TNRHEA-L Archives

From: <>
Subject: The other Chapter 6 & 7
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 08:21:33 EDT

Chapter Six (The second Chapter Six-EC)
He looses a Battle But Wins the War
(Ok, so there are two titled Chapter Six. Remember, he was about 75 years
old when he wrote this so just over look the duplication-EC)
My cousin, Jack Stinecipher, had a very large young dog that would fight
anything that came along. His name was "Tige" and he followed Jack one day
when he came to visit me and it wasn't long until he and Carlo met. We were
near the gate that leads from the house to the barn. According to my
recollections, Carlo was on the side next to the barn and Tige came in the
front of the yard and to where Jack and I were just opening the gate, and
Carlo came through and met Tige just inside, and started to quarrel in their
dog language. Which was deep coarse "hair raising" growls, as they slowly
stepped closer together. We scolded them and tried to stop them, but they
could not hear us for their fierce growls. All at once they both jumped at
each other with full force, growling, barking, and snapping, coming together
with tremendous force and rearing up on hind legs whirling this way and that
way, until Carlo, whirling around, struck something which knocked his feet
our from under him causing him to fall. Tige took advantage of his fall and
was on top of him before he had time to rise and was trying to get Carlo by
the throat, but Carlo had a very thick neck which was hard to get hold of and
he was struggling hard to rise but couldn't quite make it, when Jack saw a
chance to jump in and catch Tige by one of his hind feet and pull him away.
Carlo was up and at him and Jack had all he could do to hold Tige. Then I
jumped in and caught Carlo around the neck and held on to him. He tried hard
to break away from me, but I managed to hang on until we got them quiet.
Then Jack pulled Tige along toward the front gate cuffing him with his hand
then shoved him through and drove him home. That was not the end of it.
Tige got to running around of night doing depredations but no one had
positive proof on him. He had been seen around our place and depredations
had been committed but no one saw him in the act. Jack didn't think it was
him doing them and made dire threats as to what he would do if anyone killed
him. Tige got to coming quite often to our place and killing things of
nights; anything he came across, just to be killing. He never ate them for
he was well-fed at home. This all went on for a month or more and I told
Jack someone would kill him if he didn't keep him tied or fastened up. But
he couldn't believe it was Tige, and he did try to keep him home by typing
him, but Tige nearly always got loose and when he did, there would be
something killed. It might be a pig, goose, duck or chicken, and Tige would
be back at home in the morning lying on the porch looking innocent and Jack
wouldn't believe he had done anything wrong, although he was loose from his
chain.

Well, this went on for sometime and Carlo and Bonny would chase after him,
making the welkin ring with their barking when ever he was around, making it
hard for us to get any sleep and every time I would tell Jack about it he
would say, "I try to keep him tied up but the chain won't hold him, and I
don't believe he does the killing. I think it is something else that does
the killing and he gets blamed for it." Well, it went on for a while longer
and people put up quite a howl, most everyone but Jack thought it was Tige
doing the killing, but could not convince him that it was.

Then one morning I got out of bed and came down the stairs just as it was
getting light enough to see good and stepping off the porch into the yard, at
the front of the house, I noticed something lying on the ground a few steps
away. I approached closer so as to better see, and to my great surprise I
discovered it was the dog, Tige, and he was dead and stiff. While I was
standing there looking, mother came out from the other side of the house very
quietly and came up close to me and spoke low to me. After she had looked at
him, saying, "Your Pa will come and help you get rid of it." I never asked
any questions of her, nor made any remarks, just waited and Pa came out.
Mother had gone back in the house. Pa only said, "Let's take him to the mire
hole in the swamp." We took hold and he was so heavy we had to stop a few
times to rest on the way, the mire hole was at the foot of a little hill at
the edge of the swamp and we stood at the edge and threw him in as far as we
could and watched him sink in, out of sight then threw in some brush over the
place, then went back to the house without any comments and ate our
breakfast. The rest of the family never knew anything about what had
occurred that morning and never was told. (p.s. Jack never learned)

Chapter Seven
Old Billy _______
One day Carlo was lying on the porch facing toward the road that leads down
to the house. Mother was working nearby doing odds and ends, small jobs
before commencing to prepare dinner, when she heard Carlo make a noise
something between a bark and a grunt, then a very low growl. She looked
around to see what Carlo was doing. He got up on his feet slowly and walked
out toward the gate, all the time looking up the hill. She raised her eyes
and looked up the road and saw some one coming down toward the house but
could not tell who it was until he got about fifty yards from her, then she
discovered it was Old Billy _______ (name deleted to protect the
innocent-EC). He was one of the fellows that you can find in most any
neighborhood who makes a nuisance of themselves by going around to people's
homes when they are busy and bothering them when they want to get something
done. He made it a point to get there just before meal time so that he could
get a square meal. Mother did not want to be bothered with him anytime, and
especially then, for there was no one there but her and it was hard for her
to prepare dinner and talk to him at the same time, and furthermore he would
take little things that did not belong to him if he was not watched. She
kept out of sight and watched Carlo to see what he would do when Old Billy
came to the gate. Carlo just stood inside the gate until Billy came and
placed his hand on it. Then he pulled back his lips and showed his teeth.
Billy hesitated, then attempted to unfasten the gate. When Carlo showed his
teeth again and gave a very low growl, Billy stopped and stepped back. Carlo
just stood still and looked at him. Billy got nervous, took a step like he
was going to go away, changed his mind, turned around, looked toward the
house and yelled out "H-e-l-l-o, h-e-l-l-o." Mother took her time going out
as she was so amused at him and Carlo that she could hardly keep her face
straight. She spoke to Carlo and he just stepped off the walk and let Billy
pass and fell in behind him and when Billy raised his foot to step on the
porch, Carlo took him by the hell and pulled back and made him set it back on
the ground. Billy looked down and saw that it was Carlo and jerked his foot
up quick but Carlo was quick too and caught his hell again and made him set
it back on the ground. Mother could hardly keep from laughing, it was so
funny the way Billy squirmed and twisted around. She says, "Carlo, be
ashamed of yourself." She couldn't scold him, she was enjoying it too much
to scold. Carlo then let him go in on the porch where he sat down in a chair
where Carlo walked around him sniffing.

Old Billy squirmed and twisted drawing his feet and arms making himself as
small as possible watching Carlo all the time, so nervous that he could not
sit still; while mother was so amused she could hardly speak without
laughing. Finally Billy spoke and when he did he couldn't keep from
stuttering. He said, ":When I go-got to-to the ga-gate, Ca-Caro-Carlo
shu-shu-showed his teeth and I wa-was afr-fraid to op-open the ga-gate, and I
was afraid to start away for fear he would jump the fence and bite me and I
called out for someone to come and keep him from biting me. I have been here
before and he ought to know me, but he wouldn't let me come in." He sat
there in misery for a few minutes while Carlo walked around him sniffing some
more and watching him until Mother got sorry for him and told Carlo to go lie
down. He walked away a few steps but did not lie down, but stood and watched
Billy. Billy sat there and could not think of anything to say for some time.
Then he said, "I will have to go now, will you keep Carlo from biting me as
I go out?" Mother told him not to be afraid the he would not bite him.
"Can't you stay and rest before going?" He said no, that ht must go, and
gets up and starts for the gate and Carlo follows a little way behind him to
the gate and watches until he goes out of sight, then comes back and lays
himself down with a sigh of relief where he was laying when Old Billy first
appeared. Carlo never would allow him to come inside the gate until someone
came out and told him to stand aside, then he would do so reluctantly and
stay close to him and watch him all the time until he left and appeared
relieved when he was gone. Old Billy did not come so often after Carlo
watched him so closely that time and we were saved several meals that he
would have eaten had Carlo not been watchful.

Chapter Eight
Finds a Congenial Dog Friend - Leaves Home
To be continued with Chapter Eight in next email.
Edna Clack

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