would be a scarce article by that time. This he agreed to do. 
In those days we had a game we would play which we called 
‘‘Snap’’ or sometimes “Chase the Squirrel.” We would usually 
play the game toward morning when the musicians were about worn 
out. A couple would walk out on the floor, join hands and call for 
a game of snap. Some boy would then snap his fingers at his best 
girl and she would have to chase him around the couple until she 
caught him, and then she, in turn, would have to snap her fingers 
at some fellow and be chased until caught. 
This game was started after the roosters began to crow at day¬ 
break. A1 Brown was standing, leaning up against the wall when 
to his surprise some girl snapped him. He straightened up and 
began chasing her around and around and as he whizzed past the 
corner out would fly the tail of his hammertail coat in which was the 
quart bottle of whiskey which I had put in his keeping. As the 
weight would make his coat swing out it looked like a sledge hammer 
or something in his pocket. The door of the room was standing about 
half open and as A1 made one of his sharp turns his coat-tail swung 
around with a terrific force and struck the door. Of course it broke 
the bottle in his pocket, but A1 didn’t notice that; he kept chasing 
the girl and the booze flew in about every direction. He was having 
a hard time catching her, she was so small and as quick as a rabbit, 
while he was so tall and awkward he could scarcely make the turns, 
but finally he did catch her, and then he thought of the bottle and 
the terrible blow it must have had, so he cautiously felt for it and 
found it smashed. His face flared a crimson red and he said. “No 
moe snap for me.” He was instantly named “Booze Slinger.” A1 
stood their joshing for a little but soon he stepped out in the center 
of the room and said, “You boys cut that out or I will sling you; you 
all know accidents will happen.” 
Believe me, no boy said “Booze Slinger” to A1 anymore, for 
they knew he would mop up the floor with them in less time than it 
would take to tell it. 
This episode created no discord so the dance went on, until about 
8:00 o’clock in the morning, when old Babe proposed having break¬ 
fast cooked for the crowd, but they refused to accept his hospitality 
as the job of feeding such a bunch would be expensive and the labor 
it would take to cook for so many enormous, and anyway every¬ 
body was tired and sleepy and didn’t feel like working. 
Soon they all wanted their horses and mules and thanking Mrs. 
Thornton and old Babe we all struck out for home. 
The next dance was scheduled to be at Mr. Sam Bates, which 
was only two miles, so my sisters and I decided to walk, instead of 
ride, as the evening was ideal. 
As Sam Bates was a newly married man he did not have any barn 
room and very little house room, having only three rooms in his 
dwelling, one large room and a kitchen and living room, therefore 
the gathering was not as large as it was at old Babe’s party, but was 
large enough for the size of the house, providing those that were not 
— 19 — 
