The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-10-27
slammed the desr ,es' a. tho der,.sd
critter lit rite m tho font log

slammed the o00r Je0 a. tho deF1sod
critter lit rite on the foot log.
when I slammed the doorI saw that
1t had a strong wooden latch, an q
place fixed fer a bar. an We kin bet !
got that BART vas stan'in' rite along
side-across tibet door mighty sudden.
The painter he'd been full o. fun an
mischief up to now, but as soon as he
saw I was u o. reach he began to
screetch n e the bark off the logs
like a man with a Ratchet, fer he was
mad in earnest now. as his yaller eyes
flashed an his teeth glistened in his
rage.
when he failed to get in at the
door he began to smell at the cracks
between the logs II try to get at me
with his claws. One look roun' showed
me that the logs We're strong and that
there wasn't any winder, the cracks
letting In the light.
"In the middle OF the door thar was
two or three heavy pieces o. poles.
which had beer left over from the fire.
an l picked u the soundest an best O.
them-a club about three feet long and
two inches through. Thar was Tour or
five places between the logs almost
wide enough fer a painter to pull him
self through, and it wasn't long till he
begun to try II o. them places.
when he showed his foreleg in an
tried to follow it with his head l struck
llA0 loo oP " HIS W. az
hard as 1 could drive, an Pm a strong
man. That painter fell back with a
screech that'd made yer blood run col,
ar almost before I could draw back fer
another blow the darned varmint was
back, right at that hole tearin' an bit
in to git at me.
HE dug an tore an scratched an
growled till he managed to git both
claws an the pint O. his nose through
the crack. Then l smashed him across
tho nose, an I felt the bones give an
crack, an before he got out 1 broke one
of his legs as it laid acrost a knot. For
the next few minutes 1 was kept
till 1 got in a side blow that broke his
jaw and knocked out one eye.
TIT couldn't get at me, l could now
see that, in his crippled condition, but
that ne intended to stay right there /
could see, expectin', I s'pose. that he'd
git me when 1 cum out. OF course, I
knew'd Id stand a mighty poor show,
too. as I had hurt the burned %critter, CT
1 went out; but all at onc't 1 thot of a
plan.
"Tbar was four old hunks in the
cabin filled with spruce limbs, all as
dry as finder. I got together a arnlful
of the spruce an set 1t aflre an showed
it through the crack.
That varmint never knowed what
fire was afore, 1 s'pose, but he found
out when his blame claws felt OF 1t.
Sech a screechin' an yellin' never
heerd afore, an I've herd many a
painter yellin' in my time; an then
the leaves an dried sticks about the
cabin caught fire, an in less than five
minutes there was a stretch of blaze a
hundred yards wide, with a big painter
plungln' and yellin' to keep out O. Its
reach.
81 didn't wait any longer, fer 1 could
MT eff I'd wanted to, as the ole cabin
itself had caught fire. I fin'lly got
away from there with only a few burns
an a mighty bad scare.
81 didn't see Or hear anything moro
of the painter; I s'pose he was burned
up, for that fire never stopped til it
got to Laurel Fork, but it didn't cross
the trail, an L got away as 1 said, safe.
This place we are goin' to fish in is
in the same mountains, an thar's
more'n one dadburned painter roun'
here, an now you know the reason I
always carry my rifle with me when I
come up in these mountains"