The Washington herald., 1914-01-18
OLD ZEB WHITE
He Says that All Animals Can Feel Humiiated

81 told yo' smelt bar. and thar he
is! Is the rifle loaded?"
'Norr
Then We don't git no bar. fur IL yo'
go to move he'll turn tail. Zeb, yo'
amt no mo- of a hunter than our old
cat,"
THE bar stood thar and looked at
us fur a mint" said Zeb, '.and then that
wire fence caught his eye. He hadn't
never seen barbed wire befo', and purity
soon he walks up and gives a hit with
his paw. He got Il jab from a barb, and
it made him mad. What does he do
then but give that fence a hug. and It
was the funniest sight yo' ever seen.
The harder he hugged the mo- he hurt
hisself, of co'se. but it was a good while
befo' he would let go. He growled with
madness and whimpered with pain. and
me and the old woman fell laughin' At
to kill. 1t was ten minits befo' that
bar would give up. He bit and clawed
and hugged, and when he finally let go
he was all over blood.
Reckon he'll make of now says
the old woman as he sot up ON end
and growIed with madness.
But he didn't. He felt he'd been
worsted, and he wanted to git even.
Thar was a heap of loose wire on the
ground, and bimeby he goes fur IL and
was all tangled UP and fightin' fur his
life in a mint. L never heard such
growlin in all my life, and when he
bit at that wire 1t made the cold chills
run up our backs. ! could have got
the rifle and loaded II, but I didn't want
to miss any of the fun. The row went
on fur fifteen minits. and then the bar
was all tuckered out and discouraged.
He'd got holt of sunthin' to beat him,
and he had to own up to 1t hisself.
Cant he see that he amt fiten?"
asks the old woman as he begun TO back
of
He kim" says I, but he's sot in his
ways and hates to give in. He's all
chawed to pieces by them barbs, but
he'll shortly try it ag'in'.'
And he did. Five minits later he
made a rush fur that fence and begun
to hug and bite and wrastle, and he was
SO powerful mad this time, that he
pushed down three or four rods Of 1t.
II wasn't no use, however. He was
licked bar. and the mo- he Rugged and
bit the mo- he knowed he was licked.
Bimeby he jest lay still and whined and
whimpered, and IL appeared to us that
thar was tears in his eyes. When he
got sorter rested he sot up and looked
at us, but il wasn't squar look, no.
sich an honest look as a bar orter give
a man on his own land. He 'peared TO
be thinkin' fur a mint. and then he
limps over to that chestnut tree and
begins to climb up. He was mighty
slow about IT, but bimeby he got up to
that big limb. and arter a sorter fare
well look around he let's go and falls
kerchink to the airth. He lit on the
grindstun which was standin' under the
tree. and busted it all to flinders"
And then he made off. of course?" was
suggested.
mo, sab. he didn't. That bar had an
objick when he climbed that tree. His
objick WAS to kill hisself bekase he'd bin
whopped. He jest cum down head-fust
or purpose to break his neck, and he dun
il. Yes. sab; killed as dead as a doah-
nail right thar befo' our eyes. He had
tackled a barbed wire fence and bin lick
ed. and he couldn't abide to live on. We
counted up the hurts on him and found
over 200 1 have allus felt sorry for that
varmint. He'd bin sloshin' around in the
bresh all his life, lickin' everything he
cum across, and how was he to know a
wire fence from a pumpin vine? Havin'
got mad about il, he was bound to fight.
and havin' fout he was bound to be
whopped. wire fence amt livin'
thing, yo' know
Then you think he had feelIngs?" was
asked.
Most sartingly he had, sab. Feelin's?
Why a bar is chuck-fulI of feelins, and
I've allus felt ashamed that this one
didn't have squar' deal. He might have
tackled a landslide ana cum out on top.
but what show did he have agin 500 feet
Of barbed wire fence which was achn'
fur row with an elephant
And you really believe he committed
suicide on account of being humiliated?"
"Of cose ] do. That's whar people
don't understand things They argy that
nobody but human beins have pride.
whereas bars and sich have their proper
show of it. l once tackled bull and got
like all outdoahs, and fur
week afterwards I felt like hangin' my
self. That bar had allus got away with
everything that cum along till he struck
that wire. and it not only hurt his body |
but his feelin's. He couldn't go back |
among the other bars and brag around |
and he jest made up his mind to git off |
the airth. He shorely did, sab, and I'm |
thinkin' heap mo- of him fur doin' that |
same. Of co'se it was suicide-of co'se,"