June 7. Brite and fair in the morning and clowdy but no rane in the afternoon. tonite me and Beany rung doorbells. we dident get cougt but we came prety near it.
June 8. Rany. Tonite the old cow kicked father and nocked him rite of the stool and spilt about a quat of milk all over him. buly. i wanted to tell him it sirved him rite but i dident dass to.
June 9. Clowdy but no rane. father has sold the old cow to Eben Garland the bucher. buly. Aunt Sarah asked mother what she gessed he wood have next and mother she said she gessed he wood by a gristly bear for he had bougt most everything but that. he says he gesses he will have sum sheap for they cant bite or kick and dont eat mutch.
June 10. brite and fair. the baby had the croop last nite. the minit he coffed croopy father and mother jumped out of bed and father he fell over a chair and that waked us all up. then he tride to lite a lamp and he coodent find the maches and he swoar round feerful. well mother she lit the lamp and they all went tearing round and they got sum hot water and made the baby eat some eg and sugar and put hot close on his neck and prety soon he was all rite. then they give me the rest of the eg and sugar. then we all went to bed and i lay and laffed to think of father tumbling over the chair and swaring. Ennyway the baby is all rite.
June 11. i hate to go to church. we have all got to be vaxinated. sum peeple in the next town have got the small pocks. Beany has been and Pewt two. Beany says the doctor takes a nife and cuts a hole in your arm and then puts on a big scab whitch has come of somebodys arm whitch has been vaxinated, and that stops the blud. but he says that if the scab dont fit you bleed to deth. so i asked father about it tonite and he said that Beany lied about it, but he says if you are vaxinated with the scab of a redheaded person your hair will turn red, and if he has warts or frekles you will have warts two and frekles. father said once when he was a boy he knew a feller whitch was vaxinated with a scab of a cock-eyed man and bimeby the feller began to squint and he kep on squinting wirse and wirse and bimeby he was cock-eyed two. and father he said he knew another feller whitch had a wooden leg and he sent his scab to another feller to be vaxinated and that feller began to limp and he always walked stifleged. i gess father was fooling. ennyway i hope i shant be vaxinated with Skinny Bruces scab, becaus he is redheaded.
father he said he was going to get a scab of Horis Cobb for me and perhaps i wood have a little fat on me and not be so spindel shanked. i wish i cood get a scab of Gim Erly or Tady Finton and i cood lick time out of Pewt.
June 12. brite and fair. Beany has a auful sore arm. he dont dass to rassle or fite or do ennything.
June 13. brite and fair. Pewt has got one two. tomorrow nite the doctor is coming.
June 15. brite and fair. last nite after super the doctor come and he went into the parlor and father and mother and Cele and Keene and me and Georgie and Annie and Frank and the baby was all in the setting room.
well ferst father went in and he was only in there a few minits and he dident holler enny and then he come out laffing, and i asked him whose scab he had and he said he dident know but it must have been from sum minister becaus he had been thanking the lord it was all over. then mother she went in and father told her he had got the scab of old Mike Casey for her. mother is english and she dont like the irish and father said it to plage her. well she went in and then Aunt Sarah went in and Keene and Cele and they dident holler eether. then my tern came and i went in and it dident hurt a bit only sort of smarted tickly like. i asked the doctor whose scab i had and he said Bruce Brigams. buly. Bruce Brigam is the best cornet player in town. i bet i can play like time if i ever get a cornet. then the rest of them went in and none of them hollered xcept the baby and he always hollers when ennything is the matter. father told Cele that he got old Nigger Tashs scab for her and he gessed she wood begin to turn prety dark culored before a week or 2.
Aunt Sarah told Cele he was fooling.
June 16, 186- Brite and fair. my arm is all rite.
June 17. Rany and thunderry. my arm begins to ich a little only i cant scrach it.
June 18. still rany. all our arms begin to ich. Annies arm is the wirst.
we dident go to church today. That is one good thing. I never knew it to rane before on sunday.
June 19. brite and fair. every one of us is cross as time. i took hold of Georgies arm today and she began to ball and said i did it purpose. i keep hiting my arm agenst things all the time. somehow i never hit the well one. that is always the way with things.
June 20. brite and fair. father is cross two. last nite he grabed me by the arm to shake me and it hurt so i hollered like time, and then he let me go and said he forgot about my arm.
June 21. brite and fair. Annie is in bed sick with her arm. She always has things the wirst xcept mother, only mother says she hasent enny time to be sick.
June 22. brite and fair. my arm is still auful sore and the wirst of it is becaus i cant go in swimming.
June 23. Brite and fair. All our arms is better. John Johnson who rings the town bell has gone away for a week and Beanys father is going to ring it. He has to ring it at 7 oh clock in the morning and at 1 oh clock in the afternoon and at 9 oh clock in the nite except Saturday nites when they ring it at 8 oh clock so that peeple can get there baths before bedtime. Me and Beany are going to lern to ring it.
June 24. Rany. me and Beany went up to the church today to see Beanys father ring the town bell, he let us pull it a little, it is prety esy.
then we went up at 1 oh clock and at 9 oh clock.
June 25. Rany again. most of our scabs has come of. i dident go up to see Mister Watson ring the bell this morning becaus i dident get up in time, it was sunday. Beany he dident neether, but we did tonite. Beany can ring it prety well.
June 26. Brite and fair. jest think, Beanys father is going to Portsmuth tomorrow and Beany is going to ring the bell and he is going to let me help him. Beany is a prety good feller. mother sent of the scabs today to peeple whitch wanted them. nobody wanted mine. father said it was becaus i was such a tuf feller.
June 27. Brite and fair. gosh if we dident have a auful time today. in the morning me and Beany went up to the church and rung the bell, we had a good time and rung it jest so many rings jest as mister Watson, Beanys father told us to, then me and Beany both got kep after school, and when we got out we asked Noot Crummet what time it was and he said it was jest 1 oh clock and that the town bell had jest struck and then me and Beany jest put for the church as tite as we cood hiper, and we was prety near tuckered out when we got there and we both grabed hold of the roap and begun to ring the bell. well we only rung it a few times before we herd sumone holler fire, and then more peeple begun to holler and we looked out and we saw Charles Fifield and Charly Batcheldor and Chick Randall and Jimmy Josie jest putting it for the ingine house, and Beany said buly they is a fire, and we begun to ring the bell as hard as we cood and holler fire. then the Methydist bell begun to ring and then the upper house bell, and Charles Tolls horses came galoping down to the fountain ingine house with Mat Sleeper driving. And Mager Blakes horses went by jest lickety larup for the Torrent ingine house with old Brown driving, and then Flunk Ham came piling into the church and said, give me that roap and he puled like time, then sum peeple came runing in and said where is the fire, and Flunk he said we dident know, and then we herd the ingine and went out and they was the Torrent and the fountain and lots of men, and they said where in hel is the fire and nobody knowed where it was. and then Chick Randall he asked Flunk what he was ringing the bell for and Flunk he said he found me and Beany ringing it.
then they asked us what we was ringing it for and we said we was ringing it for Mister Watson Beanys father, because he was going to ring it for Mister Johnson, and he had to go to Portsmuth and so he told Beany to ring it, and then old Brown he said us was fools and asked us if we dident know enuf to tell time and he said it was only 20 minits past 12 oh clock when the bell begun to ring, and some of the peeple was mad and said we had aught to be arested, and then we said that Noot Crummet told us it was 1 oh clock and then sum of them begun to laff and said it was a good one. Ennyway me and Beany run home as quick as we cood and the peeple went of two. well tonite father said if he had got into so many scrapes when he was a boy as me and Beany did he wood have been in jale.
and Aunt Sarah laffed and said she gessed she cood tell a few things if she wanted to and father he said he cood two but he gessed he woodent.
Ennyway he said Gim Melcher and Charles Talor led him into a good many scrapes and Aunt Sarah she said she gessed me and Beany and Pewt want a sercumstance to father and Gim Melcher and Charles Talor.
June 28. brite and fair. it is most fourth of July again. they is going to be a band concert on the square. i shant have as mutch money as last year. ennyway i bet i will have a good time. i went in swiming 4 times today. i coodent go in while my arm was sore. Annie is most well but cross as time.
June 29. brite and fair. i went in swiming 5 times today. tomorow me and Pewt is going pikerilling. Pewt is a good feller to fish. fourth of July is coming next week.
June 30. today me and Pewt went fishing. We got Charles Flanders little blew bote. it is the esiest bote to row i ever rowd. Pewt cougt 4 pikeril and 5 kivies and 3 pirch. i cougt 2 pikeril and 2 kivies and 4 pirch and 1 sucker. we cougt sum minnies and shiners for bate but we dident call them ennything. we div of the bank at the eddy, once Pewt sliped and come down all guts, it nocked the wind all out of him.
July 1. brite and fair. today is the first day of July, and we had my fish fride for brekfast.
July 2. brite and fair. i bougt 5 bunches of snapcrackers and 2 bunches of canon crackers and sum slow mach and put them in a box in my room.
tomorow is the nite before fourth. Pewt is going to have a pistol and Beany a canon. father he says if he hears of me fooling with a gun he will lick me and send me to bed for a week. ennyway he dident say ennything about a pistol or a canon.
July 3. gosh i was scart today. this morning i went up to my room to look at my snap crackers. i got the box on the floor and was counting them when i looked out of the window. i saw old Miss Hartnett hanging out sum close on the line, i thougt i cood make her gump and i wanted to try jest one canon cracker to see if they was good ones. well i lit one and pluged it down behind her, and jest as she was reaching up with her mouth full of close pins it went of bang, and she hollered love of God and went rite over backwards. i thougt i shood die and jest then one went of bang rite in the room and then they all begun to go of bang bang bang and i grabed the box up and pluged it out of the window and mother came up jest hipering and the room was full of smoke and i was stamping out the burning paper. well when i got it out she was prety mad with me and made me clean the room and wash the floor and windows. ferst i went out and picked up my snapcrackers. they were all rite but all the canon crackers but 2 had went of. Mother she asked me how they got afire and i said i was fooling with them and they got on fire and i had to plug them out of the window. then she said that was what fritened Miss Hartnett so and i said was she fritened and she said she was so fritened that she fell over backwards and i said is that so. mother dont know i did it on purpose whitch is prety good luck for me, so she only made me keep my snapcrackers in the yard. so i put them in a hole in the apple tree.
gosh, you aught to hear Miss Hartnett tell about it.
July 7, 186- brite and fair. i have been in bed 3 days. on the fourth i got bloan up with Pewts canon. i had fired all my snapcrackers but 2 bunches whitch i had saved for nite, so me and Pewt we was fixing the canon, ferst we wood put in sum powder and then we wood put in sum wet paper for a wod and then we wood put in sum grass and then put in the ramrod and pound it down with a rock. then we wood put a fuze of a snap cracker in the tuch hole and lite it and put for the other side of the street and it wood make an auful bang and tern 2 or 3 sumersets. Well we had lots of fun and bimeby i was poaring out sum powder out of the powder horn and all of a suddin they was a flash of litening and the next i knew i was in bed and father and mother and Cele and Keene and docter Perry and aunt Sarah and aunt Clark and Georgie was in the room, and i said what is the matter and mother began to laff and then to cry and Docter Perry he said you had better take her out and let her lie down, but mother she said she wood be all rite and docter he said you needent wurry Missis Shute, you coodent kill this boy with brik. well my eyes smarted and i felt like the room was spinning round but it dident hurt enny. well that nite i coodent go to the band concert but they pushed my bed up to the window and i cood hear it prety good. the next day i had sum buly gelly and oranges and Cele and Keene read to me and in the afternoon Beany came in to see me. Beany he burnt his hand on the fourth and Pewt he burnt of one eyebrow and so we all had a prety good fourth. Yesterday Boog and Puzzy came down and fit for me until mother came up. i am all rite now and tomorow i can go in swiming. it was the babys berthday today. he was just 1 year old. he is a auful fat little baby, when i was sick mother wood let him sit on the bed.
July 8. brite and fair. i went in swimming today. the water was jest as warm as if it came out of the kittle. next monday i am going bull froging with Cawcaw Harding.
July 9. brite and fair, nothing today but church.
July 10. me and Cawcaw had a prety good time today. we cougt 3 dozen bull frogs legs. we got sum old busters. it is auful funny to catch them. they will bite a bare hook, so we swing the hook by them and they gump for it and then they kick and almost tern rong side out trying to get of of the hook. then we grab them by the legs and whak their heads over the side of the bote and their inside comes out and sumtimes lots of hard water snales comes ratling out and sumtimes they has fishes and sumtimes other bull frogs or stripers. then we cut of there legs. me and Cawcaw always kill them ferst. sum fellers cut of there legs ferst, that is prety cruil i think. Cawcaw he thinks so two.
July 11. brite and fair. today i went in swiming up to sandy bottum.
Whack and Boog and Puzzy were there and got to pluging green apples.
Whack got behind a tree and jest as he peeked out Boog pluged a hard one and took Whack rite in the mouth. then Whack got mad and said he cood lick Boog and Puzzy together, so Boog and Puzzy piched in and had a good fite and punched time out of Whack. While i was waching them fite, sumbody tide gnots in my shert sleavs so tite that i coodent get them out so i had to go home without my shert on. it was prety lucky i had my jaket on.
July 12. Today i went up to Whacks and we et sum green currents with shugar on them and then et sum green apples and then we went in swimming down to sandy bottum. i dont feel very well tonite, i have got a bely ake.
July 13. i have been sick all day, mother made me take a big spoon full of caster oil.
July 14. i am beter today, it raned all day and tonite they was a thunder shower, it struck a tree in Gilman field.
July 15. i went up to Whacks agen today. i dident eat enny green apples or green currents you bet. Whack and Boog and Puzzy did and they give little Willie sum. they never have the bely ake. i never see such fellers.
July 16. i have got a velosipede, it ways 90 pounds. i have got so i can ride it down hill, last nite i was riding it up by Gim Odlins and it ran rite into a tree and i came of rite over it and scrached my hands and nocked the skin of my gnees. today was sunday and i coodent ride it but i set on it.
July 17. Hot as time today. Docter Gerrish and Docter Perry and J.
Albert Clark have all got buly velossipedes, they have spring backs but mine is solid iron back and when i go over a bump or a stone it most ratles my teeth out. Beany he can ride two, but Pewt cant.
July 18. feerful hot.
July 19, 186- we fellers is going to have a swiming mach. they is going to be prises for the feller whitch can dive the best and for the feller whitch can swim the fastest and for the feller whitch can swim the furtherest under water and for the feller whitch can flote the best without wigling his arms and legs. i bet i will beat sum of the fellers.
most of the fellers can beat me rassling or nocking of hats or running or gumping but i bet i will show them sumthing when we come to race in swiming. i practised today diving until my head aked feerful.
July 20. the race is to be next Wensday. They is Pewt and Beany and Fatty Gilman and Fatty Melcher. Boog and Whack and Puzzy was going to race but they wanted to have it at sandy bottum and we fellers wanted to have the diving mach at the oak and the swiming under water at the gravil becaus it is wider there, and so they was mad and woodent come in. Ennyway sandy bottum isent wide enuf and you cant tell whether a feller is swiming one foot on bottum. today i went in 7 times. ferst i practised swiming fast bullfrog fashion. next i practised side stroak next i practised swiming under water. i swum 5 times acros at the gravil. then i practised floteing, but i cant flote without keeping my hands moving. ferst my feet sink and when i get straight up and down my head goes under. then i div until my head aked like time agen. i feel prety tired tonite.
July 21. rany as time. i only went in swiming 2 times today and i dident dive enny. i only practised swiming fast and floteing. i coodent flote.
in every boys book of sports and amuzements it says throw yourself on your back and throw your head back and hold your breth and you will not drownd until asistance reeches you. so i tride it today but i coodent hold my breth more than 1 minit and as soon as i let out my breth down i went unless i kep my hands moving. so what the man whitch rote that book said aint so unless asistance comes in 1 minit.
July 22. brite and fair and hot as time. Pewt thinks he is going to beat me swiming. i gess he will find out.
July 23. today was sunday and i coodent practise swiming or diving, darn it.