The Hog 83 



over-bit, slit right, crop left, both ears slit, 

 slit and swallow-fork, swallow-fork, slit and 

 hole. Merciful men mark as lightly as pos- 

 sible; suspicious ones cut ears to rags and 

 tatters. In a question of ownership there is 

 no going behind an authentic mark well 

 healed. Likewise a mark bloody, and visibly 

 tampered with, is convincing proof of theft. 



It is not easy to tamper with marks. The 

 cuts toughen so in healing they almost turn 

 the edge of the later knife. Taking off the 

 whole ear is quickest and safest. If old man 

 Shack did not really do it, he wanted his 

 neighbors to think he was quite bold enough 

 and bad enough for such work. It was of 

 a piece with his vaporings as to what he 

 might be or do if he " was not so cussed 

 lazy." He had, according to himself, poten- 

 tialities for anything betwixt robbing a train 

 and making a million dollars. Joe did not 

 believe the half of that, but he did believe, if 

 the old man chose to work only half as in- 

 dustriously as he chose to idle, he could not 

 help but be much better ofF. 



The Baker mark, a crop in the right, under- 

 bit in the left, ran back through the pioneer- 

 ing Baker and certain Carolina planters to the 

 original English emigrants, two brothers from 

 the borders of the New Forest. They were 

 yeomen, also young men — which yeomen 



