River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1875-07-16


difficulty In the road. The deacon could
have identified them pumpkins in a thous.
and, but / wasn't as we'll acquainted with
'em as he was, and when they
was all covered up in the water ex-
excepting their yai.er tops, there wasn't
any more chance Of knowing EN- than
there would be ofidentiryin' bald head.
ed man by the crown of his head. But |
had promised Mrs. Goodrich, and it
wouldn't do to give it up without trying.
| kept up dog trot for half mile, and
then / came down to walk, straddhng
out as a man mus do when his steps is
halfdozen feet long. That sort of trav-
elm is all we'll enough fol- while, but in
time il gets monotonous like, and was
on the pint of throwing up the job, when
spied more pumpkins than | ever seed
in my life. At place where the river
narrowed, some Of the logs had managed
to catch themselves, somehow, and the
pumpkin procession was stopped. There
there they was, five hundred thousand
of 'em, humping and piling up in style
that was sight to behold My heart
give big bound for knowed the dea.
cons pumpkins was there, and | thought
| could identify the biggest. orter had
boat, but there wasn't any, and the
fruit was jammcd so tight that it looked
to me as if they would beal my weight.
When | reached it and tried it, sure
enough it was as firm as rock, and |
picked my way out to the centre, where
fancied seen one OF the deacon's pets.
1t was rather ticklish work to
reach it, but | got it at last, and then
was sure it was the indentical prize the
deacon's wife axed me to get for her
But it amt any small job to row pump
kin up stream agin a current running ten
miles an hour, and you cant pick one up
and carry 'em off, for they're teo big to
reach round, unless run rope through
EN- and string it round the neck, the
same as you'd carry bass drum.
II stood there out in the middle of the
stream looking down at the pile that
was growing bigger and bigger every
minute, and meditatin' what was best to
do when all at once | heard shout,
,Cl'ar the track thar, or yees'll git hurt
LooEing up, what should / see but a
Shanty ahoat, with the Irishman sitting
on top smoking his pipe as free and easy
like as If he was under tree on
shore | hadn't more than
time to see him when his shanty pitched
into the dam of pumpkins, and the whole
caboodle broke loose and started down
stream agin. When | seen how things
was going made q rush for shore. The
first step took was over the deacon's
pumpkin, and the blamed thing turned
over with me like creased log, and down
went. When come up the pumpkins
bumped against my head, and when |
struck out to swim my hands and feet
knocked agn 'em. | had just got full
steam up and was striking out for shore,
when there was collision between a
pumpkin and my nose, and I'm certain it
was the deacon's pumpkin that mashed
my smeller so fat it never got over it.
1t seemed to me that the thing was alive.
1t kept bumpin' and bumpin' at me till /
had to dodge to save my brains being
knocked out. When looked about for
that Irishman that had raised all the
mischief, there he was, sitting on top of
his honse smoking his pipe, as happy as
a clam, When / reached land again
called out to him, and asked why he
didn't leave the shanty and come ashore.
Whist, nowp said he !. don't you saa
I'm movinl My goods are all inside,
and I'm superintendent the job
"Then, as he was floating on, he asked
me what l was doing out in the stream
when he showed me loose. | told him
that was hunting for particular pump
kin that belonged to Decon Goodrich.
He asked me if worked for the gentle
man, and when | told him did he ad-
vised me to go back to him as quick as
could, and the deacon would be sartln of
having bigger pumpkin-head than any
that was in the river; and do you know,
stranger, that | sometimes think that
Irishman was more than half right 2"