Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1907-03-01

BETWEEN ME AND HER WAS TWO pARs."
mosnshine as any other critter fur ten
miles around. and I was fool 'nuff to
feel proud OF the fact
when was married, fifteen years
ago. my wife thought she could reform
me. Mebbe | went leetle light fur a
year or SO. but ths reformin' didn't re-
form. I'd promise and promise. but
as soon as | got out with a crowd I'd
fill mp. The only good thing about my
gettin' drunk was the fact that |
never raised row at home / sim
ply wanted to git home and to bed,
and II left alone I'll sleep il off by
next day. had been sober fur three
months when town meetin' day come
along. When | got ready to leave
home the old woman said:
'Zeb. you've been livin like a de-
cent human bein fur some time past.
Are you comm home drunk or sober
tonightf'
Sober as a stump replied, not
fearin' myself at all.
Why not let town meetin' slider
- couldn't I've promised to be
thar to vote
'Thar'll be heaps and heaps of
whisky thar. won't theyr she asked.
Fur shore. But don't you be afeared
fur me. / give you my word that /
won't drink nuthin' stronger'n lemon
ade.'
That was lively town meetin', with
whisky howin' like water, and, though
/ held out agin 1t fur an hour or so, j
had to take q drink at last. Then fol-
Tered second and q third. and by
night j was roarin' drunk and fightin'
everybody. They started to take me
home in cart but when a mile from
my cabin l got out and wouldn't 60
any further and was left there. II
was a bright and beautiful moonlight
night. could jest remember that.
How i got home after leavin' the cart
j never could recall. ! didn't know
when i reached here and fell down In
front of the house. The fust thing /
knowed was that somebody was pullin'
me around In a mighty rough way.
opened my eyes and sot up. and thar
was the cid woman on the doahstep.
and between me md her was two
bars. They would look at her and then
at me, and 1t WAS their haulin' me
around that had reused me ND. I
wasn't sober yit. you understand. but
could reason things out after n fashion.
why don't you git the gun and
shoot the b'ars:' called to the old wo-
man, but she never 'peared TO notice
me. The bars did, however. They
turned from her to me and begun a
sort o. hossplay. One OF them fetched
me sort Of cuff on the ear that
stretched me out and made my head
ring fur a week arte-. and then they
begun playin' ball with my body. I
knowed thar fur bars, and / knowed
that 1t would be all play until tried
10 git away from them or fit back.
Well. sub, ! can't begin to tell you
what them thar bars put me through
that night They rolled me over and
tover; they dragged me about feet first
and head first: they pulled me down to
the pigpen and then pulled me back;
they used their teeth and claws only
in play. but they left marks behind
that didn't so away-fur two months
Every time they rested / called out to
the old woman. but she wouldn't an.
swer. Sometimes she looked at me In
a pityin' way, and som tines she was
iaughin' at the way was tossed
about The rifle was on It's hooks in
the house and loaded. and in that
moonlight she could have shot one of
the variants through the heart, but
she wouldn't move to do it.
II reckon them bars spcrted with