The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-22

snuff vigorously every few moments and never allowed from her hands q long squirrel rife. She was accompa- nied by her son. a tall. thin, ague smit ten youth of perhaps seventeen years and a height about as great as her own When I first saw them she was driving her son before her to a spot where an opening offered near the bow of the boat. in full sight of the pas sengers of whose attention she was quite oblivious.
 "Git up. there, Andy Jackson!' she said stan upT'
 The boy. his long legs brafding under him and his polked face still more pale. did as he was bid. He had no sooner taken his position than to my surprise 1 saw his mother cover him with the long barrel of a dragoon re- volver-
 "PulI your gun, you low down cow ard" she commanded. Reluctantly the boy complied. his own revolver trem- bling in his hand.
 .'Now, whut'd you do if a man was to kivver you like I'm a-doin' now"' demanded his mother.
 "G-g-g-gosh. maw. I dunno! I think I'd iii jump off in the river" confess ed the boy.
 ''Shore you would, and good luck if you'd git plumb drownded, you white uvered son of misery. s Whatever in this yere ole world you was borned for certainly is more'n I can tell. and your maw at that, that orto know if anybody could"
 Madam" l interrupted. what do you mean by such talk to your son, a,e. S.sr Shut up and mind yore own busi- ness" answered the virago. swiftly turning the barrel of her weapon upon me. "Whut business is this here of yores?'
 ''None. madam bowed, "but was cnly curious"
 You keep your own curiosity to yourself er your gOin' to travel in these parts. That's a mighty good thing for you to learn. You. Andrew Jackson, stick your pistol up agin your head the way I toP you. Now snap it. dash you! Snap it till you git through bein' scared of it. Do it now. or. by gosh. I'll chase you over l the side of the boat and feed you to the catfish, you low down imertatiOn of he thingr'
 My good woman,' said I, "do you mind telling me what is your name7" 1 Names Mandy McGovern, and I come from Pike" she answered. al- most before the words were out of my | mouth. i've been merried three times. and my first two husbands died a-fightin' like gentlemen in difhkilties with friends. Then along come this Danny Calkins. that taken up some land nigh to me in the bottoms-lOw downest coward of a man that ever disgraced the Sile of yearth-and then merried him"
 ''Is he dead, too, my dear woman?" I asked.
 Don't you dear woman me. I | ain't free to merry agin yit." said she. Nav, he ain't dead. and l ain't dee vorced either. l just done left him. | Why, every man in Pike has whipped Danny Calkins one time or other. When a man couldn't git no reputation any other way he'd come erlOng and whipped my husband. l got right i tired of it. And me the wife of two real men befo' then! had eight chillen by my two husbands that was real men. and every one of them died or got killed like a man or went west like a man exceptin' this thing here, l Why. he's afr: i'd to go coon huntin' at night for fear the cats'll get him. He don't like to melk keow for fear she'll kick him. He's afraid to court a gal. He kain't shoot. he kain't chop, i he kain't do nothin'''
 Say. mister" said she, Chow tall are you?'
 About six feet. I think l IYtSf aIO1If hnrU faI
 my first husband was. You look some
 like him in the face too. Say, he was the ightin' est man in Pike. How come
 him to get killed was a difikilty with 1 his brother-in-law, a Dutchman that kept a saloon and couldn't talk Eng
 fish. Jim, he went in there to get a
 bite to eat and asked this Dutchman
 what he could set up. Paul-that was
 the Dutchman's namehe says, Well
 we got dawg-mallard dawg and red | head dawg and canvaSback dawg-
 what's the kind of dawg you like ChimT
 My husband thought he was pokin
 fun at him. talkin' about eatin' dawg
 not knowin' the Dutchman was tryin
 to say duck and couldn't. I might
 have a piece of duck said Jim. but l
 ain't eatin' no dawg.'
 T said dawg,' says Paul. still a-try-
 in to say duck
 ar know you did,' says Jim, and
 then they clinched. Jim he broke his
 knife off, and the Dutchman soaked
 him with beer mallet. But. Mandy. | says Jim to me jest before he shet his
 eyes. T die content. That there fel
 low was the sweetest cuttin' man l
 ever did cut in all my life. He was jest like a ripe pumpkin. Say, there
 was man for you. was Jirl. You | look some like him.
 ''You compliment me very much, Mrs l McGovern." l said.
 Say" she responded. "I got 2.OOC
 head O haw@s runnin' around in the
 timber down there in Pilxe''
 At the moment I did not see the l yelled nderness of fhia sneech hIIt