Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1876-10-13
Stealing Apples.

Boys take to apple-stealing as natu-
rally as ducks take to water. They seem
to be born for it, and there is no circum-
stance of birth of education that can
cheat 'em out of it. They may be the
son of minister, deacon, widowed
saint, reared by an old maid, or incar-
cerated in city asylum where they never
see an apple.tree; it is no use; give 'em
a chance, and they'll steal apples Just as
quick as though they had been educated
for no other object in life. Place boy
in road ten rods from an orchard, and
there's no kind of moral suasion ever yet
invented that can keep him from being
under those trees in less than three
seconds. The solcmity of funeral pro-
cession, the gayety of wedding the
presence of the minister, the lawyer, or
constable, the opposition of a tight
board fence or bulldog, will have no
more effect upon him than flea's bite.
1t is curious at what an early age boys
will show forth this propensity; why,
they seem to have as much fondness for
it at two years old as at ten, and if they
live to be hundred they never outgrow
it.
A boy is never half boy until he has
had an opportunity to develop this fac
ulty, and aman wouldn't be half man If
he hadn't some boyish escapade in the APP
ple-stealing business of which to boast to
the Juvenile portion of his friends.
Why, a man would deem himself in
suited if you insinuated that hehad never
left any portion of his trousers in the
mouth of stingy mans bulldog, or that
ia oho txy ocr 70 oId
woman who was the possessor of par
ticularly choice harvest-apple tree. r.
A man would rather have any other
portion of his early history blotted out of
remembrance than the scrapes he has at
one time and another got into while
stealing apples. aistasr aI
He is proud of his record in that line,
while the chief ambition of every boy is
to show some superior cunning while fol.
lowing the footsteps Of his elders.
Should boy happen to be caught steal
ing apples, though he may be whipped,
scOlded, threatened or disgraced, there's
nothing can hurt his feelings except the
chagrin he feels when he finds the APP
Piles he has stolen are not fit to eat.
Nothing in this world will make boy
SO awful mad; nothing will set him to CALI
ing people names with so much vehe-
mence, as to run great risk stealing at
'tractive-l looking apples, and then find
them wholly unpalatable.
No matter how many apples a boy has
at home; that doesn't make the least bit
of difference; it's the stealing part that
makes it so attractive; and then q boys
stomach is like the old fashioned stage.
coach-always room for one more.
Although people have been used to
this state of affairs formore than century,
they do not quietly submit; but there
are still to be found apple,tree owners
who are rash enough to resist, and gen,
erally--get their labor for their pains. Is
al But then, If everybody did submit, ap!
ple-stealing would lose half of its charms,
aud the boys would then be deprived Of
lihe exquisite pleasure of detailing ac5
counts TO the next generation Of hair,
breadth escapes and terrible encounters
with bulldogs, bnldheaded squires and
sharprtongued old Women, ~
Myl fighting Indians is nothing TO be
compared either inTmanee or danger TO
stealing apples, and 1 don't believe
there's man in Congress to-day who
can enjoy himself as he enjoyed eat
ing the apples he stole from some
body's orchard when boy.
But alasl the Joys of childhood are ef-