Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-07-09
A Shot at a Ground Hog.

A MILFORD (Pa) correspondent of the
| New York San tells how Geo. Taylor, of
the New York City Press Association,
and Ed. Cahill, of Park Row, came to
that place recently to fish for trout.
They were joined there by Ed. Quick and
Bub Wells, two professional rod-swingers.
On Monday they started for Dingman
Township to cast the fly. On the way
Taylor tried his $25 revolver on every
chipmunk he saw. Pretty soon Cahill
shouted: Blazes! see that ground hog!
Let him have it, Taylorr'
"He's a beauty" said Wells, and
Quick cried: " Sweet Christmas, but ain
he fat?"
The animal was jogging along leisurely
across a field. Taylor acted upon Cahills
suggestion and got out of the wagon to
shoot it. In his hurry he forgot to put
down his f1sh-pole and carried it in his
hand. In his other hand was his re
volver, ready cooked. He gave chase to
the ground hog. His companions sat
watching him from his wagon, waiting to
see HIM kill the animal. 1t was pretty
one, all over white and black spots.
Taylor was bound to have it's hide.
When he got within shooting distance he
stepped into a bog-hole and down he
went. His fish-pole ran about a foot in
went off and blew the whole roof out of a
brand-new straw hat that he had pur-
chased for the occasion.
He was soon on his feet again, but the
ground hog had got to the other side of
the field and sat by the side Of hole,
evidently waiting for the anxious sports
man. Taylor caught up to within a few
feet of his game and raised up to fire.
The ground hog suddenly turned his
white tail toward Taylor and disappeared
in the hole.
Taylor that instant knew he hadn't
brought enough Florida water with him
from the city. He knew he hadn't struck
a mint patch nor yet bed OF roses. He
felt that it wasn't good to be there, and
across him by degrees that the boys
played a skunk off on him for ground
hog He returned to the wagon and, re-
marking that the ground hog was too
quick for him, got in Ed. Cahill put his
handkerchief to his nose. Ed. Quick
said he guessed he'd get out and walk a
way Bub Wells thought he would, too.
Cahill said he promised to bring his wife
some elecampane root, and as that was a
good place to find it, he'd get out and
look for some. Taylor wouldn't ride
alone and made up his mind to walk with
the rest Cahill couldn't find any ele
campane root and got back in the wagon
Quick and Wells got tired and jumped in
again. Taylor then thought he would
ride awhile. The boys began to think
the joke was as much on them as it was
on Taylor.
When they got to the creek Taylor OBJ
jected to going in the woods for fear he
might get lost. Cahill told him to keep
half mile to the windward of them and
they would be sure to know where to find
him Taylor fished in Spring Brook
The trout wouldn't bite. They came to
the surface and looked at his fly, but as
soon as they got their noses out of the
water they dove down and rubbed them
in the gravel. Taylor got disguised and
went to find his comrades. He came to
them near Mother Jagger's, where they
stopped for dinner. Cahill took Taylor
aside and said:
"Say, Taylor, we want to get some
thing to eat here. You mustn't go in
with us, or you'll kill the whole thing.
Well eat first, then you come in. See?"
Taylor was hungry and had to submit
Mother Jaeger got the boys up a nice
dinner. They ate it at their leisure.
Taylor sat on log about a hundred
yards from the house and whistled
Bury me under the violets." The boys
finished their meal and went out. They
told Taylor to get his dinner. He en-
tered Mother Jagger's kitchen and sat
down to the table. The old lady began
to sniff, and, kicking the old hound that
lay by the stove, calculated
"Git out, Ring! I'll kill that Internal
critter yit. He's alters huntin' skunks"
Ring got out" Mrs. Jaeger poured
Taylor's coffee. Then she shifted again,
and looked under the table and on the
floor. Taylor fell to eating. Mother
Jaeger took down her horn spectacles
and put them on. She shifted and looked
earnestly at Taylor. Then she squeezed
her nose together with her fingers and
said:
"Dod rot be- blister, eff it amt you!
Jist help yerself to eddything you wadtr'
And Mrs. Jaeger sought the outside of
the house.
The party fished all day. They got
back to Milford about tea time. The
piazza at Dimmick's was full of ladies'
They all rushed out to see the trout. One
ny one IneE went DICK, TeIhdrklnS now
peculiarly balm-laden the zephyrs were
that morning. Taylors wife said: Oh,
aren't they beautiful! but what makes
them smell so, George"
George said, "The creek in which they
were caught is strongly impregnated
with-ahem!-with hemlock, which gives
them a peculiarly pungent flavor but it
is destroyed by cooking. Cooking knocks
it."
Strangers who visit Milford hereafter
may see a mound in the Dimmick Hotel
garden. Beneath it is suit of clothes.
1t belonged to George Taylor. He hunted
a ground hog in it and destroyed its use
fulness. And so they laid it away.
Presence of Mind.