The Pulaskian., 1921-06-16

VI tiit AatiAGS 1a1A OO5. dlu IO ordinary mosquito, l will have you understand, but 1 am Wanda's mes senger." We'll, thinks I, that's going some for a mosquito, but I got up, had to, and my bad tired feeling was caused by my slighting the fairy spring and drinking of the water of other wells and overworking myself because. 1 felt so young. Even the Fountain of Youth, l discovered, has its limitations We'll, I got through the week, and Saturday night 1 felt as bad as ever, for l had drunk water out of a well which l could tell by it's elayey color was full of sipe water, and felt as though l was full of malaria, and then the mos l quitoes had been biting me.
 Every night the whippoorwills have been hollering at me. I went to the spring with the lantern for a drink just after dark and one hol- lered close to me, ''Whip-poor Will" and as 1 returned he had flown to a tree right at the side of my path and he kept crying his command un- til 1 got right upon him, where he hollered louder than ever, Whip l poor Will" and the last time was louder than ever and when 1 got al- most to him he flew away, Tapping his wings just exactly like a man skipping his thighs. 1 had heard this peculiar slapping noise in the night, and 1t sounded ghostly, but of course 1 did not know 1t was the work of the whippoorwills. We'll, they had been hollering Whip poor Will'' all night long for several nights and they come right close up to the house to holler, too.
 Most farmers are glad when the whippoorwills begin to call, because here in Arkansas and the South gen. erally 1t is the custom for the man to get up the cooking wood until then and then the woman has to get it up until crops are laid by, but my wife won't get up any wood for me-
 We'll, that night the whippoorwill hollered Whip poor Will'' longer and louder than ever, and came right up to the house and kept it up until midnight. That was the last night of May and l got to thinking of all my bad luck. I was sick when I should have been we'll. l broke my spectacles and couldn't see to read to do any good with them, although l could use one side on the left eye by holding it on to read with, but 1 could not see to pick dewberries nor to eat with it, and then my watch had gone dead on me and my garden was burning up because of the drouth and it looked like everything was go- ing wrong with me. To make matters worse the sand flies were biting me. i My letter paper was out and l could not write the letters 1 wanted to write, so l finally about midnight hollered to those birds, "Oh hush, birds, you have got poor Will whipped too much already and I believe they did let up. Anyway, l went to sleep and awoke Sunday morning alive, but that was just about all. got my breakfast and decided after all my hard weeks work and my tired sick feeling, that l was glad it was Sunday and 1 could rest, but 1 had another guess coming to me. 1 went to the spring to get me a drink of water, for 1 was awful thirsty, and when 1 got there there was a water moccasin in my spring. He knew he was tresspassing and was so bad ly scared at being caught by me that he dodged into and out of the various excavations l had made until he finally found the vein of water just above the long trench and went in there. Of course 1 dared not attempt to get drink of water with him there ready to spring on me, so 1 sen- fenced him to death and went back to the house for a hoe, spade and pick to dig him out I dug a long time, until began to think that he must have left when l went after my tools, and l got me a drink and re- sumed my digging. Finally found and cut him in two with my spade. I carried him off away downa the branch and that night 1 think the skunks ate him up. Anyway when went to work on my spring Monday morning there was an odor of skunk coming from that direction. I sup pose two had got to fighting over him. The odor was not as strong as it wobld have been had another ami nal tried to ges the snake away from q, -i-,,,,l-