splitter had been cir
cleatin' the GRIT 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 l1etched wunst on
time, as you mowt a heerd about
Dan'l, and tied blazin' pine knots to
their tails. While Uncle Splitter 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 Splitter Topped down and crep'
into that holler place. The fox came
on, and as he was passin' the holler,
Uncle Splitter showed his gun bar'l out
like flash, ketched the fox under the
belly, and give it sweep up that sent
| it flynn clean amongst the branches
O. the tree. Uncle Splitter 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 lords the
ground.
Gas he drawed bead on the fox in
wildcat scroochin' on the limb of
tree, right in range of his gun, and
not 90 foot away. The varmint was
all ready to spring on Uncle Splitter.
Uncle Splitter 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
a gate post, but the bullet missed the
wildcat Before Uncle Splitter could
take his gun down to get another load
into it, the wildcat sprung for him. 1t
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
it, like stringin' bead on a thread,
and Uncle Splitter 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 I'm
Gle Splitter wearin' that Brtsher sojer
coat O. his'n they never said it after he
fetched in that wildcat and that fox.
"'Then by and by Uncle Splitter took
to sayin' that there wasn't nothin' In
our woods no more that was worth any
body's while to tackle. and he swore
regular 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 a 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 - brass buttons out Of its nav
. Twelve brass sojer buttons. Uncle
Splitter hadn't gone away to the lion
and tiger country, after all. He had
tackled this bear, and bit of more than
, he could chaw. But the bear hadn't
Uncle Splitter 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 II
, is, and If it amt primy fishy evidence
that bears II do it, Dan'l. then produce
,, your evidence that Uncle Splitter wen
away to git lions and tigers and wasn'
! eat by the bear my pap killed. say:
Uncle Jase.
"That primy fishy evidence looked
/. for all the world like the buttons tina
, was on the old blue army overcoat tina
1 wore: wunst. and l says to Uncl'
Jase:
"Why, l says. 'How's this. Uncl'
9 Jase? This old Brltisher button ha
g got U. S. on to it, in big letters, l says
= "Course 1t has!' says Uncle Jase
= 1T wouldn't be primy fishy evidence /
it hadn't says he Uncle Splitter wa
!, a mighty careful man. Everything 9
! his'n was marked with his initials
= even to his sojer buttons. There the,
9 be, right before you. Danl. U. s.
= Uncle Spitzer.' says he.
a ELLIS Sam got up so student fror
the shoe box that he almost l1nocke
Uncle Jase often the three legged cheer
:, and he says, sort as If he was disar
:. p'inted and sort O. as If he was goir
- to take Uncle Jase by the neck:
eve always believed IT, says hi
Il and I've always stuck to it and arg,
=, fed the strongest kind that they'd d
- it, says he, but see now that the
" won't, and take it all back!' says HI
:. II guess that tough and strong II
= situation must a. doubled up on Uncl
Jases Observation-Disclosures, fer he sc
- there half an hour. chawin' on Eli
~ Sans sweet terbacker and sort O. grill
~ MIN, and then got up and went HON