Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1869-07-02
Jonas Lincoln.

o,r- of tho most married. persOnages OF
"a 1 M; :" county was a certain Revo'
lutionary pensioner, by the name u LII
l IT, s,irnamed Jonas, | believe LIVING
=" or adjoining town, he was We'll
i.,,o~r,, in lebanon, where he frequently
visited. Indeed, he was one whom tne
,ror had SO unsettled that he was never at
rest except when tramping around ana
g stirring about" He was harmless,
good natured, cider-drinking, storytelling
Gid fellow, whom everybody was glad to
ace. bore with, chatted with, laughed at,
and petted, for he was alone in the world;
a sad condition, which he however TOOK
very philosophically, consoling himself oy
sagely commenting on all the ills which
married men and heads OF families are
heir to.
Though unusually idle and vagabondish
in his habits, he was man OF wonderful
energy and perseverance when once MS
spirif was up. On one occasion, when he
had extended ramble to the vicinity OF
Hartford, he found himself at the ferry, op-
posite the city, without shilling in his
pocket He proposed to the ferryman to
allow him free passage promising to pay
on his next visit. But the Yankee Charon
refused, with a churlish "No, mister,
don't take you nor no other old tramp for
nothinr So deown with your rhino, or
clear eoutp "Waal, then," exclaimed the
old soldier, "you go to thunder with your
old skeow won't be beholden to you, or
anybody of your sort; for I'll jest go
reound yer darned old river-see II L
don'ti"
The ferryman laughed at what he took
for an idle threat; but some weeks later
he was accosted at the city-landing by the
same red checked, roughly-clad old soldier,
who triumphantly exclaimed: WAL, l.
haze been reound yer old river and here
/ am, in spite Of you, old skinfint." 1t
proved that he had actually performed the
exploit of following the Connecticut river
to its head-of going round it. in fact, with
no other incentive than the desire to show
himself independent of the ferryman.
On another occasion, he applied for the
loan of a scythe, at the house of neigh
Dor, who was bridge-builder. I'm
rally sorry, Mr.. Lincoln" said the wife of
the mechanic, "that I can't accommodate
ye; but my husband amt to hum, ye see,
and he says to me, jest before he went
away: Betsy says he, don't you lend
nothin' of mine to nobody, not on no &C
count, while am gone So, Mr.. Lincoln,
ye see can't let that scythe go, even to
yeou."
"Why, whereabouts is your husband,
marin ?"
ooh, he's way deoVm in Pennsylvany
buildin' bridge"
"Waal, 1 guess, if go deown to where
he's to work, and git his consent, yell lend
me that are scythe."
"Sartin, Mr.. Lincoln. But man alive,
what ON airth do you mean tell we he's
way down in Pennsylvany."
The old soldier laughed in his droll,
knowing way; then questioned her as to
the exact locality of her husbands bridge
building operations, and took his leave.
That very afternoon he departed on one
of his grand tours" with only change
of linen, tied in blue checked handker-
chief, swinging from stick over his
shoulder, and whistling cheerily as he left
the dull old town behind him.
About ten days or fortnight later he
appeared before the astonished mechanic,
exclaiming: "Hullo! Billins, will yeou
lend me yer scythe for spell? That are
wife of yourn won't let it 90 without yeou
say so. Got her pretty well under your
thumb, hain'tye? Or, mebbe she's afeared
to cut friendship tween her and me by
lendin' an edged tool"
Ten days later Mistress Billings was as
tonished to see her eccentric neighbor
appear, all dusty and travel-worn, at her
door, and to hear him say, quietly eyes,
nam, your man says may take that are
seythe; and its high time that leetle med
der OF mine was moved"
1t was popularity of the old pensioner
that he could never be told any news,
though himself great newsmonger. He
always protested to know everything in
that line before his enterprising inforner.
He was once very neatly caught by q
waggish neighbor, who suddenly opened
upon him with the startling intelligence
that whale had been caught in the She
tucket River, respectable stream running
through Windham. "Du tell, neoso.
When? Where is the critter?" he ex-
claimed, quite thrown off his guard. But
the next instant, dropping his look of
wonder and surprise, for his usual know
ing expression, he added: az heerd they
were AFTER lin: but didn't know they'd
cOtched him yit."-EGstern Paper.