Part 21 (2/2)

Admission 25 cents; children and servants, 10 cents

Then ent loafing around the town The stores and houses was most all old shackly dried-up frame concerns that hadn't ever been painted; they was set up three or four foot above ground on stilts, so as to be out of reach of the water when the river was overflowed The houses had little gardens around the in them but jimpson weeds, and sunflowers, and ash-piles, and old curled-up boots and shoes, and pieces of bottles, and rags, and played-out tin-ware The fences was made of different kinds of boards, nailed on at different tiates that didn't generly have but one hinge?a leather one Some of the fences had been ashed, some time or another, but the duke said it was in Cluarden, and people driving the one street They had white dos in front, and the country people hitched their horses to the awning-posts

There was e on the the and yawning and stretching?a enerly had on yellow straw hats most as wide as an umbrella, but didn't wear no coats nor waistcoats, they called one another Bill, and Buck, and Hank, and Joe, and Andy, and talked lazy and drawly, and used considerable ainst every awning-post, and he most always had his hands in his britches-pockets, except when he fetched them out to lend a chaw of tobacco or scratch What a body was hearing ast them all the time was:

”Giot but one chaw left Ask Bill”

Maybe Bill he gives hiot none Some of them kinds of loafers never has a cent in the world, nor a chaw of tobacco of their own They get all their chawing by borrowing; they say to a fellow, ”I wisht you'd len' ive Ben Thompson the last chaw I had”?which is a lie pretty er; but Jack ain't no stranger, so he says:

”_You_ give hirandmother You pay me back the chaws you've awready borry'd off'n me, Lafe Buckner, then I'll loan you one or two ton of it, and won't charge you no back intrust, nuther”

”Well, I _did_ pay you back some of it wunst”

”Yes, you did?'bout six chaws You borry'd store tobacker and paid back nigger-head”

Store tobacco is flat black plug, but these fellows mostly chaws the natural leaf twisted When they borrow a chaw they don't generly cut it off with a knife, but set the plug in between their teeth, and gnaith their teeth and tug at the plug with their hands till they get it in two; then sometimes the one that owns the tobacco looks mournful at it when it's handed back, and says, sarcastic:

”Here, gi_”

All the streets and lanes was justelse _but_ h about a foot deep in some places, and two or three inches deep in _all_ the places The hogs loafed and grunted around everywheres You'd see athe street and whollop herself right down in the here folks had to walk around her, and she'd stretch out and shut her eyes and wave her ears whilst the pigs washer, and look as happy as if she was on salary And pretty soon you'd hear a loafer sing out, ”Hi! _so_ boy! sick hito each ear, and three or four dozen et up and watch the thing out of sight, and laugh at the fun and look grateful for the noise Then they'd settle back again till there was a dog fight There couldn't anything wake theht?unless itfire to hi a tin pan to his tail and see him run himself to death

On the river front so out over the bank, and they was bowed and bent, and about ready to tumble in, The people had moved out of them The bank was caved away under one corner of so over People lived in theersome, because sometimes a strip of land as wide as a house caves in at a time Sometimes a belt of land a quarter of atill it all caves into the river in one su back, and back, and back, because the river's always gnawing at it

The nearer it got to noon that day the thicker and thicker was the wagons and horses in the streets, andall the time

Families fetched their dinners with theons There was considerable whisky drinking going on, and I seen three fights By and by sos!?in from the country for his little old monthly drunk; here he colad; I reckoned they was used to having fun out of Boggs One of thewyne to chaw up this tiwyne to chaw up in the last twenty year he'd have considerable ruputation now”

Another one says, ”I wisht old Boggs 'd threaten wyne to die for a thousan' year”

Boggs co like an Injun, and singing out:

”Cler the track, thar I'wyne to raise”

He was drunk, and weaving about in his saddle; he was over fifty year old, and had a very red face Everybody yelled at hihed at him and sassed him, and he sassed back, and said he'd attend to theular turns, but he couldn't wait now because he'd come to town to kill old Colonel Sherburn, and his motto was, ”Meat first, and spoon vittles to top off on”

He see me, and rode up and says:

”Whar'd you come f'm, boy? You prepared to die?”

Then he rode on I was scared, but a ; he's always a-carryin' on like that when he's drunk He's the best naturedest old fool in Arkansaw?never hurt nobody, drunk nor sober”