Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TUGG MARTIN by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY

Poet Analysis

First Line: TUGG MARTIN'S TOUGH.-- NO
Last Line: "ALL I KNOW IS -- HE'S DEAD."
Subject(s): DEATH; DRINKS & DRINKING; DEAD, THE; WINE;
I

TUGG MARTIN'S tough. -- No doubt o' that!
And down there at
The camp he come from word's bin sent
Advisin' this-here Settle-ment
To kind o' @3humor@1 Tugg, and not
To git him hot. --
Jest pass his imperfections by,
And he's as good as pie!

II

They claim he's @3wanted@1 back there. -- Yit
The officers they mostly quit @3Insistin'@1 when
They notice Tugg's so @3back'ard,@1 and
Sort o' gives 'em to understand
He'd ruther not! -- A Deputy
(The slickest one you ever see!)
Tackled him @3last@1 -- "disguisin' then,"
As Tugg says, "as @3a gentleman"!@1 --
You'd ort o' hear @3Tugg@1 tell it -- @3My!@1
I thought I'd @3die!@1

III

The way it wuz: -- Tugg and the rest
The boys wuz jest
A-kind o' gittin' thawed out, down
At "Guss's Place," fur-end o' town,
One night, -- when, first we knowed,
Some feller rode
Up in a buggy at the door,
And hollered fer some one to come
And fetch him some
Red-licker out -- And whirped and swore
That colt he drove wuz @3"Thompson's"@1 -- shore!

IV

Guss went out, and come in ag'in
And filled a pint and tuk it out --
Stayed quite a spell -- then peeked back in,
Half-hid-like where the light wuz dim,
And jieuked his head
At Tugg and said, --
"Come out a minute -- here's a gent
Wants you to take a drink with him."

V

Well -- Tugg laid down his cards and went --
In fact, @3we all@1
Got up, you know,
@3Startin'@1 to go --
When in reels Guss ag'inst the wall,
As white as snow,
Gaspin', -- @3"He's tuk Tugg! -- Wher' 's my gun?"@1
And-sir, outside we heerd
The hoss snort and kick up his heels
Like he wuz skeerd,
And then the buggy-wheels
Scrape -- and then @3Tugg's@1 voice hollerun, --
@3"I'm bested! -- Good-by, fellers!"@1 . . . 'Peared
S' all-fired suddent,
Nobody couldn't
Jest git it fixed, -- tel hoss and man,
Buggy and Tugg, off through the dark
Went like the devil beatin' tanBark!

VI

What @3could@1 we do? . . . We filed back to
The bar: And Guss jest @3looked@1 at us,
And we looked back "The same as you,"
Still @3sayin'@1 nothin' -- And the sap
It stood in every eye,
And every hat and cap
Went off, as we teched glasses solemnly,
And Guss says-he:
"Ef it's 'good-by' with Tugg, fer @3shore,@1 -- I say
God bless him! -- Er ef they
Ain't railly no @3need@1 to pray,
I'm not @3reniggin'@1 -- board's the play,
And here's God bless him, anyway!"

VII

It must 'a' bin an hour er so
We all set there,
Talkin' o' pore
Old Tugg, you know,
'At never wuz ketched up before, --
When -- all slow-like -- the door-
Knob turned -- and Tugg come shamblin' in
Handcuffed! -- 'at's what he wuz, I swear! --
Yit smilin', like he hadn't bin
Away at all! And when we ast him where
The @3Deputy@1 wuz at, -- "I don't know @3where,"@1
Tugg said, --
"All @3I@1 know is -- he's dead."



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