The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-07-07
Robust ImaglnatiOns.

When the lawyers in Judge Carey's
court were waiting for the verdict in Il
petty larceny case, Attorney Soderburg
related an incident of his early child
hood in Minnesota, illustrative of the
peculiar customs then in vogue in that
State.
II knew an old farmer there who
owned ten acres of timber land where
millions of pigeons came each year to
roost. They devastated the wheat fields,
and the old coon used to catch the birds
in nets, and thrash them out on the barn
floor. Each bird had three ounces of
wheat in his crop, and it was bad year
for old Thompson when he couldn't
ship a thousand bushels of wheat to
market at 50 60 bushel, and it ranked
A No. when it reached the Chicago ele-
vator. If there had been few millions
more of pigeons he would have come
pretty near getting a corner on the Min
nesota wheat crop"
II knew planter down in Alabama"
said Kittrell, "who was fully as sharp as
that. He trained an alligator to work up
and down the river and catch the little
picaninnies that played along the
bank. The alligator would take the lit
tie kids in his jaws and swim back to the
plantation. 1t was a dull day that he
couldn't corral three or four. The
planter raised them carefully, and when
they got big he sold em in New Orleans
at prices ranging from $4,000 to 10000
apiece. He was rolling in wealth when
Lincoln's emancipation proclamation was
issued, and after that the alligator never
did any more work. The man is now
barely keeping soul and body together
in Washington, clerking in one of the
Government bureaus at $4,000 a year"
Judge Cary evidenced the greatest in
terest in these weird tales, and edged up
to the group.
"These are curious yarns, gentlemen,
but l believe them all. l had dog
once, back in Nebraska, that l kept to
herd lumber"
"Beg your pardon, Judge; did you say
the dog herded lumber ?"
Eyes, sir, cottonwood boards. We al
ways kept dog there to bring the lum-
Der in at night
Everybody now paid the closest atten-
ton, as they knew that the boss was ut
work.
1T was this way. Cottonwood boards
warp like thunder in the sun. A board
would begin to hump its back up about
o'clock in the morning, and in half an
hour it would turn over. BY III it would
warp the other way with the heat and
make another flop. Each time it turned
it moved couple of feet always follow
ing the sun toward the west. The first
summer lived in Brownville over TO-
coo feet of lumber had skipped out to
the hills the day before l had advertised
a house raisin.' I went to the county
seat to attend law suit, and when l got
back there wasn't stick of timber left.
1t had strayed away into the uplands.
An ordinary board would climb two
mile hill during hot week. and when it
struck the timber it would keep wormin
in and out among the trees like garter
snake, Every farmer in the State had to
keep shepherd dogs to follow his lumber
around the country, keep ittogether, and
show where it was in the morning. We
didn't need any fumes there for lumber.
We sawed it east of the place we wanted
to use it, and let it warp itself to its
destination, with men and dogs to
head it off at the right time; we never
lost stick. Well here comes the jury
continued the Judge. 1.-The witnesses
lied guess they will disagree. u Car
son City Appeal.