The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1878-03-07
Cir andfather Lickshlngle's Stories.

Grandfather Lickshingle is very old.
His hair is silvered with the frosts of
many winters, and his eyes have long
since lost their lustre. His step is slow
and tottering, and when his cane is mis-
laid, which is often the case, he cannot
walk alone. 1t is then that the children
help him to the window where he can
look out over the fields, for he grows tired
of gazing into the fire and dreaming of
days and years gone by. The only facul-
ty which the dear old man has retained
unimpaired is his memory. This is as
clear as sunlight. He remembers as it
were but yesterday events which occur
red when he was boy bent over his ia
theirs k1ee. Grandfather Lickshingle
loves to tell of the strange things which
happened in these early days, and the
children never weary listening to them.
Every evening he gathers them close
about his knees so they can hear his fee
BILE voice, and tells them a story. Last
nighthc rccounted this bit of history:
This" began grandpa, twill be a
story of Lo, the poor Indian, whose un-
tutored mind sees grog in clouds and
smells it in the wind. It was in the
summer Of 1921. 1 was small bow, not
much larger than Charley here"
ooh, how jolly: exclaimed Charley.
elapping his chubby hands.
"Whatter yer soy2" yelled grandpa
savagely, at the same time rapping Char
ley on the hand to keep him quiet.
my father" continued grandpa, "was
heavy-haDded son of gHnsmith, but
was himself a far ner, preferring that vo-
cation to that OF his father. He used to
put me to picking brush when he would
be at work, and keeping the Indians away
from our dinner-buckct. We lived in a
bowling wilderness where the Indians
we're always hungry and troublesome.
They pretended to own the land, but
when you asked them to show a deed
they could not begin to do it. The
houses which people occupied in those
days were the most primitive structures
imaginable, being made nearly altogether
OF poles and bark. They were sorry
looking affairs, indeed. and reflected
great discredit upon the architects and
builders.
They contained but one room and a fire
place, which occupied one side of the
room. There were no frost steps to scrub
every morning, and no chandelier in the
parlor. That was the style of all the
houses with but one exception. We
built scven-story brown stone front. with
an absured roof, and hot and cold water
up and down stairs. We had velvet car
pets all over the house, and also light
ing-rods. Our place was the wonder of
the country. AS soon as VIC could clear
ofland enough We had croquet ground,
aprlvate trotting-park and boulevard.
We had silver plated door bell and two
stone dogs that laid on the front porch
and looked savage if tramps came up the
gravel walk. One day an old Indian sat
on stump short distance from the
house, and tried his sweetest to whistle
the stone dogs over to him. The dogs
wouldn't go. Then he got some meat
and held it up SO they could have seen il
If they had not been stone blind, and call
ed them all kinds of pet names. The
dogs were not only blind to the meat, but
they were deaf to Aattery.
Then the Indian had recourse to mis-.
cradle swindle. He kicked the stump,
scratched in the ground with his fingers
and cried rats, rats, rats!'' Not being
ratters, the dogs didn't prick up their
ears and run over to the stump as if they
had been shot out of a cannen. This
shows that craven image isn't likely tc
! lose its presence of mind, even in a mo.