60 RAMBLES AFTER SPORT. 



of the farmer), and by eight o^ clock I should think 

 every loafer and " bummer " for five miles round had 

 assembled in the bar room of the hotel. Old Zack, who 

 by this time was two or three sheets in the wind,, sat by 

 my side, and to every one that came in he would 

 introduce me — ^' Elihu Budd, sir : the stranger from the 

 other side of the Pond {Anglice, Atlantic) who is 

 a-gwoin to shute my bars. Let^s liquor up -/' and Mr. 

 Elihu Budd simply observing " Let^s/' we accordingly 

 did; and so on with about a dozen. They came in 

 troops of threes and sixes, and stood staring at me as 

 if I were some remarkable cariosity catalogued in a 

 museum. 



Then says one of them, " How are you calkilating 

 to fix ^em, stranger? Pizin?'' '^ No, sir,^^ answered 

 Zack for me, " I don^t allow any pizin with my critturs.^' 

 " Maybe he reckons to trap ^em ?^^ " Not much, sirree ; 

 I won^t have no traps," quoth Zack ; ^^ fair and square 

 shuting.''^ 



A long silence, during which they all tept ^ picking 

 their teeth with their penknives, and staring at me as 

 though they expected, me to undergo some curious trans- 

 formation before their eyes. 



Then says another, " Zack^s bars are 'tarnal spiteful I 

 guess; spitefullest here about.'^ Chorus, ^' You bet,'^ in 

 sepulchral tones. Two others engaged in a lively con- 

 versation as to whether bears '^ eat humans," or could 

 climb ; others volunteered advice as to the best way of 

 *' fixing the varmint ;" and all did their best to cheer me 

 on by recounting sundry pleasant little anecdotes illus- 

 trative of the grizzly^ s ferocity, till I began to wish 

 ^ack, the bars, and the company all at Jericho. 



There was one coon-faced limp-looking Yank in par- 



