Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-04-12
The Mud-Turtic and the Ghost,

Inree small boys, Hairy, Oanmy, anQ
Tommy, eight, nine, and ten years OF
age, last summer went down to Jabish
Brook, where they had what they called
ga bully good SWIM Their swimming
consisted in crawling about with THEN
hands on the bottom of the brook where
it was shallow, making great splash
ing with their feet, and then shouting,
"Hil hi! see me swlm!" though none
of them could swim a stroke. They
nevertheless tried to make each other
believe that they were very proficient
in the art. Boys are not easily fooled,
and SO I suppose that neither of these
deceived the other, but, like some men,
perhaps they deceived themselves.
After they had padded about in the
water for three or four hours in the heat
of the day, until their skins were well
tanned, Harry, the ringleader of the
party, proposed that they should go
out. No quicker said than done! In
minute they were all standing on one
leg, jumping up and down to shake the
water out of their ears. This done,
they hurried on their clothes, without
stopping to wipe themselves, and were
soon ready to push for home.
They had all started, when Harry
turned and threw stone into the water.
No sooner had it pumped to the bot
tom than up from a deep hole sprang a
huge mud-turtle. He came out on shore,
and with his ugly-looking mouth wide
open toddled for the boys. They were
a little frightened at first, and ran few
steps; but their courage suddenly re-
turning, they each picked up a stick,
and gave him such drubbing that he
was glad to run back to the water, into
which he fell with thud Then again
he faced his enemies. The boys thrust
their sticks at him, and he caught one
in his mouth and held on so tight that
when they all pulled together at it they
hauled the huge fellow clear out of the
water upon the land.
Then Sammy, as quick as a flash,
seized hold of his tail and Topped him
over. It was fortunate that Sammy
did this, otherwise some of them might
have been severely bitten; but lying
| flat upon his back, the turtle was per
fectly helpless. The boys now found
in the driftwood wide board about
FIVE feet long; they pushed him upor
it, shouldered him, and bore him off IL
triumph.
It was nearly mile to their homes
and most of the way was up hill. The
little fellows sweat prodigiously, fol
the turtle was very heavy; but at las
they deposited their burden in a huge
tub, where they supposed he would bt
safe Very soon after he was weighed
by the boys fathers. Guess how much
he weighed a-ffty-three pounds, boys,
as sure as I live. You may be certain
that for a fresh-water turtle he was a
perfect monster.
The father of one of the boys was also
considerable in size, weighing on Fair
banks scales two hundred and fifty
pounds. Drinking rather too much
beer that day, about twelve o'clock i'll
the night he woke, you may be sure,
very thirsty. He got up, lit his pipe,
and in his night-cap and long night
gown went cropping about the house fo1
drink of water The pail was empty,
and so he went out of doors and drew
some.
When lie had quenched his thirst, he
| happened to think about the turtle,
and went to the tub near by to look at
him. Judge of his surprise to find the
cover and the huge stone which had
held it down both lying on the ground.
He looked into the tub and found the
captive had escaped. He Immediately
started III pursuit. Hurrying into the
main street, he spied the turtle running
away as fast as possible; and, giving
chase, soon oyerhauled him.
Now as this man was running along
he was seen by two ladies on the oppo-
site side of the way. He was ridicu-
lous looking object in his night dress,
with pipe in his mouth and in front
of him ran a huge mudturtle. IL the
ladies had taken good square look at
him, am certain they would have
laughed a great deal at his odd appear
ance; but no, they only gave one slight
glance, and then ran screaming away,
thinking him ghost.
As soon as they got home they routed
all the inmates of the house in which
they boarded, telling them, one
after another, as fast as they
appeared, that they had seen a spectre
Several of the men and three OF
the ladies sailed out in pursuit of the
apparition, and the crawling imp which
the two scared ladies said they saw ac-
companying it. Of course no ghost
was found the street was all clear
Mr.. H having caught the mud tur-
tie, put him in his tub, and gone back
to bed. He had seen nothing of the
ladies, and had not heard them scream.
The next day the whole town were
talking about the ghost. In opinion
people were divided. Some thought it
was real ghost that the ladies had
seen; others believed it was all their
/ imagination. Everyone told all the
ghost-stories he could think of, and
compared them with this, which seemed
persons whose word could not be
doubted; and the great thing in favor
of their story was that there were two
witnesses to it, In all the other ghost
stories which were told only one person
had the honor of seeing the apparition.
At ten o'clock Mr.. III - made his
appearance, and enquired what was the
matter Twenty-Five people all told
him the story i'll one breath, and all
differently He thought for few min
utes, and then, to the infinite amuse-
ment of the crowd assembled, told how
he had been out in the night in pursuit
of mud-turtles This to most people
was sufficient explanation still the
two ladies stoutly maintained that Mr..
H was not the ghost they had seen,
though they owned after while that
their ghost was very fat one.
The story spread through all the adj
joining county, and something new was
added to it at every telling. Some had
never heard it contradicted, and there
are people, L presume, who believe the
whole story even to this day.
L knew one man, a firm believer In
ghost-stories, who soon after this oc-
Cured went to California. He was an
inveterate talker, and L dare say he has
told this ghost story as being really
true hundred times to people along
the Pacific coast.
This, I think, is fair sample of the
manner in which many ghost-stories
p 4