The sun., 1908-05-03
WHY'S HE'S HAD AROUND HTN
DIR. YANN, FOURTEEN TINES WID-
OVER, TO TAKE BRIDE NO. 49,

oonsorts who had preceded her, and dropped
into poetry thus
Oh, when | remember all
The wives I've had together
And seen them round me fall
like leaves In wintry weather
feel like one
Who treads alone
Some banquet hall deserted
Whose lights are fed,
Whose Rarlands dead,
And all but departed.
Thus In the stilly night
Ere slumbers chains have bound me
Sad memory brings to light
The wives I've had around me
And presumably under the influence OF
the sadness caused by this bringing TO
light all the wives he'd had around him
DR.. Vann was heard TO remark that the
graves Of fourteen wives we're quite enough
for one widower to keep green, even II he
was only 100 years old. Consequently
people we're not prepared for the announce
ment Just made that he has chosen one who
IL going TO take her chances as the fifteenth,
which DR.. Vann confirms
@Yes. II IL true said he. Il was only 2S
when began getting married and strange
fate kept following me and my brides as
they came along one after another.
Preparatory to beginning 1t first In
the spring Of 1920, and me only i3 at that.
started In TO make my fortune as doctor,
having discovered a medicine that cured 80
sure that ! called II gospel medicine, so
great was my success that at one time
had all the practice in a good deal Of Orange
county to myself
But great as my success was II was the
cause Of my leaving a practice that was
bringing me in $500 a month. My brother
doctors swore to get me out Of the way, so
sooner than meet my death at the hands
OF an assassin, compromised with 'em,
and sixteen Of the Orange county doctors
agreed for to give me 500 each for to leave
the county and never practise medicine in
II again, which did, and went to driving
a market wagon through the country.
Travel was little different in them
days from what It is now-no bridges, and
you had TO ford or swim all rivers and
streams. Many a time, when there was
freshets, | have been carried with my
team and wagon ten miles down with the
current.
And there was so many outlaws on the
roads your life was always in danger. Well
do / remember one moonlight night in
the fall Of 1923 when two sons Of Claudus
Smith, the terrible Tory cowboy Of the
Revolution, waylaid me up yonder between
Bloomingburg and New Vernon. One
OF the bloodthirsty devils caught my horses
by their heads and the other made me get
out Of the wagon at the point Of the biggest
horse pistol ever saw.
when | told EN- right up and down
that | wouldn't give up the money / had
on me, the one with the big horse pistol
banged away at me. and | dropped. |
wasn't hit, but made out that | was dead.
They came up and looked at me where |
Law gave me kick that almost made me
grint, and then said
"Oh, we hain't got no time to bother
with carcasses, Let's see what we can
get out Of this haul
They laid their pistols on the ground
and began 10 search the wagon, While
they was at il jumped to my feet, grabbed
the pistols and having two Of my own.
opened fire on EN-,
Advancing upon EN- | made 'em pony
IN all the money and booty they had, They
shelled out, and | counted It and found IL
amounted to 81 ,6OO in money, twenty-five
gold watches. nearly a hundredweight Of
gold and silver plate, and some few trinkets
OF various kinds. Then ordered the bloody
outlaws to take 10 the mountains as quick
as their legs would let em, and they did.
And l had to kill from ten to twenty
panthers every trip, to say nothing Of the
bears and wildcats and wolves. for the
mountains and the woods was full Of EN-,
They were continually skulking and lurk-
ing along the roads trying to waylay and
devour me.
$50 after that bout with the Claudius
Smith robbers and cutthroats ] resigned as
driver Of the wagon. | had the 81 600, and
| sold the plate for 5000. but that wasn't
enough money for me TO start in life on 30
| took to the woods and mountains to gather
in wild beasts. there being big call for EN-
along about them days.
Il was gone two weeks the first trip and
killed sixteen bears, twelve panthers, nine
lions and forty-two wildcats, and every one
was surprised at my great luck and courage.
That haul brought me in SS,0OI, and went
out again after more,
-One lion shot after that tumbled on Of
a oliff down 100 feet. went down TO him
and found him groanng and feeling awful
bad. was so sorry for him that doctored
him up with my gospel medicine, and a
gratefuler critter you never saw.
He got better and picked him up and
carried him on my back eighteen miles to
my cabin, which was easy, for the lion only
weighed 800 pounds. | kept him around
and he got TO be great pet,
-One morning he scampered away and
| supposed he was gone for good, and was
sorry, for had got very fond Of him, but
in an hour OF so back he came, fetching
in a tiger. He put ii down by the door OF
the cabin. While was grabbing the tiger
10 tie II up 80 II couldn't get away, the
lion went Of again. In an hour back he
came with tiger a good deal bigger than
the first one
Il tied this one, and was getting ready
to weign 1t, II was sucn a big one, when
on went the lion a third time and brought
in another tiger 1t was getting late then,
or suppose he'd gone out and brought
in some more. Tigers we're worth a good
deal OF money, and that lion was paying
me we'll for doctoring him and curing him
Of the shots l had put into him.
''Heavens' said J.. what wouldn't this
lion do IL he could handle my long range