Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1882-01-19

kill.
He was romantic sort of young duck, "
continued the sheriff. Gle scorned a life
of toll, and chvse the easy and luxurious
existence that comes of living in brush
cabin and chasing the feet-footed denizens
of the dim-lit forrest from ridge to ridge,
; and bringing home their Jude and tallow.
He was an original Pike county hunter, and
was known to clear as high as $50 some
years with his gun and traps. Nobody
knew where he came from. He liked a
drop of the old stuff, and"
"He was from jersey" said the Pound
master.
Gle was extremely shy and modest, the
sheriff went on.
Gle wasn't from jersey said the county
clerk.
HE had very black hair, and was tall
and wiry, and all the girls in the backwoods
we're stuck on him. Tie fellows were
jealous because he was rolling up wealth
SO rapidly, and because he cut en- all out
at the stone frolics and husking bees A
family named Jobson had found their way
from somewhere or other in Jersey to that
part of the country, and settled near the
Monroe county border There was old
Jobson and his wife and his daughter Me-
lissa. Jobson had uncovered about an acre
of earth on the tract. and built him a house,
| a barn, wagon shed, spring house, an
observatory fifty feet high, and three miles
Of four foot wall with the stone the acre
yielded.
According to the late Peleg Underhill,
Melissa must have been a sumner She
was way up in all the accomplishments of
the districts, which ranged from twirling a
| fapjack to picking a panther out of a tree
with the old mans fintlock rifle. The
pastimes and pleasures of budding Pike
county maidenhood in those days were few,
and it were great reward for Melissa to get
| the promise from her mother that if she
would pile so much stone wall while she
was resting from pulling turnips she could
shuck the hide off'n the next wolf that dad
fetched in; or if she cut and piled suffi-
Gent quantity of stove wood be-
fore she went to work hoeing
| the Eaters, she might hold the
pig at next Christmas KILN while dad
stuck it.
1T was one day in the fall of 1901 that
Ezekiel Merryweather first struck the job
son clearing and met Melissa. She was
having a holiday, and was enjoying it in
| shocking wolves. The wolf crop was
good that year, and old Jobson's traps were
generally full. Whether it was the way
Melissa yanked the peeling off Of the
wolves, Or whether it was her general style
that did the business, Ezekial fell in love
with her at sight. She fell in love with
him, too, and he got to taking in the job
expeditions. Finally he asked her to mar
ry him, and she said she would, He laid
the matter before her old man,
Wall, scarcely; you can't have Mliss,'
said Jobson. No young squirt Of a bush
whacker don't tie on to her if her dad
knows it, an her dads up to things what's
goin' on round here pooty gnerally.
When Miss goes away from this paster lot
it'll be with some grey hair rooster as
knows what to treat her to. She don't
splice to nobody but grey-headed man,
an We mout jest as well bait yer trap in
some other swamp, Zekel."
"Well, now, I'm blamed if amt glad to
hear little something about some grey hair"
said the county clerk. II was afraid
you'd forgot about that, and was getting
two stories mixed.
"That was great blow to the young peo-
pie" continued the sheriff. Ezekiel struck
into the woods and Melissa shuckled wolves
of Pocono, met Melissa. He was on the
upper side Of fifty, gray as a rat, and owned
a farm. When he asked old Jobson for
Melissa, Jobson said:
we've drawed the proper bead the fust
time. Sim: Yeve hit me plump back O. the
FORE shoulder. The gals your'n'
Melissa hadn' anything to say in the mat
ter, and the wedding was fixed for Christ
mas eve. On that night the population of
three townships was at Jobson, s-sixteen
people in all. Old Squire Morgan was
there to tie the not. Ezekiel Meryweather
was the only absentee. It was fine moon
| light night and cold as Greenland. The
| wedding was to come off at 9 O'clock
Every little while the bowling Of wolves
could be heard on ali sides of the clearing
| nobody thought anything of it. About s
| o'clock the bowling was more than usually
loud and prolonged in one direction.
Wolves is durn hungary to night, said
old Jobson. They're closin' in on that
deer pooty regular, I reckon
| The how ling came nearer and nearer.
They're goin' to take that deer plump
through our turnip patch, said Jobson.
We'll, let en- go. We, we got other bus1-
ness besides carin for a passed. o'ornery
wolves to- night; hay, Sim?'
"The wolves came closer and closer.
Their snarling could be heard in the. house.
But no one ever took the trouble to look out
of a window. The bowling and barking
ana sharllng Kept on and the sound showed /
that the wolves were not moving. Melissa
went to a window and looked out.
why, dad said she, them wolves has
freed suthin, in our spring house. They re
thick aroun' it, an some of ems goin' down
the chimley.'
"Sure enough, says Jobson, they've aruv
suthin' inter the springhouse, sartin.
Wall, boys, take yer guns. We mowt as
we'll go out and stop this yer noise fore we
perceed. |
The men took their guns and went out |
round or two settled the business for the |
wolves outside, but there was a struggle !