The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1905-06-28

ssI WAS sK1PPN' AHEAD O. THE GLITTER"
stout pen, with powerful doah to it,
but hadn't had hawg in thar mon
a week befo' bar took him out. Jest
clawed that doah open sumhoW and
went off with the hawg befo' I could
git outer bed.
"When I put a second hawg in thar
didn't dun leave no doah at all, but
made the pen all logs. Thar was also
logs on the roof, with dirt Oh top O the
logs, but that same old bar cum along
agin and went through the roof and
got the hawg. He jest tumbled them
logs around as if they was sticks. l
got third hawg, and as I reckoned
how the bar would work l sot two
traps on the roof Of the pen. He
couldn't do no fussin' around up thar
without bein' eotched.'
'.And SO you got him?" was asked.
s.And so didn't, sah," smiled Zeb
as he put more chestnuts on to roast.
'sThe fust night I had them traps sot
the bar cum down and walked all
around fur an hour or two, as lis
tracks proved. I was sartin he'd Ell
ther got to give up hawg meat or be
cotched, and fur two or three days and
nights I was powerful pleased. At
sundown. one evenin' the old woman
got sight O. the critter out by that
chestnut tree. He sot up and looked
at her and cooked his eye and grinned,
and when he was gone she says to me:
"sZeb White, is thar any fun in
bar?
"sNever heard as there was says I.
And what about it?
"'Kase that old bar is gwine to play
us some trick as suah's yo'r bon. He
was GRIMM as reg'lar as a human be-
in, and l could almost hear him chuc-
EIe'
II didn't pay much attention to her
words" explained Zeb, but that was
whar I missed it. What dye reckon
. that bar did that night? I'd shet linn
out by the door, and he knowed thar
was danger on the roof, but he'd
planned way to git that hawg. and
that's what he was grinnin' about.
THAT night he dug under the logs
and got his pork, and he left hole as
big as bar'l where be went in and
cum out. I've allus reckoned that when
he got up into the thickets with his
meat he laughed fur an hour at the
easy way he had beat me. Arter that
1 went out O hawgs, KNOWN I had no
chance agin sich smartness.
sThen thar was the case O. that bar
who used to have den about u mile
west O. this. In his goin' and cumin'
he made reg'l&r path. same as sheep.
sot spring gun on the path and felt
purity suah CT my game, but he walked
around the gun. Then sot big trap
and kivered it all up, but he Jumped
over it. Then I laid out fur two hull
nights to git ehot at him with my
rifle, but he went meanderiE' some 9th
er way. I was powerful mad when |
went home, and the old woman sees IT
and says:
"'It's no use, Zeb. That thar bar has
got fun in him, and he's laughin' at
yo'. He's probably brother O the one
who got our hawgs. Better jess let him
go and save YER temper
'.But IaHou1dn't do it," said the old
man. Il made up my mind I'd have
the best Of that yarmint befo' got
through Next day took the spade,
and at a proper place on the path l dug
q pit long huff and deep huff to hold
an OK; took me two days to do it, and
when it was finished I kivered it over
with sticks and leaves and dirt, and,
upon my soul. nobody could tell that
I'd bin diggin' was dead suah that
old bar would cum along and go plunk
to the bottom O. the pit, and between
my back ache and thinkin' O. him I
didn't sleep much that night.
Jest IS soon as could eat break
fast was off, but when I got to the
pit it was the same as when had left
it. That made me b'ilin' mad, and /
started up the path to the cave to rout
the varmint out. / wasn't keepin' the
lookout should have been, and all O a
sudden the critter jumped out on me.
was so skeert that dropped my rife