B.A. Botkin has made a career writing interesting stories of folklore in books of Southern Folklore, Western Folklore, Mississippi River and one titled A Treasury of American Anecdotes.

This column contains some stories from American Anecdotes.

Here is some sarcasm about the reasons for the Civil War:

Some time ago Jefferson Davis got tired of the war, and invited President Lincoln to meet him on neutral ground to discuss terms of peace.

They met, and after a talk, concluded to settle the war by dividing the area and stopping the fighting. The North would take the Northern States and the South would take the Gulf and seaboard Southern states.

Lincoln took Texas and Missouri, and Davis took Kentucky and Tennessee, so that all were parceled off excepting Arkansas. Lincoln didn't want it. Jeff wouldn't have it. Neither would consent to take it, and on that they split, and the war kept going on.

Drinking or Hearing

"Uncle Jed," said Ezra one day," ain't you gettin' a leetle hard of hearin?"

"Yes," said Uncle Jed," I'm afraid I'm gittin' a mite deef."

Uncle Ezra made Uncle Jed go down to Little Rock to see an ear doctor.

Uncle Jed came back, and Ezra asked what happened "Well," said Uncle Jed, "that doctor asked me if I had been drinkin' any. And I said, "Yes, I been drinkin' a mite."

"Then the doctor said, "Well, Jed, I might just as well tell you that if you don't want to lose your hearin', you've got to give up drinkin'."

"Well, said Uncle Jed, " I thought it over and then I said, 'Doc, I like what I've been drinkin' so much better than what I've been a-hearin' lately that I reckon I'll just keep on gittin' deef!"

The Wise and Foolish Virginians

A colored Baptist preacher from Richmond was attending a Baptist convention in Mississippi. A local preacher, reading the scripture lesson: "Now the Kingdom of Heaven was likened unto ten Virginians which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise and five were foolish." There upon the Richmond preacher said, "Brother, would you be so good as to recapitulate the Scripture lesson for me?"

When the Mississippi preacher read it again in the same way, the Richmond preacher replied, "Now that Scripture lesson do sound familiar and I don't want you to think that I question what the Good Book says, but it did seem to me that the percentage of foolish Virginians was too high."

Their First Automobile

When the first automobile was seen in the hills, an old man and his son were in the cornpatch. They heard it coming up the road. "Gee whilakers, Paw, what is it?" "Don't know, son," said the father, "but I better git my gun."

He ran into the cabin and came out with a shotgun. When he saw the "thing" was still moving toward him, he fired at it. The driver stopped the car and ran down the hill.

"Did you kill the varmint?" the son called from the field.

"Nope," said the old man," but I made him turn loose the man he had."

Compromising by Groucho

Grocho Marx applied for membership in a California athletic club since he wanted his children to enjoy the privilege of its swimming pool. He was turned down because the club didn't admit Jews.

Upon receiving the rejection slip, Groucho wrote to the president of the club:

"Sir, it is not my wish to have you change the rules of your organization. However, since my children are only half Jewish, I request that you grant them a special permit to enable them to go into the pool up to their navels."

Dr. A.O. Goldsmith of Kennett is a retired director of the School of Journalism, Louisiana State University.