The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1865-01-04

yHE DEACoN'S BULL.
A CONNECTICUT STORY, BIZ J. W. WATSON

A CONNECTICUT STORY, BIZ J. W. WATSON.
Deacon Joseph Jones, of Litchtleld
was fine specemen of an old stylE
sturdy fgrmer, honest, conscientious ano
hosp table to fault, and with one lea
ding vanity, which was his farm. and
his ability to rise the finest stock in the
whole of New England. In his younger
days the deacon had commanded COM
pany Of State troops, which had done
service during the last war with Great
Britain, and though he had failed, IN the
technical application OF the term, "to
smell gunpowder,' yet he had received
the infusonofs warlike spirit and earned
the title of "Captain,' which on the
principle Of "once a captain always a. cap,
tain" stuck to him, and mingled with
the more peaceful cosnomen OF "des'
con-"
This warlke spirit the deacon could
uevsr conquer, even though he had been
frequently rebuked by the good dominic
for showing SO much Of the church mill
tsnt in his daily bearing and he could
have no g,eaterd delight, when he could
obtanan audience, than in recalling the
days OF ais captaiacy and telling bIoodless
tales Of "wlen was out in "l3 and a."
Among the deacon's fine stock was a
bull, a splendid animal, which for siren
9Th, size and beauty, exerted the envy
and admiration of the whole country. So
much was the descon's bull praised, that
soon is owner began TO believe that he
possessed the most wanderfIl animal ever
existed, and to bost accordingly. From
morning till night no thing could be heard
in the neighborhood Of LitchGeld but
praises OF the descon's bull and estimates
Of its value. At last to such pitch did
this estimation reach, that the deacon,
not contented with bearing the palm
from every cattle raiser in the country,
sought, like Alexander, fresh worlds to
conquer, and offered his bull to the COM
petition of the entire country. To do
this properly Deacon Jone, issued a
handbill stating forth in glowing lines
the qualities OF his bull, It's size, age
weight and color, leading off with chsl
lenge to any one possessing an animal OF
like size and ago to bring it forward and
vanquish the deacon's bull in f.ir fight
for one hundred dollars. Here it wa,
that the old wsrhle spirit peeped forth
and the deacon, instead of Offering to
match his bull for any Of those qualities
that 90 toward making good beef, prof
fersd challenge for hisfr ightful quality.
These haudbills were scattered far and
wide by the aid Of speripstetic peddler,
aud one of them found its way TO the
hands Of noted breeder Of stock in the
western part OF tie State, who determined
on accepting the challenge on behalf Of
q fae young animal Of his own. and max
ing an attempt to fob the deacon's hun
dred dollars. Accordingly he started
with the bull for the deacon's but by
some delays on the road he did not reach
his destination until late on Saturday af-
teraoon. Upon stating his errand he wa.
warmly welcomed by the deacon, and
honest praise bestowed upon the aninsl
he had brought with him, II was too
late that evening for the trial. and the
bull vas accordingly driven into shs
rich pasture to recruit after the journey.
aAd his owner made free Of the deacou's
house.
The next day being the Sabbath the
family all set forth to church, the dea-
con surrenderng his place in the family
pew to the stranger, and staying at home
under the plea of not feeling well. After
they were all gone the deacon, to aid in
dismissing the thought of the two bulls,
and OF the comeing ighs on the morsow,
got down the family bible and read
chapter; but still the bulls would mix
themselves with the texts and wander
away with his thoughts. At last ,he
deacon could stand it no longer, and
putting on his hat. out he wezt to take
one look at the fierce monster that was on
the morrow to carry away the Eu els from
his bull and bis hund cd dollars, or leave
him the happy victor.
There he stood in the centre Of the
field, coal black, and shaking his fierce