September 28, 186—-this is a rany sunday. i cant go to chirch becaus my paint has not come off yet. i shood not dass to go to chirch becaus peeple wood laff rite out loud. father says he dont believe it will ever come off. but mother says it will with plenty of greece and soft sope. i am most raw now. i wish father had kiled that man. i never got into so bad a scraip before. father says that he has desided that the reform school or the idjut assilem is the only place for me but mother says i needent wurry about that for that is only his talk but i must be more cairful in the future. i told her i dident meen ennything rong but only wanted to earn a little money and she sed she gnew that but there is sum ways of erning money whitch is open to objecsion and i gess she is rite and this is one of them ways. After a feller has had his skin scrubed with soft sope and bristol brick for two days jest like pollishing a brass door gnocker he wishes he was ded.

Well you see i maid up my mind to get a gob becaus Beany had and Pewt had and i had spent all my money. so the first thing i done when i had did my choars was to put for the fair grounds erly. when i got there i went to the resterrent and asted them if they wanted a waiter. they sed no but they was a feller whitch had a tent nex to Julia the snaik charmer whitch has ben triing to get 2 boys. so i went over there and there was a new tent and a big picture painted on a sheet of the wild men of Bornio whitch was captured after a dredful fite in whitch 6 bludhounds was kiled and 4 men fataly injered for life. they was a picture of soldiers and hunters with guns and bludhounds chasing the 2 wild men and carring off the wounded men and the ded dogs.

when i got there i saw a big man with a big mustash talking with Hiram Mingo a nigger boy. i asted him if he had a gob for me and he looked at me and sed i was prety skinny but perhaps he cood fix me. he asted us into the tent. i woodent go for i was afrade of the wild men of Bornio but he sed the tent was emty. so we went in and he sed he had bad luck. That both his wild men was sick and he had a wife and nine small children, and he had got to earn there bread and the only way to do it was to get sum kind hearted feller like us to be wild men. he sed if we wood do that for him he wood pay us 2 dollars apeace and his nine children and his sick wife and blind mother wood pray for us on her gnees. i was auful sorry for him he looked so sad. he sed he had looked up a lot of feller and talked with a lot and we was the only fellers that was smart enuf to do it. he sed he never was gnew to maik a mistake in a feller. he gnew he cood trust us enny time. so i asted him what we wood have to do and he sed he wood paint us up like wild men and put on sum firs and leperd skins and sum brass rings on our hine legs and a necklace of tiger claws and all we wood have to do was to snarl and say yowk and let out howls, and try to get at peeple. i dident want to black up but Hiram dident care becaus he is a nigger. so is asted him if the black wood ware off and he sed yes and so after a while i sed i wood. well he made me take off all my close and he painted me all over black and he put sum black stuf on my hair and twisted out all the points whitch stuck up, then he wound a leperd skin round me and round Hiram and i had a neck lace of tiger claws and 2 brass rings round my hine legs. then he took sum red paint and he painted sum big scars on us where tigers had toar us. when he showed me in the looking glass how it looked it scart me. i never would have gnew it was me. i was wirse looking than a babboon.

then he learned us how to snarl and yowl and make faces. he sed it was easier for me to make faces than enny feller he had ever gnew and he sed it must come natural to me. He sed i wood scare a gorilla white. then he lerned us how to fite and sed we must snarl and fite when he was out on the platform telling the peeple about us and then we wood rush in and crack a whip and fire a pistol in our faces and stop us.

Well after we had lerned how he put a ox chane on to us and then he went out and begun to holler. he sed ladies and gentlemen for one short day only you are privileged to see the wild men of Bornio, imported at vast expense by arrangements with the king of Bornio and captured after a terific fite after 6 dogs was killed and 4 men fataly ingered for life. they are of small size but like the man munky they have the strength of 7 strong men in their sinews and boans and in there native lair they track and kill the maneeting tiger and the lion with there naked hands. then he pounded his stick twict on the platform and it was a signal to us and we begun to yowl and snarl and stamp and he sed there they are taring each other to bits and he rushed in and hollered and cracked his whip and fired his pistal and we yowled and snarld and peeple begun to rush up and pay 10 cents to come in. when they saw us one woman sed my what dredful looking things and one man sed i have got a 15 years old boy that can lick boath of them munkys. so when he and his boy come near the platform i gumped at him and made a auful face and let out a auful howl and i wish you cood have seen that 15 years old boy hiper acrost that tent and holler. he was scart most to deth and the man two and a woman screached and they had to carry her out. then the man cracked his whip and drove me back snarling and making auful faces and Hiram he let out sum auful yowls and bit his chane and fomed at the mouth with sope and the man told how only last weak he had to put on us a red hot iron to drive us off a hieener whitch had got out of its cage and had atacted us but he was two lait and before he cood drive us from our pray we toar him to bits.

A man asted what we et and he sed live rabits and chickings and sometimes frogs. well peeple kep coming in droves and bimeby i see Beany an Pewt come. Beanys eyes were jest like sorcers. i laid down and snarled a litle and i pertended to be asleep and snarled in my sleep like a dog does. i wanted Beany to come near me and so i kep quite and bimeby Beany and Pewt come close to the platform and i make a gump at them and let out the loudest yowl and maid the feerfullst face i cood.

wel Beany went heels over head and hollered bludy merder and Pewt he div rite out under the bottom of the tent and that is the last i see of them. a lot of people come in whitch i gnew and i scart a lot of them most to deth and old mister Emerson lost his false teeth and dident das to come back after them. i never had so mutch fun in my life. bimeby i see father and Charles Talor come in. when they see us Talor begun to laff and sed thunder George the skinny munky faced one is skinny enuf to be your boy and father laffed and sed did you ever see sutch a looking thing in your life. i wated till they come up and then i gumped to the end of my chane and yowled feerful and toar my hair and stamped my feet and made faces and snarled auful and Hiram done the same. they kep back out of reech and father sed well if them is the kind of things fellers see whitch has the delirim tremens i never shall taik another drink what do you say Talor and they laffed and went out. well we scart peeple all that day and had a grate time. at dinner he closed the tent and give us sumthing to eat and drink and then in the afternoon we done the same thing. we got prety tired of it but we kep on. bimeby father come in again and looked round and asted sum men if they had seen his boy. they sed no and he went away. bimeby he come in agen and stood and looked at us a long time. i was tired and dident yowl so mutch. after awhile he come up near and i made a gump at him and knashed my teeth. he kep back so i coodent tare him whitch was a good thing for him for he wood have broak my back and he sed that is the ferst time i ever see blew eyd nigger and he kept looking. well a lot of peeple come in and the man begun to talk about us and pounded the platform and we had augt to have fit, but we was boath prety sick of it and he cracked his whip clost to Hiram and snached a peace of skin off his back and it hirt Hiram so bad that he forgot he was a wild man of Bornio and had been toar by a tiger and he begun to ball and in a minit evrybuddy was hollering cheet cheet and father jumped over the raling and grabed me and yanked me off that platform and men were hollering kill the cheet and evrybuddy was trying to get at him and codent find him for he had got out sumway. wel father sed you infernal idjut where is your close and i sed in that trunk and he opened the trunk and got out my close and made me put them on and Hiram he put his on and peeple were hollering for there money back for it was a cheet and i sed where is my 2 dollars and father sed what you ned is 2 lickings and that is what you will get when i get you home if i can ever get your hide clean enuf to lick and he got Charles Talor to drive up with Nellie and took me home. When we come out of the tent they was a big crowd whitch holllered and laffed at us and all the fellers hollered Plupy the niger munky and Plupy the wild man of Bornio. it was tuf on me for all Hiram Mingo had to do was to put on his close and hat and he was all rite. well when we got home and went into the house mother was so surprised that she nerly dropped the baby. i gess she wood have but he begun to howl and grab her round the neck and hold his breth and grow black in the face and Franky and Annie howled and held on to her skerts and to aunt Sarahs two and they had to be took out of the room and when mother and aunt Sarah come back they sed what have you got there George and father sed it is your smart son, and mother sed what has he been doing now, and father sed he has been a wild man of Bornio at 10 cents a whack and mother and arnt Sarah sed well of all things in this wirld and then they begun to laff until the teers roled down there cheaks and father sed i know it aint no laffing matter and mother sed i know it aint and then she lafed so it hirt her side. bimeby father sed what are we going to do. i draw the line at bringing up a babboon or a man munky in this family.

So mother and aunt Sarah and father and me went down to the kitchen and got a tub and filled it with warm water and they put me in and then they scrubed me with soft sope and then they took me out and most of the black was on. the water was sum black but they sed they coodent see it was enny blacker than when i took my reglar Saterday bath. then they filled the tub again and scrubed me with soft sope and bristol brick. it about skined me and maid me holler. that took off sum of the black. then they tride seesand and that hirt so they had to stop so they greesed me with lard and wiped it off and father sed i was improving. he sed i looked like a half nigger and he guessed nex week they cood get me to look like a quarune and praps weak after nex like a octerune.

i have got to stay in until i get white again. mother says i am the wirst looking thing she ever see in her life. father is talking about reform school again but i ges i needent wurry. today i was two soar to be scrubed so i was greased and wiped off.

Tomorrow if i am not two soar they are going to try bristol brick and soft soap again. i had my head shaived. father done it with the horse clippers. tomorrow if i am not two soar they are going to try bristol brick and soft sope again i asted father if they cougt that man and he sed no they never wood. it is tuf to end a weak this way. it is a auful xperience for a feller whitch has always tride to do rite.



September 29, 186—-today they almost skined me alive. i feel like a haol pimpel all red and swole up. after they get throug skining me with soft sope and bristol brick and seesand they greece me all over. they are using mutten taller now becaus lard is too xpensive so mother says, and father says it suits me for i am the champeen mutten hed. i ges i am a quadrune now. it taiks me a hoal day to get over being skun so they can skin me again. i asted father why he coodent put me in a tirning laith and tirn me down jest like they maik wheal hubs down to old Gus Browns hub shop. father he sed it looked as if he wood have to and he wood see Gus about it today. ennyway i dont beleeve it wood hirt as mutch as seesand.

September 30, 186—-Beany come in to see me today. he laffed so that i told him if he dident stop i wood give him a bang in the snoot so he stoped. we plade checkers and dominose. he can beet me evry time. Beany says i cant go in swiming enny more for 4 years becaus if i get wet the black comes back. gosh i wunder if that is so. i have been reeding Uncle Toms Cabbin and i dont like it enny moar. i asted mother if what Beany sed was trew and she laffed and sed of coarse it aint in your blud and i sed it wood get in if they wasent prety cairful not to scrub me two hard.

i asted father about it when he come home and he sed he wasent sure. he sed it depended sum on how i behaved. that sumtimes a feller wood tirn black with raige, and if he had been blacked up it mite come back. i told him i wood do the best i cood if i ever got white again. i asted how he suposed i ever was fool enuf to do what i had did and he sed it seamed to be eesier for me to be a fool than for most folks. then he sed i was too anchious for money. he sed it reminded him of a line in a poim whitch was rote by a lattin gentleman naimed Publius virgin. i asted him if he was enny relasion of old John Virgin whitch oaned the trotting horses and he sed no he dident think he cood be. if he was it must be straned prety fine. the line went like this

a cused thirst for gold to what dust thou compel the human mind

i rote it down jest as father sed it. i dont know what it means but i dident dass to tel him that and so i sed yes sir i woodent be surprised if it done jest that.

I wish i cood go to school again. i wood be willing to have old Francis lam me.

i suppose the fellers will all laff and call me munkey face and wild man of Bornio but i woodent cair for that. tomorrow i shall be well enuf to be scrubed again. tonite i am greeced and almost too slipery to lay in bed. i am glad i am not a eal or a hornpout. i feel jest like them only i aint got enny horns.

September 31. brite and fair. i have been scrubed again. i bet they was sum fishooks in that seesand. it felt so. enyway i am a octerune now and most white. mother says one moar greecing will be enuf.

September 32, 186—-the last time i was greeced i had the itch. it wasent as bad as this but i remember it well.

September 33 186—-today i went down town. i have been away a long time but the town looks about the saim. Kelley and Gardners have sole 2 gnifes and Fogg and Fellows have sole sum pipes and a cuppy Olliver Optics magazene and old Luke Langly has sole a gointed comb and a tin horn and wagon but in other respecks things look about the saim. i am glad i wasent away long enuf for the place to chainge. that wood be dreadful. i herd of a man onct whitch was sent to jale for his hoal life. bimby they was a new king in the land and he let out the men whitch was in jale this poar man was so glad to get out that he run 9 miles all the way home but when he got home evrything had chainged. where his house was stood a methydist chapel and where his frends house was they had bilt a pest house for small pocks pashients and where the green house stood they had bilt a glue factory and where the libary stood they was a slauter house. but in spite of all these improovments he did not feal to home and he was verry loansum. so he went back to the king and gnelt down on his gnees and sed nobble and venial monnark send me back to jale for my friends are scatered and my house is gone. so the king whitch was a verry kind harted monnark sent him back to jale where he lived hapily many years on bread and water and sumtimes only water.

so i know jest how he felt when i come down town the ferst time to see if things had chainged. but they havent mutch.

September 34, 186—-well of all the big fools i ever see in my life they aint no September 31 or 32 or 34 and i rote them down. this is October 4. there was a frost last nite. i wanted to go to school this morning but mother sed i had beter wait until Monday and begin fresh. so i done errants and split wood and luged pales of water and raiked leeves this afternoon and me and Potter rew up the river to the rapids. the lily pads was all ded and the leeves of the trees was red and yellow. the blewgays was calling and it semed kind of loansume. it seamed good to row again in a boat. tomorrow i shall go to chirch. i have missed chirch a good deel. i never thougt i cood. i never thougt i cood miss school but i have.

October 5, 186—-i went to chirch today. the minister preeched about our duty to our father and mother. i have been thinking a grate deel laitly about how litle i have amounted to and what a lot of truble i have gave my parents and my frens. when a feller is kep in his room prety near all summer suffering from a awful soar skin diseeze caused by being painted black by a man whitch had augt to have gnew better and scrubed with soft sope and bristol brick and seesand to get off the black and not knowing from day to day and from weak to weak wether he will be a nigger or a white man all the rest of his life i tell you he begins to think over the mean things he has did and resolv to do better if he ever gets well and has the chanct. and when a feller gets well and gets a chanct as i have did he aint mutch of a feler if he brakes his resolvs and hadent augt to get well.

father has always gave me a good edjucasien and i have lerned to read well and to spel acuraitly and the multiplacsion table is rite at the end of my tung and i can wright down enny table without looking in the book. the hardest is 9 but it is jest as easy to me as 1.

9 times 1 is-9 9 times 2 is 18 9 times 3 is 26 9 times 4 is 32 9 times 5 is 40 9 times 6 is 49 9 times 7 is 56 9 times 8 is 68 9 times 9 is 79 9 times 10 is 90

there if eny feller can do enny better than that i shood like to see him. then i can bound New Hampshire and i know all the counties in the state whitch will be of the gratest asistence to me when i go out into the wirld to maik my fortune. i only wish father had a morgige on his home but he hasent. if he had i wood come back sum time to pay it. i asted father one day why he dident have a mortgige and he sed he dident have enny home to morgige but had to hire a house of J. Albert Clark. father sed that enny feller with 40 leven children to suport whitch cood by him a house or a farm was smarter than he was.

so i have desided first to give up Beany and Pewt. it will be tuf to give them up. peeple sumtimes have to strugle hard to give up smoaking and drinking but sumtimes they doesent. Pwets father and Beanys father will be glad beaus they boath says that neither Pewt or Beany ever done a rong thing befoar they were so frendly with me. so i am glad there will be sumone whitch will be glad of it. ennyway i gess they dont know Pewt and Beany so well as i do. i cood tell sum things about them if i was meen enuf. i talked it over with Cele and she thinks if i wood reed the palsams evry day it wood help but i am afrade i coodent do boath. i wunder if pewt and Beany can get along without me. i hoap they will be able to stand it but i woodent be surprised if they coodent without sum suffering.

ennyway they have got to stand it becaus from this time we aint going together enny moar. of coarse i shall speek to them when i meat them and say hi Beany and hi Pewt but they wont be enny moar ringing door bells nites and plugging tomatose and grean apples. that will be hard two because it is jest the time for them things and the cucumbers is brite yeller and full of guice and seeds. if a feller waring a stove pipe hat shood come along the strete when i was near a tomatoe vine or a cucumber bush i am afraide i shood have to let ding at him. i dont beleeve the palsams wood do enny good. there is sum things that no feller can stand. but i am going to do the best i can even if i am like a solitary sandpiper or hork whitch always goes aloan. i am not going to tell the folks jest what i am going to do. they will find out later by my acks. sum fellers talks two mutch. i am not goin to be 1 of that kind. i am going to keep my mouth shet and do rite and no feller can do rite if he goes round with Pewt and Beany and fellers like them. i like them boath better than i like the best scolars in school and the fellers whitch dont never miss in there lessons but a feller has got to do his duty sum times in his life. i am going to bed and try to sleap but i dont beleeve i shall sleap a winck.

October 6, 186—-brite and fair. i went to school today for the ferst time. the fellers was glad to see me. they augt to have been becaus they maid lots of fun of me. they call me the wild man of Bornio and munkey face and scrached themselves and pertended to be awful soar. but i dident cair i was so glad to get back to school and to see the fellers that they cood hav called me ennything. ennyway a feller whitch has been called polelegs and skinny and daddy long legs and yeller legs dont mind a few moar nicnaims. i dident get licked today but ame prety near getting. it seamed like old times to set at my desk and see old Francis shake the fellers up. old Francis aint changed a bit.

tonite i was raiking up leeves when Beany come over. i sed hi Beany and he ses hi Plupy. what are you doing raiking leeves and i sed yes. he sed have you got anuther raik and i sed no. then he sed when you get tired i will raik and i sed aint going to get tired. then he sed if you aint it will be the ferst time. then i sed peraps and i kep on raiking. then he sed i have got a raik to home and i will go over and get it and come back and help you i sed you needent truble yourself. and he sed it is more fun wirking then setting round doing nuthing and i sed that is why i am wirking. then he sed well i will get my raik and i sed if you have got enny raiking to do you can do it in your own yard and Beany he stopd and looked at me sirprised and sed what is eeting of you Plupy and i sed nuthing is eeting of me, and he sed what have i did and i sed nuthing and Beany he sed what maiks you ack so queer and i sed i aint acking queer and he sed you are two and i sed i aint neetner and he sed sumthing is certainly eeting of you and i sed no there aint nothing eeting of me only this is my gob and i am going to do it without enny help. then Beany he sed all rite Plupy if that is the way you are going to ack i bet it is the last time i ever offer to help you and i sed i hoap so and Beany he went off wisling loud without maiking enny tune.

i set out to call him back and maik up with him but i dident. i kep on raiking and looked at Beany out of the corner of my ey but he dident look back and he was waulking stif leged and when Beany waulks that way you mite jest as well give up. he is as obstinite as a mule.

after supper i finished raiking and then split up my kinlins. after i had split them i forgot and started for Beanys but jest as i was going out of my yard i remembered that me and Beany was throug. so i went back and set on the steps. Beany Pewt and Medo Thirston and Nipper and sum of the other fellers was playing club the gool and the gool was in Beanys yard so i coodent go out and play becaus me and Beany was throug. i was crasy to play but i coodent. after dark i studded hard but i coodent lern ennything becaus i cood hear Beany and the other fellers hollering and laffing. i bet Beany done it a perpose. enyway Beany you jest wate till tomorrow and and see what you will get when old Francis finds out you havent studded your leson, and you two Pewt.

October 7, 186—-went to school today. Beany dident speek to me. so i wated till he got his licking for not having his lesson. well you never see sutch luck as Beany has. they was jest 1 xample i hadent done. Cele coodent do it or Keene and father had went down town. so i thougt i woodent be called up on that sum. wel i got called up on that sum and coodent do it and got licked and Beany got called up after i had missed and i thougt it wood be sum fun to see Beany licked. well what do you think Beany he up and done the example rite. i never was so sirprised in my life. then old Francis told me i had augt to be ashaimed of myself. that if i had did as Elbrige, Elbrige is Beany you know, done and staid in and studded insted of romeing the stretes i woodent have missed. i sed yes sir. i wood like to know how Beany done that xample. i saw Pewt today and spoke to him. he acted queer. i wonder if Beany told him.

tonite the fellers plaid again in Beanys yard. they plaid coram. most always they play coram in the school yard where there is moar room but tonite they plaid it in Beanys yard. so i coodent do ennything but set on the steps after i had done my choars. they aint much fun in that. i miss Beany a good deel. it is going to be hard to keep away from him but it is the rite thing to do. it is 2 days that i havent got in enny scraip. if i had been going with Beany and Pewt i wood have got in some scraip befoar this. it is 2 days sence i have had enny fun. but it shall get used to it after a while. i studded hard tonite with Cele and Keene and got all my xamples. Keene says i dont try. it aint enny of her bisiness. she only done two of them and Cele the other 8.

but i notise that the ones whitch does the leest has the most to say. if Keene says mutch more about me i wont let her do enny moar of my xamples. so she had better be cairful what she says. i am going to bed erly for they aint enny of the fellers to talk to.

October 8, 186—-brite and fair. i went to school today. dident miss in my lessons mutch not enuf to get licked. Beany had sum good luck and sum how he did his xample rite. Pewt missed but xplained the reeson so well that he dident even get shook. Pewt is grate fer that. he can ast questions so as to maik old Francis think he knows sumthing about it when he dont know ennything. i wish i cood do that. if i dont know the xample i cant ack as if i did, i am wateing for Beany to get a good licking to pay him for being meen to me nites and having all the fellers play in his yard. i bet i woodent have did that to him.

this afternoon there wasent enny school and i thougt i wood have sum fun. i went down to Ed Toles but he had went to drive a man to North Kamton. Frank Hanes had went sumwhere when i went up to his house. then i went up to the Chadwicks but they and Parson Otis and Fatty Gilman had went sumwhere but nobody gnew where. then i went home and found that Potter Goram and Chick Chickering had come down with there butterfli nets to get me to go and get sum lait buterflise. i tell you i hipered down to Moultons field and they wasent there and then up to the grove and they wasent there. then i went home feeling prety loansum.

well there wasent ennything to do for fun so i split sum wood and then mother asted me if i wood screw sum things up in the kitchen to hang close on. so i got the screw driver and went to wirk. while i was wirking Pewt came over. i was awful glad to see Pewt but i thougt he had acked kind of meen to me in not coming over to see me befoar and so i thougt i would punish him a litle befoar i maid up. so i said hi Pewt and went on with my wirk. Pewt sed what are you doing Plupy and i sed saying my prairs before going to bed. then Pewt sed huh and kept quiet and i went on wirking and wisling as if i was aloan. bimbye Pewt sed if you take a hammer and drive the screw in a little way it will taik hold and i sed sort of scornful is that so and he sed yes that is so and if you want to get that screw in this weak you had better do as i say. i dident say ennything only grunted and kep wirking until it broak the head of the screw off then Pewt begun to laff and said there what did i tell you. let me show you how to do it Plupy. i sed supose you think you can bild a barn. Pewt sed peraps i can and i sed sumone is getting prety smart round here and Pewt said i know a feller whitch aint very smart and i sed well if you dont like what you see round here you know where you can go and Pewt he sed i bet i know where i can go and i am going there two old Plupe and the next tim i come round here again you will know it and i sed no sirre i shant know it for when you come over here again i shall be sumwhere elce.

then Pewt went off hollering

Plupys mad and i am glad and i know what will pleeze him taik a nail and scrach his tale and hang him up and greece him.

jest as loud as he cood holer and then he hollered you are a old seesand munky and a bristol brick wild man of Bornio, and i hollered silver is better than pewter and who hooked Perry Moultons apples and Pewt hollered back who et them and i shet up becaus i was afrade mother mite hear him.

well after Pewt had went i felt wirse than ever becaus i realy was glad to see him and wanted him to stay and have sum fun but sumhow i coodent help being meen to him. it is funny how a feller will do jest what he dont want to do and the more he dont want to the more he will do it.

well after Pewt went off mad and i took a hammer and done jest what he told me and them screws did jest as he sed they wood and i dident have enny truble. i gues i was a darn fool for sassing Pewt when he was doing me a good tirn but he needent have called me them names at leest he needent have called me them mad. you can call a feller naimes good natured and he jest laffs but if you call a feller the saim naims mad then they is a row and the fellers dont speek enny more.

well tonite Pewt and Beany had all the fellers over to Beanys house having a grate time and mister Watson Beanys father come out and plaid with them jest lika a boy and they had a lot of fun and then mister Watson Beanys father went in and dressed up in an old stovepipe hat and pertended he was a drunk man and he wood stager agenst the fense and they wood plug him with roten tomatose and cucumbers and nock his old stovepipe hat off and squash on his close and he wood chase them and tumble down and you never see sutch fun in your life. i tell you i was jest about crasy to go over there but i coodent becaus me and Beany was mad and Pewt two so i had to stay on my steps and watch them. you never see sutch fun in your life. mister Watson Beanys father is the funniest man i ever see he dont never drink or get drunk but he can ack like a drunk man jest so you wood think he was drunk and maik you kill yourself laffing.

well after it grew dark i went in to study but i felt so loansum that i went up stairs and went to bed. mother came up and asted me if i was sick and i sed no only i dident feal verry well and she wanted to give me sum castor oil but i sed i was all rite. so she went down after she had felt of my head and it was cold so she sed i was all rite only a little tired.

Cele sed she wood do my xamples for me and i cood copy them in the morning. it is awful hard to give up your frends becaus they have a bad effect on you. i bet it is harder than to give up licker after a man has been a drunkerd all his life. it dont seam to be hard for Pewt and Beany to give me up. they seam to have more fun than ever befoar. enny way i have got to get used to it. father says you can get used to enything if you taik time enuf.

October 9, 186—-rany today and windy. about a milion leeves blowed down today. tonite we had a fire in the air tite stove and it seamed moar cheerful. Beany and Pewt coodent have the fellers in Beanys yard. i am still wundering how Beany lerned how to do them xamples. it aint like him to know now. i still feal prety blew.

October 10, 186— brite and fair. there was a frost last nite. I dident miss today. neether Pewt or Beany spoke to me. tonite i done my choars and went and set on the steps and wached the fellers playing in Beanys yard. i felt prety bad. father sed what is the matter with you. i sed nothing and he sed you have been acking like a sick cat for a weak why dont you go over and play with the boys and i sed i dont want to. he sed you havent had a fite with Elbridge, Elbridge is Beany you know, and i sed no. then he asted me if i had a fite with Clarence, Clarence is Pewt you know, and i sed no, i havent had enny fie with Pewt, then he went in and set by the table and red the Exeter Newsletter whitch always comes out on Fridays. i went in and went up stairs because we dont have xamples on Saturday only speeking and geogrify.

after i went up stairs i went into the front room. it was warm and the windows was open. father had went out on the front steps and i was setting in the window lissening to the fellers and wishing i was out there with them. bimeby i heard father say to mother Joey what is the matter with Harry laitly. he has been acking nummer than a deef mewt and mother sed i dont know what it is. he has done his choars better than i ever gnew him to do them xcept jest befoar crismas and 4th of July and he eets well but he dont play enny moar and he dont seam like himself enny moar. then father he sed i dont like it. i hoap he isnt going to be a lollypop or a goody good boy. if there is ennything i hait in this wirld it is a miss Nancy sort of boy.

Aunt Sarah she up and sed i gess you needent wurry about any boy of yours being a miss Nancy, George Shute, and father laffed and sed well it dont seam as if i ever cood have a boy like that but you cant be sure. as far as i know there aint enny ministers in my family sence the pilgrim fathers landed on the wild New Ingland shoar. then Aunt Sarah she sed peraps it would have been better if they had been a few and father he sed that may be so but i dout it. then father he sed it aint natural for a boy to set round like a sick hen. either he is thinking up sum deviltry or he is getting to be a lollipop and of the 2 things i ruther it wood be the ferst.

then mother sed i dont quite agree with you George. i dont like a miss Nancy enny moar than you do but i dont beleeve it is nessary for a boy to be thinking up deviltry to be a real boy. then father he sed i gess you was never a boy Joey or you woodent say that. A boy is going to raise tune or he aint a boy and you mite as well put him into skerts to onct. i never gnew a puppy to grow up into a good dog unless he chewed up slippers and spoilt moar things than he was wirth. then mother sed that depends on what you call a good dog. if you meen a dog whitch is all the time fiting that is one thing but if you meen a real good dog that is another thing. then father he sed i woodent give a cent for a dog that cant fite. a god dog that is groan up dont care to fite but will if he has to. and a good man dont cair to but will if he has to. they is a difference between a good boy and a goody good boy. i wood ruther my boy wood git into scraips than not. if he dont i know sumthing is rong with him.

then mother she sed if you like to have him get into scraips why do you get so mad with him and lick him, only mother she sed punnish him, when he gets into scraips and father sed dont you see i cant aprove of his scraips for if i did he wood be in scraips all the time and he wood be if he gnew what i was saying. then father began to laff and to tell what he and Gim Melcher and Bill Yung and Beanys father and Pewts father done when they was boys and he asted if all of them fellers wasent pretty good men and Aunt Sarah sed none of them is mutch to brag of and father laffed and sed that shows you aint a good judge of caracter.

i tell you when i herd what father sed i maid up my mind that i wood maik up with Beany and Pewt and we wood show father and Pewts father and Beanys father that we was jest as lifely as they was when they was boys. then i tell you i felt beter than i had felt for a long while and i am going to bed. to-morrow i will maik up with Pewt and Beany.

October 11, 186—-brite and fair. today i maid up with Pewt and Beany. it wasent near so hard as i thought it wood be. i gess boath of them missed me two but not as mutch as i missed them becaus they had the other fellers. this afternoon we got up a club whitch we call the Terrible 3. i am the president becaus i got it up. Pewt is the secritery becaus he can wright so good and Beany is the tresurer becaus it dont cost ennything to get in and he aint got enny money to taik cair of. the objeck of the club is to do tuf things and not get found out. i aint got time to wright enny moar about it tonite becaus we aint had a reglar meating of the club yet. we are going to have one tomorrow after chirch and wright out a consecration and bi laws. after we have did this things is going to be ifely round here.

October 12, 186—-brite and fair. it is jest raning leeves today. i went to chirch and to sunday school. Beany sed he was going to raise time in chirch so as to lose his gob. he sed a feller whitch was going to be tresurer of the Terible 3 hadent augt to have a chirch gob, but me and Pewt told him he must kep his gob becaus if he wasent going to get caugt when we done tuf things we must be respecktable befoar folks. we told Beany that if he rased time two mutch and a feller hapened to get his windows broak he wood say we fellers done it and then peraps we cood lie out of it and peraps we coodent. so Beany he desided to behaive and to keep his gob, and he done well and only let the wind out of the organ 1 time and that was when he was looking at a rooster fite in old man Elliots yard throug the window, and of coarse when there is a rooster fite or a dog fite or enny kind of a fite a feller has jest got to look at it. the only thing that maid it funier than time was becaus they had got a woman from out of town to sing in the quire and she was singing

the voice of one criing in the wilderniss

and jest then the organ went eooowaugh and sounded like when you step on 40 cats tales to onct and stoped and then begun again and we cood hear Beany pumping as fast as he cood and the old bellose maid a noise just like the braiks on a fire ingine, like this, chunka, chunka, chunka, and everybody laffed and the woman set down mad and woodent sing eny moar.

Chipper and old Hen Dow jawed Beany like time after chirch. Beany he told them why he done it but they dident seam to think that was enny xcuse and kep on jawing him. Chipper he sed he has stood moar from Beany than he had from enny feller and that a house of worship wasent a place for munky shines and this was the last chanct Beany shood have. so Beany kep his gob but he has a narow escaip and will have to be moar cairful nex time.

well after sunday school we met in Beanys barn and rote out the consecration and bi laws. it is a old peeler. i had borrowed sum bi laws of a club father usted to be in and i had rote down a lot of things to put in and Pewt coppied them after we had talked them over becaus Pewt can wright so good. This is what he rote.

Consecration and bi laws of the Terrible 3.

we Pewt and Beany and Plupy do hearbi asosiate ourselfs together under the corperat naim of the Terible 3.

artickle 1. the object of this asosiasion is to brake windows, to plug green apples and ripe tomatose and roten cucumbers at peeple we dont like or whitch wares there best close on a weak day, or whitch feels two big for his britches. to get even with fellers and with peeple whitch has done rong to us in the past or in the future. wether we have to do it with slingshots or roten egs.

resolvd that the use of slingshots and roten egs is only to be used when enny unusuel or crool rong has been did us. and when the punishment must be sevear.

artickle 2. the main objeck of the members is not to get cougt and evry feller whitch is a member must agree never to betray enny other feller if he gets cougt himself and is licked to maik him tell. and enny feller whitch does tell on another member will be maid to eet a live toad and 4 angel wirms. it is no xcuse if he does it under terible tortures sutch as shaking hands with a pensil between your fingers or putting musterd on your tung or licking you with a bed slot in whitch tacts has been put.

artickle 3. the offisers of the asosiation shall be a president a secritary and a tresurer. the duty of the president shall be to call the meatings of the asosiation. the duty of the secritary shall be to wright down what is did at the meatings. the duty of the treasurer is to take cair of the money of the association.

artickle 4. it dont cost ennything to get into the asosiation. the Terrible 3 is good frends and will stand by eech other as long as live remanes and no money makes anny diference. nobody elce can get in but the Terible 3 at enny prise what ever.

artickle 5. steeling is absolootly forbiddon. this aplise to money, gewils, hens, roosters and chickings, dogs, horses and cattle and ennything whitch peeple has in there houses and barns, but does not apli to apples, pares straberries and frutes in their seeson befoar they has been pictd and put in the house or barn and nothing in this consecration shall be considered as hendering enny one of the Terible 3 from pluging ennything at cats dogs or other animals.

artickle 6. at the end of the asosiasion whitch will come when enny of the members is ded or in jale the propity of the asosiasion shall be divided equil between sutch of the members as aint ded or in jale and the records of the asosiation if there is enny shall be birnt and distroid.

bi laws

I. evry member shall be reddy to fite for another member at a moments notise.

II. evry member shall be reddy to lie for another member when ever he can help him by liing. if he can help him by teling the trooth he will be xpected to do so if he can.

III. if a feller gets cougt he is xpected to lay it on to sum feller whitch is likely to do them things whitch he is cougt for doing.

IV. the fellers whitch is most likely to do the things whitch a feller is most likely to get cougt for doing is Fatty Gilman, Skinny Bruce, Tady Fenton, Jack Melvin, Whack, Pozzy and Bug Chadwick, Fatty Melcher, Pop Clark, Hiram Mingo, Ben Rundlett, Ed Tole and several others.

V. evry member has go to commit them naims to memory and keep them at his tungs end becaus he mite need them at enny time.

VI. as far as posiable members must keep out of enny trubble with wimmen. the Terible 3 does not wage war against wimmen. of coarse when a woman has got a husband whitch the Terible 3 has ennything agenst she must taik her chanct but she wont be hirt if she keeps her fingers out of the pye. i have never knew a woman to do that in our lifes. it aint our falt that she is his wife. she done it herself.

VII. as far as posiable the Terible 3 will try to keep out of trubble in school. it aint that we are scart of old Francis but it seams sumtimes as if he had got eys in the back of his hed and gnew evrything a feller thinks befoar he thinks it.

then we all sined. we was going to have 3 or 4 more bi laws but we dident know enny moar roman numbers and you have got to have figger numbers for the artickles and roman numbers for the bi laws. after we had sined it i thougt we cood have got them from the clock. we dident think of that.

after we had sined it Pewt gave it to me to keep as i am the president. he sed he had augt to keep them becaus he is secritary but i told him that artickle 3 of the consecration sed the duty of the secretary was to wright what was did at the meatings and dident say he was to keep the paper. so Pewt give in.

Oct. 13, 186—-brite and fair. the secritary of the Terible 3 got licked in school today becaus he sed geogrify is the sience of numbers and the art of compewting by them. he told old Francis he wasent thinking and old Francis he give him a licking to maik him think. tonite the Terible 3 comited our ferst crime. this is the way we done it. we agread to be studding our lessons at 8 oh clock. when it struck 8 we wood go out for a drink or sumthing and meat on Elm strete jest behine Pewts and Beanys house. Pewt and Beany had got a pile of ripe tomatose. then we would ding old William Hobbs door bell and when he come to the door we wood paist him. He always drives us out of his yard so we done it. when it struck 8 oh clock i sed i forgot to shet up my hens and a skunk may come round. Keene sed i will help you. i sed no i will do it. what would you do if we met a skunk. so i went down and hipered over to Elm Strete. Pewt and Beany was there with their hands full of tomatose. Pewt tiptode up and rung the bell. in a minit old Hobbs come to the door with a candle shaded with his hand. as soon as he come out we let ding as hard as we cood eech one 3 or 4 tomatose. one nocked the candle out of his hand and put it out. one hit him square in the mouth and squashed. 2 or 3 hit him in other places and the rest squashed on the house. i wish you cood herd him spitt and sware and holler. jest as soon as we pluged him we started running towards front strete and then went behine the Unitarial chirch throug a hole in Fifields fense into Beanys yard. i wasent away from the house more than 3 minits. when i came in mother sed did you shet the door to the hen coop and i sed yes. i did shet it becaus i thought she mite ast me.

in about half an hour old man Hobbs rung our door bell and asted mother where i was. she sed do you want to see him and he sed where has he been tonite and she sed he has been in studdying all the evening ever sence supper and he sed are you sure and she sed why yes i have been here myself. then he sed well sum boys came to my house and rung my door bell and when i come to the door they threw roten vegitables at me and asaulted me and if i can find out ther edentitty i am going to persecute them to the xtent of the law and send them to jale.

mother she sed it is a shaim and i certainly hoap you will find out who they are and i am very glad to say that my son had nothing to do iwth it and i am sure he wood not do ennything of the kind. so old Hobbs he went away and mother came in and told us. she sed he hadent quite got all of the tomatose out of his wiskers but she hoped he wood ketch them. i hoap so two over the left. it may lern old Hobbs a lesson if he isent two old to learn. i am afrade he is.

October 14, 186—-i have got 2 horks. Potter Goram give them to me. they is full groan and verry hansum. one is a hen hork and the other a red taled hork. gess what i naimed them. one is Hork and the other Spitt. mother sed those were dredful naims but i think they are prety good ones. i feed them on meat and fishes and rats and mice. if you poak them with a stick they grab it with his claus and hiss like a snaik. there eys is yellow. i dont let folks poak them.

tonite i called a meating of he Terible 3. i had rote the record of what we had did and Pewt had coppied it. i thougt i had better wright it becaus i can spel so mutch beter than Pewt.

well Pewt read the record and Beany reported that there wasent enny money in the tresury. then i asted if ennybody had ennything to say and Beany sed that we had better paist old decon Aspinwall next for he was so meen. i was afrade he wood lay it onto me becaus i had trubble with him 2 times. then Pewt sed we cood nale up a sine in front of his house sassing him, but i had done that onct for a circus. so we desided to lay for him sum time but not yet. ennyway we have got him marked.

so after supper we took a few grean apples and our sticks and went into Pewts back yard behind the trees and plugged sum apples as hard as we cood without ameing. we fired them in the direxion of J. Albert Clarks house becaus he had ordered me and Beany out of his yard one day jest for nothing.

we wood all plug together jest as hard as we cood plug and then lissen hard. we cood tell by the sound when they wood hit on the roofs or not. bimeby we herd the gingle of glass 2 times. then we begun to play coram and kep hollering and laffin. then we herd J. Ward Levitt holler who in hell is firing rocks through my winders. then he hollered to father and sed George look here and see what your dam boy has been up to and we herd father say what is it Ward and Ward sed he has broak 2 winders in my shop and you have got to pay for them. then father sed all rite. if he done it i will pay but if he hasent done it i wont. so ferst father hollered for me and i dident hear him. then they went over to Beanys and i wasent there and Beanys mother sed i hadent been there. then they come through old Mrs. Seeveys yard and then into Pewts and we were playing coram. then J Ward sed here are the devils and father sed dident you hear me holler and i sed did you holler and looked at him sirprized and father sed i hollered louder than a steem wissel and i sed we were playing coram and making so mutch noise that i gess it drownded your holler out. then he sed how long have you been here and i sed ever sence suppr.

then father sed Ward says you broak 2 winders in his shop, and i sed how cood i when i have been here evry minit. and father sed are you sure you havent been out of this yard sence you come here, now dont you lie to me and i sed hoap to die and cross my throte have i Pewt have i Beany and Pewt and Beany both hoaped to die and crossed there throtes.

then father sed there Ward you see they coodent have did it for it is twict as far as enn one of them can throw and Ward he sed i dont know about that. then father sed try boys and see how far you can throw and try as hard as you can. so i pict up a rock and let ding and nearly throwed my arm out of goint and it went clear across Mrs. Seeveys yard into Beanys and then Pewt he throwed clear over Beanys house into old Heads yard and beat me and Beany throwed into his yard but not so far as i did. then old Ward he sed we dident try and father sed if you can throw across Mrs. Seeveys yard and into Watsons yard, Watson is Beanys father you know, i will pay for them winders even if Harry dident brake them.

then old J Ward he sed all rite George i will show these boys what i can do and he took off his long taled coat and roled up his sleaves and hunted round for a rock and then he let ding and the rock went sideways rite towards Mrs. Seeveys house and went rite throug one of her kichen winders and the minit it went in she come out yapping who has broak my winder and old J. Ward stood with his mouth open and one hind leg in the air where he had drawed it up when he saw the rock going towerds the winder. so when she hollered who broak my winder he put his hind leg down and stutered and sed i gess i done it maam and she sed what did you do it for? aint you got enny better business than to go round throwing rocks throug peeples winders and he sed i was jest showing these boys how to throw a stone and she sed well if they cant throw enny better than you can i gess you havent showed them mutch. now if you will show me about 25 cents for that winder and i will say no moar about it. so old J. Ward pade her 25 cents and she went in. then father sed are you sure you dident brake them winders yourself Ward you seam to be a good shot. old J. Ward laffed and sed well George i gess these boys dident do it, but i am going to find out who done it if it takes me a weak. i bet that out of a John Bowley done it. John Bowley is Squawboo Bowley you know, or posiably that Peenut Perkins or Johnny Kelly. so old J. Ward is going to pich into them.

enny way we dident meen to brake his winders and the Terible 3 hasent got ennything agenst old J. Ward for he is a good feller and dont never drive us out of his Carrige shop, but if we had sed we done it it mite let the hoal thing out. so i gess we done rite but we will even up with old J. Albert sum time. his time will come unless he changes his ways.

October 15, 186—-brite and fair. wenesday and so no school this afternoon. as it is warm the fish bit prety well and i went down to my boat and cougt ten shiners and a lot of minnis. it is prety lait for them. then i fed Hork and Spitt and you had augt to have see them eat. i dont know what i shall do when the fish stop biting. rats is scarce and i cant aford chickings.

this afternoon after i had come back from fishing we had a meating of the Terible 3. we met at Pewts shop. Pewt read the report whitch i had rote for him and he had coppied. then we talked about wether we had augt to use sling shots xcept in xstream cases. we desided never to use sling shots in a croud and never to ame hier than a fellers hind leg xcept when he is tirned back to for fear of puting out his ey. and we desided never to fire a sling shot without ameing nor rocks neether. but grean apples and all other vegtibles including both stail and roten egs espeshionally goos egs whitch is hard to get and ded fish whitch you swing round your tale by the head, no i meant whitch you swing round your head by the tale and let ding is all rite to plug without amein becaus they wont do enny harm and cant put out a fellers ey.

i am going to have that rote into the record.

October 16, 186—-brite and fair. Spitt cougt a almost full groan chicking today. the chicking stuck his head between the slats and Spitt grabed him with his claus and pulled him the rest of the way in and toar him in peaces and et most of him. it is verry xpensive to keep two mutch stock but i hait to let eether of them go. Hork is all rite and Spitt is all rite but Hork and Spitt together is moar than 1 feller can feed unless he is a butcher or a fishcart man or a rat ketcher.

tonite the Terible 3 dident comit enny crime becaus Billy Morris Nigger ministrils give a show in the town hall and we all went. at 1 oh clock there was a parade and there band plaid. it is a ripper and can play almost as loud as the Exeter Band. tonite we all went. it was the funiest show i ever went to. it beat Comical Brown all to peaces and the orchistry was splendid. They sung shoo fli dont bodder me and little Maggy May, Way down upon the Swany river and Massa is in the cold cold ground and they dansed clog danses and had funny direlogs. i tell you it was fine. so the Terible 3 dident do nothing. somehow when a feller is laffin he doesent feel like comitting crimes unless it is funny ones.

October 17, 186—-missed in grammer today and got licked. not very bad only he shook me round until he toar my coller and neckti off. i jest wish the Terible 3 wood plug old Francis sum time with bricks.

old J. Ward Levitt has found out who broak his winders and has got his pay for them. he come over tonite and told me and father about it. he sed he went down to Squawboo Bowleys and asted him about it and Squawboo proofed that he was down to Charles Grants store on Hemloc square with Peenut Perkins all that evening. then he went down to old Heads house and asted two stewcats about it and they sed they never done it then J. Ward he told them they wood pay him for them winders or he wood go to doctor Soule of the academy about it and them fellers sed they never done it but had ruther pay for 2 winders than to have doctor Soule asting them questions, and so J. Ward sed they pade him 50 cents for the 2 winders and 50 cents for the trubble he had in detecking them and maiking them confess. he sed they sed that they dident confess and never done it but he sed if they was onnest fellers they woodent pay for brakeing winders whitch they hadent never broak and he sed aint that rite Geroge? to father and father he laffed and sed well i aint so sure about that. i was in the academy under docter Soule and gess there wasent enny time i was ther after the ferst weak that i woodent rather pay for 2 windows than to have docter Soule ast me questions about what i had did. but i gess these fellers must have did it or they woodent have pade for it.

Aunt Sarah sed father was xpelled from the academy twict. i asted him what he was xpelled for. he sed the ferst time was a case of religious persecution. i asted why they was persecuting him and he sed he and another feller thougt the students was having to pay too mutch atension to morning prairs in the chapil and so he and the other feller screwed up the doors of the chapil one nite and the nex morning they coodent get into the chapil for 2 days and they found out that he and the other feller had bougt sum screws. so they persecuted him for that and xpelled him.

then i asted him why he got xpelled the 2nd time and he sed it was edjucasional persecution of the wirst kind. i asted him what they done to persecute him that way and he sed that docter Soule marked all the fellers down awful low and it dident make enny difference how hard he studded none of the fellers cood get a good mark. father sed it was dredful the amount of whale oil he birnt in lamps nites studding his greke and latin. he thinks he must have birnt about 2 hoal whales full but it dident do enny good. he never cood get a good mark. well docter Soule kep his marking sheets in his desk and eech day he marked the felers down feerful low and locked his sheets in the desk and at the end of the day he wood give the shets to anothr teecher to add them up and give out a list of the best scolars.

well father and another feller got a kee that wood fit the lock of that desk and evry day they wood get the sheet and mark evry feller 100 percent and doctor Soule never looked at it and give them to the other teecher to add up and evrybody got perfict marks and evrybody sed it was the best class in the school.

well bimeby one day father and the other feller marked themselfs 125 percent and when the other teecher added the marks up he found sumthing was rong. so he spent a weak adding and substrackting and multipliing and dividing and reduceing to the leest common denominator and invirtin the diviser and perceeding as in multiplication and finding the leest common multipel of and xtracking the squair root of and at last he maid up his mind that there was a niger in the woodpile.

so he took his figgers to old docter Soule and they set a trap and cougt father and the other feller and they xpelled them and that was the last of father in the academy. but while he was there he was verry poplar becaus they wasent ennything he woodent do for his classmaits.

so i gess he was rite when he told old J. Ward what he did about old docter Soule. father sed he tride to get back onct moar and he thougt they had augt to have gave him one moar chanct. if he cood have been xpelled onct moar he cood beet enny feller whitch ever went to the academy he was verry mutch disapointed when they woodent give him another try so he cood be xpelled onct moar.

so when we had the nex meating of th Teribl 3 i wanted them to mark old docter Soule to paist sum nite but they woodent do it becaus they sed we was all townies and we woodent notise the academy. Pewt and Beany was gelous becaus Pewts father and Beanys father hadent never been xpelled from nowhere. they thougt i was showing off but i wasent.

October 17, 186—-brite and fair and hot as summer. it has been hot for almost a weak. Rob Bruce, Skinnys brother and Dan Casidy went in swiming yesterday. they sed it was bully but i bet it was cold. tonite after school Pewt maid sum sines whitch we put up after dark. one we put up in front of old Ike Shutes door. it sed bewair Ike the Terible 3 is on your trale. that will be enuf to keep Ike in nites. Ike drives us out of his yard when he sees us.

another one we put on Bill Eldriges door. it sed the vengence of the Terible 3 will folow You Bill until you are ded or in jale. the last one we put on Peeliky Tiltons granfathers door becaus he put tin cans and broaken glass bottels and old hoopskerts and wire into the swiming hole at sandy bottom and we cant swim there enny moar. i dont know jest what we will do to him. it seams as if slingshots or roten egs aint bad enuf. we will try to scair him to deth ferst and then we will do sumthings to him that he will never forget in his life even if he lives to be 200 years old. the sine sed this old man Tilton say your prairs for the Terible 3 has got you on their list. when litening strikes it leaves no traices of its victims. bewair bewair.

Pewt rote them with sum stencil plaits his father has got so nobody will know his hand wrighting.

October 18, 186—-this morning we had speaking in school. i spoke Horatias at the brige. it made me think of the Terible 3 when it sed

the three stood carm and staitly and looked upon there foes and a grat shout of laffter from all the vangard rose

but all the saim they nocked the stuffing out of Aunus from grean Tifernum and Seius and the other fellers and it wasent enny laffin matter for them and it wont be enny laffin matter with the Terible 3. old man Tilton dident laff this morning when he see that sine on his door. he has laid it onto old Marco Bazzris Wadley and Jack Flinn and Gimmy Fitsgerald and Moog Carter all ready, and Luke Manix two and old Ike Shute has had old Kize and old Swane the Poliseman up to see about his sine and old Bill Eldrige has been to see 2 lawyers Alvy Wood and Jug Stickney. everybody but them is laffin and wundering who the Terible 3 is. sum of them may find out sum day.

well this afternoon me and Pewt and Beany went up river fishing. we dident xpect to get ennything it was so lait in the fall but Hork and Spitt hadent been fed for 2 days. we got a lot of shiners and perch and jest befoar we come back we got the bigest snaping tirtle i ever see in my life. it was a ripper and the madest one i ever see. it snaped rite and left and wood throw his head rite back on his shell trying to grab us. we had hard wirk to get a peace of closeline round his hind leg. the only way we cood do it was to let it bite a stick and hold on.

we had desided to use a slingshot on old man Tilton sum day when he was bending over a sawhorse and his britches were tite but Pewt sed it wood be a good thing to scair him to deth with the snaping tirtle ferst. so we are going to tie him to old man Tiltons doornob sum nite and ring the doorbell. we coodent do it tonite becaus evrybody goes down town Saturday nite to the stores and sets up lait having baths and things. but look out for yourself mister old man Tilton for the Terible 3 in on your trale.

we xpect a bizzy weak nex weak.

Oct. 19, 186—-Sunday. rainy and windy. had to go to chirch. the only fun i had was to see peeples umbrellas blow rongside out and to hear them sware. sum of them was chirch members two. they did not belong to the Unitarial chirch.

Oct. 20, 186—-rany as time. i never gnew it to rane harder. evryone had on rubber boots and umbrelas. the wind blew terible and all the leeves is gone and sum branches of trees is blew down. Buldy Tasker pushed me into the gutter in front of old Gim Ellersons lacksmith shop and i went in over my rubber boots. when i got to school i puled off my boots and poared out the water and there was about 4 quats in eech boot. it taiks a long time to dry rubber boots. they say the best way is to fill them full of otes and after the otes has been in about a day or 2 poar out the otes and the boots is dry and the otes is wet. so when i got home i was going to do it but there wasent moar than a pec of otes in the baril and Nellie had to be fed so i had to put the boots upside down behine the stove in the kitchen. the Terible 3 had a meating and went down to see our snaping tirtle. he was there all rite hiched by his old hine leg to a tree and he was out of site in a pudle of water that the rane had made. we pulled him out by the hine leg and he was awful mad and claued and scrached and snaped. so we let him go back in his pudle after we had saw that the closeline was all rite. i bet we will maik old man Tilton gump out of his britches when he sees that old tirtle hanging to his doorgnob. i hope he will for enny man whitch will fill up a swimming hole with old tin cans and glass had augt to be bit by a ratlesnaik.

October 21, 186—-it has stoped raning today. for a wunder neether me or Beany or Pewt missed in our lesons. it dont verry often hapen that way. i think old Francis thougt we was playing sum sort of a trick on him for he acked sort of quear and looked at us sort of hard. tonite we aranged to meat at Pewts at 8 oh clock. after school we got a meel bag and went down for our snaping tirtle. it took nearly a hour to get him into the bag. ferst we had to ty up his mouth becaus we only want to scair old man Tilton and not to kill him. it took a haff hour to do that. we never cood have did it if it hadent ben for Pewt who can ty gnots like a sailer. ferst we got the old tirtle mad and then we give him a stick to bite and then i pulled at it and Beany pulled at the roap on his hine leg. of coarse the snaper woodent let go of the stick and when his head was out strait Pewt put a noos round his mouth and wound it round and round like ganging a fishhook on a line and he tide that old tirtles mouth up titer than a drumhead.

then we tride to get him in the bag but it was all we cood do he claud so. bimby we got him in. then we tide the bag under a bush down behine old Perry Moultons yard. then we went home. i split up my kinlins and done my choars and studded till 8 oh clock and then mother sed i cood go down town with Beany. so i went over to Beanys and it was dark. so we got Pewt and went down and got the bag and carried it up Court strete and throug old Nat Gordons woods until we got to the feeld oposite old man Tiltons house.

it was a awful lug and i bet we put it down to rest 50 times but bimeby we got it there. then we tride to shaik the old snaper out of the bag and it seamed as if we never cood get him out. bimeby we got him out and lit sum maches to see his mouth was tide up tite and it was and the stick was still there he coodent spitt it out. gosh but he was mad and tride to snap. there was a lite in old man Tiltons house and we cood see him setting by a table with a red cloth and a lamp with a red wick reading. sumwhere in the back of the house was another lite and we could hear Peeliky Tiltons uncles practising band tunes on their horns. they was making a feerful noise so nobody heard us when we 3 tide the snapper to the dorgnob. it was all we cood do he claued so. then when we had him hanging head downwerds we rung the bell as hard as we cood and hipered acrost the strete and hid in the bushes behine the fense.

we cood see old man Tilton put down his paper and holler sumthing. i gess he told Peeliky Tiltons uncles to stop their noise. ennyway it stoped and he lit a little tin lamp and come to the door and opened it. we cood hear the old tirtle scraching at the door and banging his head agenst it as he tried to snap and the old man heard it and when he opened the door he looked round throug his old specks and dident see ennything and then he steped out on the porch and stuck his hed round the door and i gess it was lucky he dident take the big lamp for when he see that old snaper swinging this way and that way clauing and snaping he let out a yell you cood heard for 3 miles and droped the lamp and almost tirned a back sumerset he tride so hard to get back into the house and slamed the door. then we heard him hollering for Peeliky Tiltons uncles and we cood see them come piling into the room and evryone talked. then they come out of the side door. Peeliky Tiltons uncle had a lantirn and a ax and his uncle George had a shot gun and a tin lamp and his uncle Warren had a pichfork and a torchlite percession torch and old man Tilton was looking out of the window. Ed went first with the lantern and when he saw what it was he sed it is a snaping tirtle as big as a wash boiler. sum darn fool has tide it to the gnob. so George sed sumone cut the roap and we will get him and Warrin he sed look out them snapers will taik a mans hine leg off at 1 snap and Ed sed hell i aint afrade and he cut the roap with his ax and the old snaper fell on the steps and begun to craul off and Ed grabed the roap and yanked him onto the sidewaulk and he sed hold the lite Warrin and let the snaper bite a stick and i will cut his hed off. so Warrin he held a lite and George got a stick and poaked him and the old snaper snaped but dident ketch hold and Ed he sed that is a hell of a snaper. so George poaked him again and he kep snaping and bimeby Ed sed sum feller has tide up his mouth with a stick in it. so then nobody was afrade and they all gethered round and Peeliky and his father come out of their house and old man Tilton come out and sed things have come to a prety pass if a man cant go to his door without being et alive by a snaping tirtle or knawed by a rampaiging wilcat or pizened by a hoopskert.

he meant a hoop snaik but he was xcited, and if the polise dident do there duty he wood put it in the hands of the county solissiter and see is respectible citisens cood be et and lose their lifes without nobody doing ennything to stop it. and he sed do we live in Rooshy or Prooshy and dont a man have enny petection of the law? and he waulked up and down the porch and banged his cain and hollered and while he was hollering Ed and George and Warrin and Peeliky and Peelikys father was taiking the old snaper into the back yard and they cut his head off and Ed told Peeliky that the head woodent die for 7 days. then they come back and told the old man to shet up and Ed sed they was going to have tirtle soop and fride chicking, and rost beef and boiled ham and sossige and quale on tost and clamb chowder and pigs feet and pork scraps and hogs head cheze all out of that tirtle. but the old man kep a hollering and asking if he lived in Rooshy and Ed sed the old man will feal better tomorrow when he has drunk about a quat of soop and et 4 or 5 pounds of diferent kinds of meet from that old snaper.

well bimeby they went in and the old man went in and set down and they begun to play on their horns and we clim over the fense and went home. i gess we scart the old man most to deth. if you had saw him let out the yell and heard him tirn the back somerset you wood have thougt so. we aint throug with him yet. a man whitch will stop up a swiming hol with tin cans and broaken glass aint going to get off with lesson. and wire two whitch is cumtimes wirse. and hoopskerts.

then we all went down town and come up throug Coart Strete laffing and talking about what we see in the store winders so our folks wood know we had been down town. mother sed i was prety lait and sed that father sed i hadent augt to be out so lait but she told him i asted if i cood go and she sed yes. she told me i must come home erlier next time. father had went to bed so i dident see him and he dident yip.

it was the most sucesful meating the Terible 3 has had. i have got to wright out the report for Pewt becaus i can spel so mutch beter than Pewt can. so i cant wright moar tonite in this diry.

October 28, 186—-today the ferst thing i see was old man Tilton coming down town with his old cain. he glore at me when i met him and i sed how do you do mister Tilton and he sed how do how do and waulked on. so i know he doesnt suspeck us. i bet he woodent say how do to Gimmy Fitzgerald or Moog Carter or Luke Mannix or Ticky Moses. i wached him and he went into the polise stasion. then he come out and talked with old Swane and old Mizzery Durgin the polise oficers. his naim is Ezry but we call him Mizzery. he is the feller that throwed me out of the town hall the nite father was going to maik a speach and dident dass to. old man Tilton pounded his cain on the ground and hollered. i coodent hear what he sed except Rooshy and Prooshy so i gess he was triing to find out where he lived becaus he wanted to know last nite and nobody told him. i gess he hasent et enny of that soop yet. i wish we cood have kep that tirtle. it wood have fed Hork and Spitt for 2 weaks. i cougt a rat today. an old linger and they toar him up and et him. Spitt had the ferst whack at him and i thougt he wasent going to leeve no coar so i poaked a part of it out with a stick and gave it to Hork. if i kep Hork and Spitt together they wood eet eech other up. i wunder if they wood be ennything left when they got throug.

ennyway a bullfrog can eet another bullfrog as big as he is. the one that gets the first snap gets the other and swalows him down his gozzle with his feet sticking out of the corner of his mouth. A bullfrog swalows the other bullfrog hoal. he chews him up inside like a hen or a boar constricter only he dont squash him ferst. i am glad i am not a bullfrog and havent enny teeth in my stomack. how cood a dentist pull a tooth in a fellers stomack if it aiked. how cood a feller tell wether it was a tooth aik or a stomack aik. wood a feller die if he maid a mistaik and had a dentist pull a tooth whitch was in his stomack when it dident aik but his stomack did. if i was a bullfrog i shood like to know them things. but i aint a bullfrog and i shant have enny teeth in my stomack unless when i am old and have false teeth i swalow them when i am aslep as old man Collins did onct.

tonite we had company. Aunt Mary and Charles and Helen and Cad Smith and Steve and Ann Maria Piper and Annie Piper, and so i coodent go out after supper but had to stay in and hear Keene and Cele sing. i can hear them enny day and i had agreed to go out with Pewt and Beany and try to brake sum of J. Albert Clarks windows to pay for telling father when i let out his rooster to fite mine and mine licked his. if his had licked mine old J. Albert woodent have yipped. i dont blaim him for being mad becaus i let them fite when he wasent there to see and becaus mine licked but no feller that is a real feller will go tattle taleing to a fellers father and get him kep in the yard a hoal day. if he had given me a bat in the ear or had hit me a paist with his cain i woodent have caired but a feller that tells on another has got sumthing to learn and that is what the Terible 3 is for. to lern fellers to behave.

so i coodent go out and Pewt and Beany sed they wood try to do it without me. they sed they wood go up to Pewts yard again and wood try sum grean apples on a stick and aim more to the rite than they did when they broak old J. Ward Levitts windows whitch the stewdcats paid for brakeing. so i kep my ey pealed becaus J. Albert lives in the other side of our house and i gnew if ennyone broak his winders old J. Albert wood come piling in to tell father it was me and father cood tell him he was a dam lier becaus i wood be there with father all the time and father wood know i hadent went out for a minit.

so i set in the parlor and father told the story about the feller whitch got the long hair in his mouth and lots of stories that maid us nearly kill ourselfs laffing. then Cele and Keene sung flow gently sweet Afton and pass under the road and we shall meat but we shall miss him and my mother bids me bang my hair and then father maid me sing alone. i hait to sing alone. i cood have sung with Keene but he maid me sing alone. i sed what shall i sing and he sed sing ennything. so i sung a new virse of if ever i ceese to love. it goes this way

if ever i ceese to love if ever i ceese to love may Horris Greelys cat have kittens in his hat if ever i ceese to love

well father and Steve and Ann Maria and Aunt Sarah and Aunt Mary and Charles and mother all laffed but Cele and Keene and Annie Piper sed i was very disgusting. ennyway father sed i cood sing ennything.

well after i had sung Cele and Keene were playing a peace about Napolion crossing the Alps when there was a big gingle of glass and a hard apple came wizzing throug the window and came within a inch of taiking Steve on the snoot. Keene gave a screech and evryone gumped up jest as another hit the side of the house bang. father was out of the house and down the steps in 2 minits and i after him. the stewdcats in old mister Heads house were setting by their table studding in there shert sleaves and we heard sum one down the strete and father hipered down strete and i after him. we met Nipper Brown and his father and father he sed have you met enny fellers Gus and Nippers father he sed yes 2 fellers ran down Clifford Strete and me and father went down Clifford strete and coodent see enny fellers. so we went back and i picked up a rock and put it in my pocket. when i ran out after father i picked up the apple and nobody had seen it. i gnew if father see that apple with a hole in it he wood know it was throwed with a stick and he wood know in a minit who broak old J. Ward Levitts winders.

so when we come back to the parlor they sed that 2 more rocks had struck the house while we was gone and i pertended to pick up the rock i had brougt in under the otterman. father sed if that rock had hit you Steven it wood have cooked your goos. and Ann Maria sed it is a mersy it dident and Aunt May sed this is a serius matter George and father sed it is more than that Mary it is a dam outrage and he and Charles went out again and i folowed them. ferst they went over to Beanys and asted his father if he had saw ennyone. he sed he hadent. then father asted where Elbrige was. Elbrige is Beany you know and he sed he was up to Pewts painting sumthing in the shop. so father come back. he was prety mad and sed he wood give 100 dollers to find out who throwed them rocks. and he wood like to know what the polisemen was for enyway. so he and Charles and Steve talked about how bad the town was run and what a tuf set of rowdies there was now a days and how mutch better it was in the old days. then father he sed a few days ago sum one put a notise up on cousin Isaks house sined by the Terible 3 and Ike hadent been down town sence and hadent been out day times without having old mother Moulton come in and set with his wife while he was gone. he sed Ike had got a pistol and was going to lode it only he dident know whitch end of it loded and his wife was moar scart of the pistol than she was of the Terible 3 whoever the misable cusses was. father sed that old mother Moulton was moar pertection than 5 pistols and 2 bull dogs and he wood pity enny Terrible 3 or Terible 300 whitch wood dass to interfear with her.

then old Steve he sed he had heard of sum things the desperrit villanes had did. they had tide a snaping tirtle to the doorgnob of old mister Tilton and he had been prety badly bit by him and that docter Perry and docter Swet and docter Perrum had all been called and it was moar than a hour befoar they stoped the flow of blood. i told them i guess that wasent so for i see him down town the next day all rite. i sed the fellers was talking it over at school and Luke mannix sed that the fellers that tide the snaper to the doorgnob had tide up his mouth. he sed he see the snapers head after Ed Tilton Peeliky Tiltons uncle had cut it off and its mouth was tide up with a cord.

Steve sed a feller mite jest as well be bit as scart to deth and Charles Smith sed that may be so cussin Stefen but if i had to be boath i wood ruther be one and i wood ruther be scared to deth becaus you cood get over being scart to deth but you mite not get over being bit if you had a hine leg or arm bit off. ennyway he sed it was time that the orthoritys of the town got together and offered a reward for ennybody whitch wood ketch those fellers.

father sed onct he and Gim Melcher and Bill Young usted to get a pocket full of gravil and when the old fellers was setting round the stove in the stores smoaking and spitting and talking the fellers wood open the stoar door and plug a handful of gravil in and slam the door and run. they done that for quite a while and bimeby old Boss Langly whitch kep a store down by great brige offered a reward of 10 dollers to ennyone whitch wood ketch them. so he hid 2 nites oposite his store and neerly froze to deth for it was in november and a cold nite. bimeby father and Bill and Gim come along and they all got ready. father sed he peeked into the store and see all the old pods setting there and he opened the door and they all pluged the gravil and started to run and run rite into Boss arms and Boss grabed father by one neck and Gim by the other and he waulked them down to fathers fathers house and sent for old Dan Melcher and he came hipering up from his house with his coat tales floating in the breaz. well after they had talked about an hour fathers father and old Dan Melcher paid 10 dollers to old Boss Langly and agreed to tan the hide off of father and Gim if old Boss woodent persecute and woodent tell the other store keepers who pluged the gravil. and fathers father tanned the hide off of father and Gims father tanned the hide off of Gim and Bill got off becaus old Boss dident have but 2 hands to grab with an had put his falce teeth in a glass of water behine the stove and he coodent hold Bill without teeth or he wood have got Bill two, and father and Gim wasent tattletales.

father had sed he thought old Boss got prety good interest for nothing. he got 10 dollers and dident have to pay enny reward and had the fun of ketching them and the way they put it on showed that they liked to do it. so evrybody was satisfide xcept father and Gim. then Aunt Mary she sed well i guess you desirved it George and father laffed and sed i gess i desirved a good deal moar than i ever got Aunt Mary. father had augt to have licked me 10 times as often as he did. and then Hellen Smith sed evrybody tells me George that you was the meanest boy in the town and father sed no Hellen i dont think i was meen. i was bad enuf god knows but i always had lots of frends and kep them and a meen feller never has frends. and Hellen she sed well if you wasent a meen boy i shood like to know what a meen boy was and father he sed a meen boy or man or girl or woman is one whitch does meen things to another or says meen things about them. i dont know whitch is the wirst but i gess the one whitch says meen things about peeple. so Hellen she set up and nobody sed ennything for 2 minits. then Keene got up and went to the piano and set down and sung

i'm the girl that's gay and happy where so ear i chanct to be and there's sumthing i will tell you if you will but list to me

i tell you Keene is rite on hand when there is ennything going on. bimeby they went home and i went upstairs. i wonder what Pewt and Beany will say when they find out that they broak fathers winders insted of old J. Alberts. it seams funny to have to pay Pewts father for putting in new panes of glass in plaice of them whitch Pewt broak. if Pewt can do this evry nite he can keep the old man bizzy all the time and make a pile of money.

October 24, 186—-brite and fair and frost last nite. father waked me up hollering up the stairs. he sed come down here quick so i piled out of bed and put on my close as lifely as i cood and went down 3 steps at a time. when i got there father told me to come out in front of the house and to look and i done it and there on old J. Alberts side of the house was a sine whitch sed

J. Albert Clark we have broak your win- ders. this is jest a beginning, moar anon. bewair. bewair the Terible 3.

i looked as sirprised as i cood and sed gosh father then it was the Terible 3 and they was trying to get even with J. Albert insted of you. i wunder what he has did to them. but father sed i dont cair what he has did to them it cant go on this way verry long befoar sumone will be in jale. when he sed that i felt as if i dident have enny stomack. then he hollered for J. Albert and old J. Albert come down and when he saw the sine and father had told him about the broaken winder he sed he shood go down town to the polise stasion and make a complaint and see if innosent peeple aint going to have enny pertection under the law.

then father sed have you did ennything rong to ennyone Albert whitch mite want to get even with you and old J. Albert he sed he hadent done rong to a living sole as far as he gnew and he sed i gess George they must have got in the rong side of the house and they ment it for you insted of me and father sed that may be so Albert but it is almity quear that they shood call me J. Albert Clark and hang the sine on your side of the house and J. Albert dident know what to say to this and so he sed i gess that is quear but peeple do quear things sumtimes. then father sed have you heard how they hung a snaping tirtle on old man Tiltons doorgnob and rung his bell and he went to the door and got so badly bit that it took 3 docters to sow him up. and old J. Albert sed no i dident hear of it George. is it trew? and father sed i was told so last nite and i understand other peeple has been warned and assaulted, and in evry case it has been a prety meen man. and J. Albert sed well i dont know what ennyone has got agenst me and if necesery i shall have a poliseman stay here nites and father sed it looks to as if it was only the beginning of sum prety desperit work but if ennything happens jest gnock on the wall and i will come in on the gump.

and old J. Albert sed thank you George i know i can alwys relie on you and father sed you can Albert you can but i am afrade you are in for sumthing verry serius but we must hoap for the best. so then we went in to breckfast and when we got in father began to laff and sed there i have give miss Nancy sumthing to wurry about to pay him for rasing my rent last month. he wont dass to go down town nites enny moar than old Ike Shute.

i sed to father dont you think the Terible 3 will do sumthing feerful to him and father sed no they may roten eg him or sumthing like that but they wont hirt him. i sed do you supose it is big fellers or little fellers and father sed it must be big fellers becaus little fellers coodent ty up a snaping tirtles mouth and coodent ty him to a doorgnob. i figger it is sum big rowdys that want to be smart. it must be sum fellers that aint been to school mutch for that sine is spelt rong in 2 or 3 plaices. so i dident say enny moar and the hack come for father and he got in and went to the trane and i felt better.

After breckfast i went up to Pewts and he and Beany sed to me gosh Plupy we broak a lot of winders in old J. Albert Clarks house and put up a sine and when i told them what they had did they were suprised as time and they sed well all rite for you old J. Albert your tirn will come. so i asted Pewts father to come down and put in a new pane of glass. and he came down before i went to school. he sed that peeple were talking about the rain of lawlissness and that sumthing was going to be did about it. he sed it probly was being did by sumone we hadent the leestest idea of, most always when sum verry unusuel crime is comitted the pirpitraiter is found to be one of the most respective citisens of the town. Pewts father sed he callated it wood be so in this case. he sed he was satisfide it wasent boys or rowdys but the last pirson we wood suspeck.

the Exeter Newsleter had a peace in it today. Beany read it to me and i cpppied it down for the record. this was what the peace in the Newsleter sed.

crime rammpent

The waive of crime that has broaken out in our comunety is one that deserves the repribation of every wirthy citisen haveing the welfair of our town at hart. the unpreceedented boldness of the miss creants is sutch as reminds one verry forceably of the why ohs of New York that infaimus band of ruffans that plunged the city of New York into a riot of criminality that bid fair to rival the orgies of Roam under the rane of Nero.

we have jest been regoiceing in the convicksion of the ring leeders of the band of garrotters that has terrorfide the naboring city of Boston when we are confrunted with a serious of crimes in our own town that bid fair to rival the wirst of the above mensioned atrosities.

the cowerdly assault upon our wirthy sittizen mister William Hobbs a man whose mennifoaled and sterling trates of carackter intitle him to a very high rank as a cittisen. the dasterdly attact up on mister Biley J. Tilton whose open handed jennorosity has done so mutch to maik his naim ornnered in this community. the repperhensibel nature of their warning to mister Isak Shute a man whose jenerous wirth and moddist life has indeered him to evryone, the coarse thret to mister J. Albert Clark whose kinliness and good deads are as well knone as his finanshal ability and probbity, are sutch as maik the blud of evry onnest man boil in their vanes.

it is indeed time that the ofisers of the law take the most astringint measures to deteck and stamp out the hoal infernal brood.

when father come hoam tonite he redd it and laffed and sed i wunder what dam fool rote that. ennyone with branes enuf to fill a thimbel had augt to know that nobudy is going to be hirt. the fellers that tide up that mud tirtles mouth aint going to hirt ennyone. the moar the fools talk about it the moar the fellers that are doing it are going to do it sum moar.

i bet old Hobbs and Ike and old Biley Tilton and J. Albert bougt 100 Exeter Newsleters apeace to send round to their friends if they have got enny.

October 25, 186—-clowdy and cold. i dident get licked today in school whitch was a releef. last nite i woak up and got thinking about the Terible 3 and what wood hapen if we got cougt and i coodent go to sleep for moar than 2 hours. i gess the peace in the Newsleters wurrid me. i wundered if i had augt to have got up the Terible 3. i had sevveral narow escaips from the reform school so father had sed and this was wirse if i got cougt. so i desided me and Pewt and Beany must be verry cairful and not leeve enny trase of our dedly wirk. bimeby i got to sleap and dident get up this morning untill mother come up and shook me. i hardly had time to get in my wood and water and eet my breckfast and hiper to school. i got there jest in time whitch was probably one reason why i dident get licked. i tell you when a feller knows his teecher is watching for a chanct to snach him balheaded he has to wauk pretty strate.

this afternoon Pewt had to help his father paint a fense and Beany went down to Ed Toles and when Beany is down there i dont go becaus it is ap to lead to trubble between me and Beany on acount of Lizzie Tole Eds sister. so when father come home early on the 2 oh clock trane he had a lait dinner and we went down to see about getting my boat up for the winter. so we rew up river to the Eddy and then rew back. we had to row hard to keep warm. well when we got back to the worf father sed less pull the old boat out and we got hold and pulled her haff way out on the worf and then father swang her round to get the stirn out and gnocked me rite into the river with my close on.

gosh it was as cold as a ice and i swum to the worf and father the pulled me out and jawed me for being a fool to get in the way when he hadent told me what he was going to do. aint that jest like him. well he made me run all the way home and then took off my close and he rubed me with a ruf towel that neerly took my hide off. it was almost as tuf as when they rubed the black off of me with bristol brick and seesand when i thougt i was always going to be a niger.

then he give me a glass of hot lemonaid and maid me go to bed. the lemonaid was all rite but i haited to go to bed. we was going to have a meating of the Terible 3 and then we was going down on the square to hear a peddler sell stuff from a wagon and a big torchlite. but father woodent let me go. but he brougt me up a new novil. it was a ripper. the naim of it is Rattlesnaik Redhead the Red Handed. we will have to have the meating of the Terible 3 tomorrow after chirch.

October 26, 186—-sunday again and raning hard. it has raned hard all day. it always ranes sunday when a feller wants to do sumthing.

none of the folks went to chirch xcept Cele who is verry religus. she is throug with the palsams and is reading the provirbs. father asted me if i gnew what a provirb was and i sed yes it was a part of speach that modifide virbs ajectives and other advirbs. then he begun to laff and they all laffed. ennyway i bet evrybody but father and mother and Aunt Sarah and Cele dident know. he sed the provirbs was the wize sayings of old king Sollerman whitch was suposed to be the wizest man in the wirld.

father sed he coodent quite beleeve that for he sed enny man whitch had as many wifes as Sollerman coodent have had horse sence or been a repsective cittisen. ennyway he sed he was wizer than old man Purington Pewts grandfather who rew out to sea 10 miles in a storm one day and when he got to the shoals where the litehouse and the big hotels was he landed and clim up the rocks and when they asted him where he come from he sed he come from America.

last nite father went to hear the peddler on the square. father got a gold stem winder wach for 2 dollers. when he got home he tride to wind it up and he cood wind it for 15 minutes and it woodent be enny nearer wound up. so father looked into it and there wasent ennything in it but the winder. so father was mad and sed if the Terible 3 wood roten eg that pedler he gessed evrybody wood be glad of it

gosh i dident say nothing but you bet the Terible 3 will have a meating tomorrow erly and they is going to be sum fun tomorrow nite.



October 27, 186—-this has been a grate day for te Terible 3. this time we have did sumthing that evrybody is glad of. xcept jest a few fellers and sum wimen whitch aint willing to maik enny sackrifise for the good of the town. bimeby peeple will see that the Terible 3 is able to do sum things that the poliseman cant do.