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Show 1 - ALL DUNN by Roy Dunn HOWDY FOLKS, Some time ago I was about to tell you about our old hound dog that we had down in Arkansaw when we lived near the shore of Peckerwood Lake where the fishin' just can't be beat. Old Lead got hisself killed, and that's what I was gonna tell you about. I use'ta stay with my Uncle Sylvester and Aunt Ellie Mae in the summer time and that's where I was when Old Lead got killed. Aunt Ellie Mae alius said it was an accident, but I figured fig-ured different, cause I think Uncle Sylvester planned it right from the start 'cause he was mad at Old Lead. Uncle Sylvester was mad at that dog 'cause Old Lead bit him one day. But I alius figured you couldn't blame the dog, 'cause Sylvester had just got his whiskers whis-kers shaved off and that fool dog just plain didn't recognize him. You can't blame the dog for that. Old Lead just didn't take kindly to strangers. Well, it happened like this. It all started when Uncle Sylvester Syl-vester traded some corn squeez-ins squeez-ins for some sticks of dynamite, dyna-mite, with the primers and some fuse, about that long. But he was not about to let us get away from him 'cause he wanted us to throw that stick again so he could go and get it. Besides being a good swimmer, he was a good runner. run-ner. Boy, how he could run! But if he could run fast, we could run faster a little bit, that is. I tell you, when we passed Calaway Whittaker's General Store, down at the crossroads, we musta been doln' forty miles an hour. Anyway, Any-way, it seemed like it. Old Calaway was sittin' out on the porch an' he yelled somethin' when we passed, but we just kept right on runnin'. I know that ain't polite but we just simply didn't have time to stop and ask him what he'd said. About this time, that dynamite dyna-mite blowed up and I never did hear such a racket in all my born days. The concussion knocked me flat an' some leaves from a tree kinda float--ed down on me. So did a limb, but I didn't notice, 'cause I was too scared. Anyway, I didn't notice it 'till later when I found a lump on my head. It was sore for a long time. I got right up when everything every-thing stopped fallin' and looked look-ed around for Uncle Sylvester. He was layin over there, lookin' like a wild Indian had been working on him. His scalp was tore clear across the back of his head and was flopped forward, for-ward, down over his eyes. I just knowed he was a goner for sure. But I heard him kinda gurglin' down in his throat, an' then I knowed he wasn't a goner. But I also knowed that somethin' had to be done right quick-like. Turned out that Calaway an' old Doc Strickland was out there on the porch, workin' on a jug of white mule when we went tearin' by. So they come right over an' we toted Sylvester Sylves-ter in the store an' laid him on the counter. Then old Doc went right to work. He alius had his tool box with him, no matter how drunk he got. I guess old Doc was kinda oiled, 'cause he didn't clean Sylvester's noggin any too good before he sewed it back in place. Anyway, when it got well, you could feel a lump on top of Sylvester's head, just under the scalp. He figured it was one of Old Lead's toenails an' was alius havin' somebody feel that lump, 'specially when he got likkered up. Then he'd alius cuss old Doc Strickland and the dog. If Uncle Sylvester went to all that trouble, tryin' to kill Old Lead, then he done a good job. But it was a mighty dangerous dan-gerous business, 'cause he al- i most got hisself killed. ; All we ever did find of Ok : Lead was a little piece of hi! tail, hangin' up in a tree. An that was the end of Old Lead . (No pun intended.) ; SEE YA'ALL LATER. Now Old Lead was kinda stupid, in an intelligent sort of way, and he was hard to teach any tricks that took any more intelligence than catch-; catch-; ing a cold biscuit in his teeth that was throwed to him from the kitchen door. He never chewed them biscuits, he just sorta swallowed 'em like a pill and wag his tail for more. After working with him for months, I was finally able to get him to go and get a stick when I throwed it. He would fetch it back to me but he never did have sense enough to lay it down so I could pick it up and throw it again. I'd have to take it from his mouth. But he was always happy when I'd throw it again. It was the only trick he could do and he sure did work that trick to death. He was alius trying to get me to throw a stick. Well, like I started to say, me and Uncle Sylvester took Old Lead and went down to the White River to get some fish to smoke for the winter. There warn't no law agin it, like there is now, so we'd light the fuse on a stick of dynamite and throw it 'way out in the. river. When it blowed up, the fish would be floatin' all around an' we could just paddle around in a boat an' pick 'em up by the dozens. We could get enough to last all winter, in a couple of hours, but it was a lot of work to clean and smoke them. We used hickory chips from the handle factory over in Muddj Gap, to burn for the smoke. Well sir, I guess we reallj didn't take Old Lead with us on that trip. He just sorta followed fol-lowed us and we didn't thinh of makin' him stay home. It was the fall of the year, but it was hot that day, and that dog just trotted along undei the wagon in the shade. Once in awhile he'd growl at the mules when they kicked dirt ir his face but he didn't have sense enough to travel furthei back under the wagon. Like said, he was kinda dumb. When we got to the rivei J bank and got all set, Sylvestei lighted the fuse on the sticl of dynamite and throwed i: 3, 'way out in the river. Old Leac ,s just dived in and started swim min' to go get that stick. He was a right smart swim TJ mer and soon he crawled ou on the bank with that dyna mite in his mouth with its fus smokin' and a'splutterin'. Tha fuse was gettin' mighty shor an' he just stood there waggin his tail an' waitin' for some body to take it outta his mouth Me an' Uncle Sylvester jus stood there, sorta stupid-like I think it musta took a minuti for the danger of the situatioi to soak in our thick skulls When it did, neither one of u: said a word, we just took of an' tried to get away fron that fool dog. |