Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1910-01-20

and jerk out piece Of flesh. Alb
ner drove the wolves away and put
the deer out Of its misery. He knew
the wolves would be bacS again,
So he hung the deer up over a shall
low pool of water, got a steel trap
and placed it under the water I'M
der the deer. On the apron of the
trap he placed a broad piece Of
moss. A wolf doesn't like to put
his feet in cold water. When he put
his foot on the moss snap went the
trap, then Abner had him.
Being once down in St. Charles
county, hearing some fellows tell
ing shooting stories, one said he
knew one Alb Smith to shoot IA
turkeys at one shot. Seeing Abncr
afterwards l asked him if he was
the man. He said, "Guess so, got
IA, don't know how many / kill.
ed" Here is about the way he
told it.:
Found a turkey roost, cleaned
off a smooth piece of ground, plac-
ed corn on the ground for a few
days, cut two straight ash poles,
placed them close together, put a
lot of wheat between the poles, got
an old musket, loaded it with pow
der and slugs, fixed it on two forks
at the end of the poles, tied long
string to the trigger and hid in an
old tree-tOp that had blown off the
last summer. When as many tur-
keys got their heads between the
poles as could well do so l jerked
the string, and such a Hopping
hasn't been heard since. | had to
go home and get a horse and sled.
One of the neighbors was passing
thru the woods on that frosty
morning and he said it reminded
him of an earthquake, the sound
Of that gun and the turkeys flop
ping on the frozen ground.
| asked Abner if the wolves ever
mOlested him. He said one day he
shot eleven deer; was the most he
ever killed in one day. In skinning
and hanging them up out of the
reach of the wolves, as night came
on he was tired, bloody and hun
CRY. He sat down on log to rest.
A wolf raised howl close to him.
1t was answered by another in the
distance, which he soon found was
coming closer. When they got as
close as he thought was healthy he
shot his gun off and gave an I'M
earthly yell. He heard no more OF
Mr.. Wolf that night.
incidentally we mention here
that "Aunt" Parthena Smith who
died in Mexico this week was
slave of Abner Smith, mentioned
above, and she nursed not alone
in his family but in the "Uncle"
Billie Wells family, the j. j. Suter
family, the "Uncle" Johnnie Smith
family, the Allison family, the
Henry Beal family, the Jim Coil
family and other homes of those
early days on Lick Creek. She
had a daughter called julie, who
grew to be a young woman. Sac
was half white. 1t was said that
she died of broken heart, for she
said she could not associate with
the whites and she would not as
sociate with the "niggers. F"
"Aunt Theme" had all the
characteristics of the old Virginia
nanny" She was a native of
that state, brought to Missouri
about 1884.
Milton Cheetwood entered $50
acres of land south of Bill Ellis,
lived on the place two or three
years, then sold out to Robert
Crockett. BY this time the country
was beginning to put on airs, and
as religion, morality and eduea-
ton are necessary for the good Of
society, the citizens invited Allen
Gallaher, Presbyterian preacher
from Rails Co, to the neighbor-
hood. BY the way, grandson, j.
Go1lobap noun recidaq in MaxiaO