The Washington herald., 1915-12-05
THE TAIL OLA BOB-CAT
How She Moved a County Seat.

got her into the house and into the
cage and she was fightin' every mint
ole wagon and I killed a Couple OF
quiet that night Though once in
could have heard two miles away: It
was her callin' to the other bobs.
| reckoned.
Next mawnin' I set out for the
town town Of Mud Flat. went thar. case
the place who might buy the cat and
.kase thar was to be 1eckshun thar
that that day. S Lsmme me go gdn. back bit. bit t The
name. 1t was called Cypress but
opens the old Mississippi River began
town, and in ten days II was half q
| mile from the town to the water and
she was as good as doomed; Arter
town Mud Flats. She was the coun-
ty seat of the county.
Eight miles below Mud Flats was
psSpe tboo ot mnd IN
front of it. The Benders wanted the
county seat moved over thar. and
arter a lot Of hard @ feelins' % about Il.
was to be held in Mud Flats and tnac
is what brung about two hundred and
fifty Benders over thar. the day
inter the town yit when l met old
Jim Darby in the road. Arter he had
nodded to me and took a look at the
x bis big bobscat.' @ I ss
What ye goin' to do with him.
Sell him IL / kim
ole Jim steps aroun' to the back of
the wagon and peeks in and the cat
gives a scream and spits in his face.
With that: old Jim backs up and
ha fatNF
he GUMS back to me, he says:
Joe, these Mud Flatters are a
tricky lot. They have formed in line
vote so slow that us Benders won't
stand no show, to git the county seat.
What ye wonderin' about. Jim?'
"I think we might make use o
that cat-I think so. II she was turn
ed oi,1S Loose e do%n S~1 by the votin' place what
why, he would bite and claw un-
til you could smell sulphur i
"'I reckon he would. Joe. What I
away from the poles and gin my men
think he kin do this. there is ten
dollars in II fur you
~ want jest four times that. Jim.'
says i, seein' my advantage.
,, Jim sticks fur awhile shd n stFOkin aOsiIr
his red chin wills whlskeEs rs and ,nIIs ne hnaily hIy
to do as NJ passes up the money and
starts back to the town and gives his
the eG wink and thsg all SGa d5a%s ,6s off
street. Then I drives in and stand
up in my wagon and shouts out that
have big ,, bob1eas for ,nt sale 10 The The
minds me. / shouts out that ! will
take IS fur the varmint. Then ! low
ers the price to Stand sand 81.
hollerin' l gifts the signal from Jim
and ! pretends to git mighty mad and
aIf nobody will buy this bob Of
me then l am goin' to turn him loose !
and let him find his way back to his |
lovin' home in Blue Gum"
prise. turned to the cage and tore
out like a bullet. He clawed my |
mule D as on he his way snd to the
and a fiend was let loose in Mud
THAR was nigh a hundred saddle
posts and thar was six or eight
iouble teams. The cat went fur them
and in two minutes the street was
4 hoss escaped a claw or bite. When
she had them all on the run she turn
ID to the men and gin them what was
gotin' line in thirty seconds and she
irove men inter stores and shops and
houses. Lawd. but she was a fury; She
vas as mad as six bars rolled inter
,ne. She kept up her clawin' and
,itin' till the street was cleared and
hen she started fur home. feelin' that
Ter work was we'll done. On her way
o the swamp, she broke up Sunday
;chool picnic and killed a farmers
lawg and clawed the owner.
ut was when the cat started fur
rome that Old Jim appeared with his
men and formed a solid line befo' the
,olls. They kept that line all day
n spite of many fouts and when the
losin' hour came they had the coun-
y seat by $50 majority. And when I
rot home and showed the ole woman
he money. and told her We could live
life of luxury fur the rest of our
ives. she Jest up and tainted away:
When she cum to. she lays her hand
N my shoulder and says: III
Joe, it's the hand of the Lawd
ur suah You must promise me never {
o kill another bob-cat' II
And / promised" said Joe, and
made a pause as he looked around on
lis hearers, and then he added:
And / never have nor never will!
'har' is sich a thing as flyin' In the