int 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