got bloan up with Pewts canon. i had fired all my snapcrackers but 2
bunches whitch i had saved for nite, so me and Pewt we was fixing the
canon, ferst we wood put in sum powder and then we wood put in sum wet
paper for a wod and then we wood put in sum grass and then put in the
ramrod and pound it down with a rock. then we wood put a fuze of a snap
cracker in the tuch hole and lite it and put for the other side of the
street and it wood make an auful bang and tern 2 or 3 sumersets. Well we
had lots of fun and bimeby i was poaring out sum powder out of the
powder horn and all of a suddin they was a flash of litening and the
next i knew i was in bed and father and mother and Cele and Keene and
docter Perry and aunt Sarah and aunt Clark and Georgie was in the room,
and i said what is the matter and mother began to laff and then to cry
and Docter Perry he said you had better take her out and let her lie
down, but mother she said she wood be all rite and docter he said you
needent wurry Missis Shute, you coodent kill this boy with brik. well my
eyes smarted and i felt like the room was spinning round but it dident
hurt enny. well that nite i coodent go to the band concert but they
pushed my bed up to the window and i cood hear it prety good. the next
day i had sum buly gelly and oranges and Cele and Keene read to me and
in the afternoon Beany came in to see me. Beany he burnt his hand on the
fourth and Pewt he burnt of one eyebrow and so we all had a prety good
fourth. Yesterday Boog and Puzzy came down and fit for me until mother
came up. i am all rite now and tomorow i can go in swiming. it was the
babys berthday today. he was just 1 year old. he is a auful fat little
baby, when i was sick mother wood let him sit on the bed.
July 8. brite and fair. i went in swimming today. the water was jest as
warm as if it came out of the kittle. next monday i am going bull
froging with Cawcaw Harding.
July 9. brite and fair, nothing today but church.
July 10. me and Cawcaw had a prety good time today. we cougt 3 dozen
bull frogs legs. we got sum old busters. it is auful funny to catch
them. they will bite a bare hook, so we swing the hook by them and they
gump for it and then they kick and almost tern rong side out trying to
get of of the hook. then we grab them by the legs and whak their heads
over the side of the bote and their inside comes out and sumtimes lots
of hard water snales comes ratling out and sumtimes they has fishes and
sumtimes other bull frogs or stripers. then we cut of there legs. me and
Cawcaw always kill them ferst. sum fellers cut of there legs ferst, that
is prety cruil i think. Cawcaw he thinks so two.
July 11. brite and fair. today i went in swiming up to sandy bottum.
Whack and Boog and Puzzy were there and got to pluging green apples.
Whack got behind a tree and jest as he peeked out Boog pluged a hard one
and took Whack rite in the mouth. then Whack got mad and said he cood
lick Boog and Puzzy together, so Boog and Puzzy piched in and had a good
fite and punched time out of Whack. While i was waching them fite,
sumbody tide gnots in my shert sleavs so tite that i coodent get them
out so i had to go home without my shert on. it was prety lucky i had my
jaket on.
July 12. Today i went up to Whacks and we et sum green currents with
shugar on them and then et sum green apples and then we went in
swimming down to sandy bottum. i dont feel very well tonite, i have got
a bely ake.
July 13. i have been sick all day, mother made me take a big spoon full
of caster oil.
July 14. i am beter today, it raned all day and tonite they was a
thunder shower, it struck a tree in Gilman field.
July 15. i went up to Whacks agen today. i dident eat enny green apples
or green currents you bet. Whack and Boog and Puzzy did and they give
little Willie sum. they never have the bely ake. i never see such
fellers.
July 16. i have got a velosipede, it ways 90 pounds. i have got so i can
ride it down hill, last nite i was riding it up by Gim Odlins and it ran
rite into a tree and i came of rite over it and scrached my hands and
nocked the skin of my gnees. today was sunday and i coodent ride it but
i set on it.
July 17. Hot as time today. Docter Gerrish and Docter Perry and J.
Albert Clark have all got buly velossipedes, they have spring backs but
mine is solid iron back and when i go over a bump or a stone it most
ratles my teeth out. Beany he can ride two, but Pewt cant.
July 18. feerful hot.
July 19, 186- we fellers is going to have a swiming mach. they is going
to be prises for the feller whitch can dive the best and for the feller
whitch can swim the fastest and for the feller whitch can swim the
furtherest under water and for the feller whitch can flote the best
without wigling his arms and legs. i bet i will beat sum of the fellers.
most of the fellers can beat me rassling or nocking of hats or running
or gumping but i bet i will show them sumthing when we come to race in
swiming. i practised today diving until my head aked feerful.
July 20. the race is to be next Wensday. They is Pewt and Beany and
Fatty Gilman and Fatty Melcher. Boog and Whack and Puzzy was going to
race but they wanted to have it at sandy bottum and we fellers wanted to
have the diving mach at the oak and the swiming under water at the
gravil becaus it is wider there, and so they was mad and woodent come
in. Ennyway sandy bottum isent wide enuf and you cant tell whether a
feller is swiming one foot on bottum. today i went in 7 times. ferst i
practised swiming fast bullfrog fashion. next i practised side stroak
next i practised swiming under water. i swum 5 times acros at the
gravil. then i practised floteing, but i cant flote without keeping my
hands moving. ferst my feet sink and when i get straight up and down my
head goes under. then i div until my head aked like time agen. i feel
prety tired tonite.
July 21. rany as time. i only went in swiming 2 times today and i dident
dive enny. i only practised swiming fast and floteing. i coodent flote.
in every boys book of sports and amuzements it says throw yourself on
your back and throw your head back and hold your breth and you will not
drownd until asistance reeches you. so i tride it today but i coodent
hold my breth more than 1 minit and as soon as i let out my breth down i
went unless i kep my hands moving. so what the man whitch rote that book
said aint so unless asistance comes in 1 minit.
July 22. brite and fair and hot as time. Pewt thinks he is going to beat
me swiming. i gess he will find out.
July 23. today was sunday and i coodent practise swiming or diving, darn
it.
July 24. brite and fair. i only went in swiming 2 times today, once this
morning and once this afternoon, but i staid in all the morning and all
the afternoon so i coodent go in more then 2 times. the race is day
after tomorow.
July 25. brite and fair. today we went up to Pewts and we aranged about
the prises. Pewt was to give the prises. the prise for swiming fast was
a bag of erly apples from Pewts garden. the prise for swiming under
water was a gewsharp and the prise for the best diver was a cain fishing
pole and the prise for floteing was a arrow rifle. we all give 5 cents
eech to buy the cain pole. the gewsharp was one whitch Pewt had and the
arrow rifle Pewt had made. So Pewt he said as long as he give 2 of the
prises he was to have the say about whitch beat.
July 26. brite and fair. the fellers plaid a meen trick on me today. the
meenist i ever see. i wont ever speak to enny of them agen. this morning
we had the race. ferst we had the fast race. we started at the oak and
swum down to the gravil. i was as far as from here to Beanys house
ahead. so i got the apples. Fatty Melcher was next and Pewt was next and
Beany and Fatty Gilman got tired and went ashore. next we had the
floteing mach. Fatty Gilman floted the longest and then Beany becaus he
was fat two and then Pewt and then Fatty Melcher and then me. i was the
wirst and the fellers all howled at me. so Fatty Gilman he got the arrow
rifle. i dont cair. then we went back to the oak to have the diving
mach. after we had div Beany and Fatty Melcher they said i div the best
and Pewt and Fatty Gilman said Pewt div the best. then Pewt giv himself
the prise becaus he had the say. i was prety mad. then we went down to
the gravil to have the swiming under water mach so i went ferst and i
swum from the going in place on Moltons field to the elm tree on old Nat
Gilmans side and when i come up and looked round they wasent enny feller
ennywhere. so i swum back prety lively and my close was gone and the
apples and the gewsharp and the fellers two. so i dident know what to
do. i thougt they had hid the close and i hunted in the buches but i
dident find them. so i wated a long time and bimeby i heard sum oars and
i looked and i saw a bote with a feller and 2 girls, so i coodent holler
and i hid behind a tree. so they went by and then i come out and i
walked back to the oak and when i got there i found sum girls picking
dasies and i lay down behind the fence and just then a hornet stung me 2
times and i yelled and gumped rite up and danced round before i thougt
and then i see them and i hipered back to the gravil, they hipered two
the other way you bet. well i set there in the shade for a long time
until i got kind of cold and then i set in the sun. i thougt sum of the
fellers wood come in swiming, but nobody come. i knowed if i wated til
dark i cood get home all rite, only i wood get a licking for scaring the
folks most to deth for they wood think i was drownded. well jest then i
heard sum fellers talking up by the oak and i went up and there was
Potter Goram and Chick Chickering. they had been fishing and had cougt
sum buly pikeril. well i holered to them and they come down where i was
and i told them about the meen trick the fellers had plaid on me and
Potter he said he wood go home for sum close and he give me his jaket
and then he hipered acres the field and me and Chick began to fish and i
cougt a pirch and a eal and Chick he cougt 2 roach. then Potter he come
back with my best close and so i coodent fish enny more. so i went home
in my best close. when i went by Pewts he holered Plupy has got on his
best close. i dident say ennything. so when i got home mother asked me
about it and i told her, it want telltaily eether. so mother she told me
to go up to Pewts for my close and i said if Pewt took them he cood
bring them back and Beany and Fatty two. so at super father he asked me
why i had got on my best close and i told him and he said if Pewt
dident bring those close back in about 5 minits he wood go up and boot
him down to our house and back agen and jest then Mister Purington came
into the yard holding Pewt by the ear. Pewt he had the close and Mister
Purington he nocked at the door and he asked for me and when i come to
the door he made Pewt give me the close and then he told Pewt to tell me
he was sorry for what he had done and Pewt he dident want to say it but
Mister Purington most lifted Pewt of the ground by the ear and then Pewt
he said he was sorry kind of mad like and Mister Purington lifted him up
agen til Pewt he stood on his tip toes and his face was all onesided and
his eyes all squinty and then he had to say it over agen polite. and
then Mister Purington he led Pewt home all the way by the ear. i thougt
i shood die. it sirved Pewt jest rite. father laffed when i told him how
the hornet stung me and how the girls hipered.
July 27. brite and fair. Pewt cant go out of the yard today. i dident
speak to Beany.
July 28. brite and fair. i am going with Potter and Chick Chickering
instead of Pewt and Beany. we went butterflying today.
July 29. brite and fair. nothing to wright today.
July 30. thunder storm rite after church. i wish it had been rite
before.
July 31. tonite a man come down to see father and said i had gumped up
behind a fence without my close on and scart his girls. he was stoping
at the beach and they come up to Mager Blakes hotel. well father called
me in and i told the man all about it and bimeby he begun to laff and he
said it was a prety meen trick on me and he shook hands with me and he
was glad i dident do it a purpose only he was sorry i got stung.
Aug. 1. me and Potter and Chick went fishing. Chick fell of little river
brige with his close on. Potter caugt a whacking snaping tirtle. he
gave it to Sam Dire and he cut his head of after it was cut of it wood
bite a stick. Sam says it wont die til the sun goes down. he says that
if you cut a snake in 2 peaces it will come together agen and heel up
and be as good as ever. me and Potter is going to try it.
Aug. 2. big thunder shower last nite. we all got up and lit lamps and
set round in our nite sherts. we lit all the lamps we cood find so we
coodent see the litening. father kept telling funny stories, but mother
and Aunt Sarah was scart and told him he hadent aught to joke when enny
minit he mite be struck by litening. father he said he dident beleave
the litening wood strike him enny quicker for not being scart of it then
it wood if he gumped and holered o lord every time it litened. well
after a while it only litened way of and we went to bed.
Aug. 3. i havent spoke to Beany yet or to Pewt eether.
Aug. 4. this morning it was Friday. we have fish chowder Fridays. i dont
like it and so i drink milk and father wanted the milkman to go down
celler to try some of his vinegar. mother hangs the wash boiler and the
tin pans and iron kittles in the celler way and when ennyone whitch is
tall goes down celler he has to stupe down so not to nock down the pans
and kittles. so father he was down celler and he holered for the milkman
to come down and when he went down he hit his head aginst the boiler and
nocked it down and all the kittles and pans tumbled down on his head and
went banging down into the celler and you never heard such a feerful
noise. father was mad as time, but after the milkman was gone we all
laffed as if we wood die. mother and Aunt Sarah had to set down they
laffed so. mother said it made more noise then the thunder did last
nite.
Aug. 5. me and Cawcaw Harding has got a new way of fishing for pikeril
when we are in a bote. one of us padles the bote and the other skips for
pikeril. when you try to pull a pikeril into a bote most half of the
time he goes over the bote into the water, so when me and Cawcaw fishes
when the feller which is skiping gets a bite he lets him have it a minit
and the feller whitch is padling the bote padles towards the shore and
then the feller whitch is skiping gumps rite out as soon as the water
aint over his head and gives a big yank, and the pikeril goes saling
into the field. sumtimes when it is woods the line gets tangled all up
in a tree and we have to shin up the tree or cut it down to get the
pikeril. we get prety wet but we dont cair. we always ring out our close
when we get done fishing and they is most dry when we get home. today
the bigest pikeril we caugt got up in a tree and we coodent shin up the
tree and we coodent plug him down with rocks so we had to leeve him
there. we got 12 pikeril. we are going monday.
Aug. 6. brite and fair. today after sunday school Beany he came over and
we made up. this was the longest time i ever was mad with Beany. i am
glad we aint mad enny more. father let me go to ride with Mister Watson
and Beany this afternoon. we went down to the beach and took our
lunchun. when we was coming home me and Beany got most asleep and our
legs got asleep two, so Mister Watson he told us to get out and walk a
little and we wood be all rite and when we got out he whiped up his
horse and drove of lively and made me and Beany walk most a mile. we kep
awake after that you bet. i had a good time.
Aug. 7, 186- clowdy but no rane. me and Cawcaw went fishing agen today
in the bote ferst i padled and he skiped and then he padeled and i
skiped. when we got up by the cove i got a bite and Cawcaw he padled
the bote towards the shore and i gumped out lively and gumped into a
deep place and went down way under. when i came up Cawcaw was nearly ded
he laffed so. well i held onto my pole and swum to the shore it was only
3 stroaks and i sloshed up the bank and yanked that pikeril way into the
buches. he was a big one. Cawcaw did it purpose. sumtime i am going to
rock the bote sudding when Cawcaw is standing up skiping and he will go
into the river kerswash.
Aug. 8. hot as time. me and Beany rung sum more doorbells tonite. we
dident get cougt.
Aug. 9. brite and fair. Potter Goram can stuf birds, so they look jest
like they was alive. he stufed a red winged blackbird so good that the
cat et it and dide. and then Potter he skun the cat and stufed her. i
can skin the cat on the horizondle bar, that is another way.
Aug. 10. me and Beany rung sum more doorbells tonite. we rung old Heads
doorbell and then we tiptode round by the side of his house into Gim
Ellersons yard and laid down behind the current bushes. well jest as old
Head come piling out mad as time Pewt and Fatty Melcher come rite by and
old Head grabed for them and Fatty he run and Pewt got cougt and old
Head he jest lammed Pewt with his cain and Pewt holered he dident do it
and old Head said he did and then he give Pewt sum good bats and sent
him home balling. me and Beany most dide only we dident dass to laff out
loud. jest then father come out to see what Pewt was holering about and
he said what is the matter Orrin and Mister Head he said sum cussid boy
has been ringing my door bell most every nite and i cougt him tonite and
licked him good. and father he said who was it, and Mister Head he said
it was Brad Puringtons boy, and father said i am glad it wasent my boy
and mister Head he said i am glad two but i gess your boy woodent be
meen enuf to ring doorbells and father he said i gess he woodent eether
and then they went in and me and Beany we tiptode up Maple street and
down town and then back home jest as if we had been down town all the
time. that was a good one on Pewt. it made me think of the time Mister
Watson Beanys father licked Beany when we rung his doorbell and he came
to the door with a lamp and the wind blowed the lamp out and Mister
Watson he bumped his head on the door.
Aug. 11. brite and fair. i cant help laffing every time i think of Pewt
getting licked. it is a good one on Pewt.
Aug. 12. brite and fair. tonite me and Beany tride the same trick on
Nipper. we saw Nip go down town and we rung Bill Greenleefs bell 2 times
before Nip come back. we hid in old Ike Shutes porch and peeked out of a
little window. Bill he come out and run round the side of the house and
then he run up street and looked behind trees and fences and swoar
terible. me and Beany near dide. he was so mad that he staid up til
nearly 10 oh clock waching. we cood see him peeking out of the window
and we dident dass to go home til after 10 oh clock and i got licked for
being late. if Nipper had only come home when he had aught to Bill wood
have cougt him and licked him and we wood have got home all rite. we
will pay Nip for this.
Aug. 13. brite and fair. nothing but church today.
Aug. 14. brite and fair. i coodent go out of the yard today. Beany he
come over and we are going to ring old man Hobbses door bell tomorow
nite. old man Hobbs is Prisils uncle.
Aug. 15. brite and fair, and hot as time. tonite we rung old man Hobbses
door bell 2 times. it was auful funny. the ferst time he come out kind
of slow with a lamp. me and Beany were rite on the other side of the
street laying down in the long grass. well he looked all round and
walked out to the end of the piaza and then he went in mutering. bimeby
we rung it agen and out he come prety lively but he dident catch us. if
he was as lively as Bill Greenleef he wood have cougt us. well he went
round the house and then old Missis Hobbs she came to the door and said
what is it William, and he said it is some more of that Purington boys
deviltry, and she said i wood speek to his father and old Hobbs he said
he wood and then they went in. jest as we was going to ring the bell
agen a man come walking quick down the street and went up to the door
and rung the bell and jest as the bell rung old Hobbs opened the door
quick and gumped out and grabed the man and said you rascul i have got
you and the man said you old fool are you crasy and then old Hobbs he
said i thougt it was that Purinton boy ringing my door bell and then
the man went in the house and we wated til they had shet the door and we
put for home and made sum sweet firn segars. tomorow old Hobbs is going
to tell Pewts father. i never had so much fun in my life.
Aug. 16. brite and fair. today Pewt come down to the house and said
where was you last nite and i said me and Beany was making sweet firn
segars over to Beanys and i gave him 2 segars. then Pewt he said that
old Hobbs come down to his house today and told his father he rung his
doorbell 2 times and Pewt said he dident and his father said he dident
beleeve him and was going to lick time out of him if he had and he did
it. Pewt was prety mad and i was prety surprized you bet. this afternoon
they was a thunder storm. after it was over we went fishing but dident
get a bite.
Aug. 17. brite and fair. went up to Whacks this morning and Boog and
Puzzy had 2 fites. neether licked becaus old miss Finton come out and
stoped them. Boog got a bludy nose the second fite. in the afternoon i
went fishing with Cawcaw. i dident get a chance to tip him over but we
cougt 5 pikeril. tomorow nite me and Beany are going to ring sum
doorbells.
Aug. 18. clowdy but no rane. jest the rite day to go fishing. i was
going with Cawcaw but he was sick becaus he et to many apples up to
Whacks. tonite Beany coodent go out of the yard becaus he dident split
sum kindlings so we dident ring enny doorbells. it was a prety meen day.
all the fun i had was going in swiming.
Aug. 19. prety hot today. i went in swiming 5 times. sumthing is the
matter with my eyes i keep winking them all the time. father keeps
saying stop batting your eyes. i gess it is becaus i keep opening my
eyes under water to see things on bottum. father says if i dont stop it
i shant go in swiming enny more.
Aug. 20. it raned this morning so hard that i dident have to go to
church. buly.
Aug. 21. brite and fair. tonite me and Beany rung old Missis Sawyers
bell. when she come out with the lamp we run into Pewts yard and then
into Nat Weeks. she went in and come out agen with a shorl on and went
rite over to mister Purintons and nocked at the door. we was near enuf
to hear evrything. when Pewts father come to the door she said i think
things has come to a prety pass if peeple cant keep there boy from
trubling there nabors. and then Mr. Purinton Pewts father said what is
the matter and Missis Sawyer she said your boy has been ringing my
doorbell and Pewts father he said how do you know he did it and Missis
Sawyer she said i see him run rite into your yard. and so Pewts father
he come out and went round the yard but coodent find ennybody. so he
said praps it was the Watson boy or the Shute boy and she said praps it
was becaus she had heard they was prety bad boys. then Pewts father said
it was a mersy if they dident both get into jale and she said she gessed
the Shute boy was a trial to his father and mother and Pewts father he
said he gessed the Watson boy was two. then he said if he was her he
wood go rite down and see there fathers. when me and Beany heard that we
clim over Nat Weeks fence esy and put for home. when we got there they
was nobody in Beanys kichen and we went in esy and got the sweet firn
and begun to make sweet firn segars. bimeby we heard old Missis Sawyer
blabing to Beanys mother and she said she wood go in and see if Elly was
in and when she come in Beany said mother jest see how many segars me
and Plupy has made and he held up a lot that we made last week and she
said you boys must have wirked a long time and Beany he said it takes a
good deal of time to make so many and she went back looking prety
pleased becaus she thougt Beany dident ring the old doorbell and she
told old Missis Sawyer that we had been making sweet firn segars all the
evening in the kitchin. so old Missis Sawyer went home kind of mad
becaus it wasent me and Beany whitch rung her doorbell ennyway she
thougt it wasent.
Aug. 22. brite and fair.