Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1871-08-31
Muncllausen in California.


A corrLE of weeks ago started on
visit to Yosemite Valley. The Stockton
boat lcav, s San Francisco at half-past I
O'Clock in the afternoon. l arrived al thu
Nh4rt Just a moment too late to get or
h ard, :','t !uaIcni Vt waiting until tn,
l,X day, determined to 20 to Stockton
o. Aurvb,rk, l.! itnl r1u'H. / according
!, cross, i the hay ~ Nr!>lanl, or rs it is
b. t''r l. v"n, Little l'ruliington,' pro
c'tc. il q il ,:4c amt rn'rn over the Livcrm,re
rlc", VII re- | .ttid alluight with ranch
tr, VITO VS. known in the valley as
lamps Th:y all call him that be. AUS.
H. got !>n by holding on to his money
with Il Nrcic: Nt furli!u,,c not universal in
l. this country. Well, as supper time ap.
rr,Mrhr |, "t.ampS" asked me if would
hike some r.~r, and how preferred it, hard
ur soft, l,ui.> I, fried. Itnlu him would,
;..'; int il would suit me best soft boiled.
III few moments there came Clamps
an his wife, rolling an egg the size Of a
tl1c III a srsc cAu!dron, and then set it up
ON end alongside Of madam's chair at the
tfb'r. A hoh, was made in the ton of the
she'll, and The egg was dipped out with q
long han He'd lallc. | was astonishcd at
the size of the egg, and observed that his
hens must be enormously large. "Dy no
means" he replied. "You will not be so
much surprised when l tell you that one
E'n did not lay this egg alone; it took
S. ven or eight hens almost 81 week to lay
it 1t was n joint- stock production of the
chckcus, but still it is better than the in
dlvi'tual responsibility plan.
iAt breakfast the next morning VIC had
III We egg, and then went on the road to
S'nckt III. reached San Joaquin River at
noon, and Was, with my, horse, ferried
oE'r in very unique looking craft.
Nn'le tho tcrryman was Juggling silently
al his big oars, started a conversation
with him by inu'iriug whether his ferry
WAS very profitable.
Doesn't scarcely pay for raisin' the
boat" he replied
Raising the boaty' repeated, "What
do you m,an by raising the boat"
Mister" said he, resting for the while
on hls oar, you DC stranger in these
parts, bean't your
| replied that had not been long in the
country.
Then, said he, pointing away to the
fold, this ere boat yrowcd in that punkin
patch over yondcr"
"Grow,d in & pumpkin patch!' I ex-
c',imci
GroweL in that punkiu patch on
p'lnkin vine. Mister, this boat is a punkin
shell, C'lt in two and the iunards taken
Dat. That patch is where it growed."
Where, over by that barn." inquired.
THAT amt no barn. he answered, Gun
less You choose to call it so. That's a
rlnl1in, too. But started hole in the
Fad ont and let the stock inside it, and
when the wet season sets in, why, you see,
list plug up the hole and let en- winter
in there. They cone out awful fat in the
spring. That big green looking squash
over yonder I'm hollerin' out to live in"
Are these the growth of the season.
asked
We don't have no SIGH difference here
on the San joaquin as CROWN seasons and
them Others; things keep on CROWN all
the time till We Dull 'em or they die"
AS was about taking leave Of the fer.
rvman he gave me pumpkin seed, with
tae remark that | might some time aston
in the folks in the East with it; and be.
fore twenty-four hours had elapsed came
Gear having calamity by reason of this
buno seed
1t was in this wise: After riding several
hours in the sun, was so overcome with
lrowsiless as to find it impossible to keep
IL my saddle, so l distnounted and Law
down on the ground, intending to take a
Snort nap. | had put the pumpkin seed
III my vest pocket During my slumbcrs
it foil out on the ground aud rolled over
on top OF it. My great fatigue caused me
t. quite OVERSIZE, p myself and was AVA
k,ned the next morning by being roughly
hurried along over the ground in my pros
trAtc position, and it seemed as if rope
were wound around my body l bawled
Justify for help, and my cries attracted the
attention OF two men who were on their
way to the harvest field.
On being released from my perilous
position, the mystery became clear to me.
The warmth of my body caused the pump.
kin seed to spring into vigorous life, and
one OF the tcndrils of the new vine had
ceiled itself around my body, dragging
me along in its rapid growth distance Of
more than half mile before I was awak-
cDed. My two deliverers had a hard run
to keep pace with me in the clutches of
the pumpkin vine, and finally arrested my
unwilling progress by cutting Off the end
OF it with their sythe- blades gave them
the vine for their reward, and we counted
on it no less than three hundred young
pumpkins, ranging from the size of hen 5
..,g up to flour barrel
On returning to my horse, I found him
filing himself with green pumpkin, and
n3 consequence, during the after part of
TIE day, while we were proceeding on our
Journey, he was seized with a violent fit
Of coic, of which he died, notwithstand-
ing that gave him several bottles of Cal
Iornia soothing syrup. T did not feel
able to pay for the pony, which knew
you'll be required of me on my return to
Little Pedllngton, and began to think
very bad over the unlucky turn in
things While sitting on the ground
Lear my dead pony, a jackass came brows-
ing along. took out my hunting knife,
aid in jfly whipped off the pony's hide
and threw it over the jackass. 1t fitted to
a charm, and, after visiting Yosemite Val
lep, returned the disguised jackass to the
man of whom had hired the pony in Lit
tie Peddlington To this day he does not
Know but that ne has got the same animal
he lent me.
There Is bpt one thing more will no.
t'oe in this letter. Six years ago, gentle
man rts.nlng near Stockton planted a
EtaoeviDe by hi' housa. In couple of
years the building wns completely entold-
ca Ill the strong branches Of the vine. and
The gentleman was surprised at seeing his
dwelling starting from its foundations.
! 10 vine grew with wonderful vig0r, and
c.rri'sl the house, bodily and unharmed,
up to height OF sixty feet in the air,
''Elcrc II remained at a stand The gentle
Lam lc7: reaches his front door by means
q "ll'i!:g staircase around the stout
trunk OF the gra pevlne, and anybody who
Y i'll take tie trouble to go and see, will
tad IL jd,t ts have relat, d-CDy. NJ Y.
.TeGS