Zury the meanest man in Spring County Author:Joseph Kirkland Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. ZURY " NIGGERING " LOGS AND MAKING A CORN-CROP. " Ephratm, what 'll yer crap dew withaout no fence?" "Dunno." " No fence, no crap," said... more » Zury. Then after a pause Selina said, — " Haow much fence 'll it take t' go raound them twelve acres ? " "Th' ain't no twelve acres, mammy ; but it'll take a good half mild of fence," said Ephraim. " 'N' forty acres 'll take a full mild," added the boy. " Forty acres, sonny ! " " Yes, mammy ; I said forty acres, 'n' I meant it, tew ! A mild o' fence, pig-tight, bull-strong, 'n' hoss-high." " A mild o' fence ! " " Yes, a mild o' fence — if the timber holds out." And he gave a jerk of the head over toward the forest where millions of trees were to be had for the hauling. "Guess ye'll wear yer axe daown tew a penknife 'fore ye split all them rails I " "Yew'll see!" So Zury fell to work at the task of providing a whole mile of fencing material. Part of this was prepared in a way worth describing. He would find a long, prostrate tree-trunk in the woods, dry but not rotten, the victim of some storm or lightning stroke of past years. This he would measure off in about twenty-foot lengths, and at the end of each length he would build a fire, which, patiently attended to and replenished, would sever the log at that point, leaving it in lengths which could be hauled by a stout team over the snow to the place where they might be needed. This method of severing logs is called in the vernacular " niggering them off," whether because of its laziness, or of the blackness of the resulting heads, cannot be certainly stated. It is certainly ingenious and effective. Zury, starting in the morning with his axe and a burning brand, could light and attend to some thirty fires, and so prepare thirty logs, while he w...« less