The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1883-10-04
STEALING CHICKENS.
700 MANY EEATHERS SCATTERRD
ABOUTTHE ECONGRESSNIAN,ss TRNT. Z
Away They Hnvo OF lPlnyinK n Joke I'm the
Grent West. -,
. tFrom tho Milwaukee sun.l

Away They Hnvo OF Playing n joke I'm the
Srent West. /-~
s~"a from tho Milwaukee Sun.1
Some veteran soldiers of the late war
are about as full of meanness as they can
hold. The Sun has been, informed of a
wicked trick they played on one of the
incest men that ever lived, and its In
| dignation knows no bounds. At the re-
| cent encampment of Veterans Mt Tomah,
Gil. Woodward, of the old Second Wis.
consi9 regiment, was present, and had n
tent all to himself. He was elected Con-
gresham feom the La Crosse district
last foil, but the confounded soldiers for
| got oil about that, and only looked upon
him as "Gil. Woodward" After ho had
retired crowd of these wicked soldiers
procured lot of feathers and heads CT
spring chickens, and scattered them all
around Woodwards tent, and at daylight
the guard woke Woodward up and told
him that there was u farmer wanted to
see him, Woodward thought maybe tho
farmer was some member of his old regi-
ment, and he got up, and while no stood
washing himself in q tin basin, his sus-
pendcrs hanging down his hips, farmer
stuck his head in tho tent and asked
Woodward if he wanted to pay for those
hens he stole. or have law suit Wood
ward didn't know what hens tho farmer
me ant, but being lawyer, law suit
wa, right into his hand, 80 he said he
gu essed he had rather have n law suit, if
it was all tho samo to tho farmer.
call right, you can have it " said the
farmer, as he looked mad. "By gum,
fDllcrcd the balance Of his natural life"
and he looked at Woodward rs though
he thought ho would stcnl anything that
was lying around.
'What is this about Juvenile poultry"
asked Woodward, and he wiped his face
on gllnny sack, and came out in front
Of his tent in, his bare feet the water
dripping from his hair, and his whole up
pcarancc that of n man who has been
awakened from much needed sleep, and
who is thoroughly mad. "I am no
chicken thief, I nm the successor in Con-
grcss of the great and good Judge Hum
phrcy, man, sir--a man."
"Ncvcr mind Congress, look O. them,"
said the farmer, pointing to tho feathers
and heads and feet on the ground, and
few feathers on Woodwnrd's pants THAI
the boys had sncakcd in the tent and put
there.
Woodward is ncarsighted, md he
could not sec anything on the ground,
so he put on his glasses and stopped over
and sure enough there wero ie .thcrs
plenty. BY that time tho boys had sur
rounded tho farmer and told him Wood
ward was one of the hardest nuts in tho
State, and that he was n terror where
| ever he was known, and that tho best
| thing tho farmer could do was to go
home and remove the rest of his chick
| ntn o1i Nv, 81
the cncampment was over. They told
him to watch out when ho was talking to
Woodward or he would pull revolver
and blow him through. Woodward saw
through the joke ut once. He realized
that tho boys had been revcling in chick
ems, and were quietly giving him the
credit for it, SO he called the farmer to
him and asked how much he would take
to settle. He said he was young man
of irrcproachablc character 80 far, and
| tuis chicken business was tho first i'll
stance III which hc had fallen from grace.
| He begged the farmer to be merciful.
and make tho charges light, and for
heavens sake lock tho secret up in h;s
bosom and never let the story get to La
Crosse, or he would be ruined. He said
he had just been elected to Congress on
tho reform. issue, and it would be hard
to go in for reform in Congress with the
feathers of those stolen chickens hang
ing to his garments. He spoke feelingly
Of the effect this affair would have OH
his whole future life, and so worked on
the farmers feelings that tho granger said
he would settle for n couple Of dollars,
and take away the feathers. After the
farmer had got his money, and had cleared
up the feathers, and Woodward had
| gono into his tent to put on his boots,
and tho reveille had been sounded and
the boys had got up all around, General
Bragg and Colonel Watrous. and Gov
ernd, Rusk came along and opened the
flap of Woodward's tent and pccked in,
and Bragg said:
"Gil., there are evidences of preai
slaughter about your tent"
Woodward was tIgging away ut one o.
hs boots, which did not seem to 20 on
us easy rs usual, and he said "You fcl-
lows think you are smart, don't you ?''
and then he turned his boot bottom side
up and cmptied couple of yellow chick
ems feet out, and finally got the boot on,
and asked the boys in to drink out of a
tin canteen. The farmer will 20 down
to his grave thinking that the hard citi,
zen who stole his chickens has got q
great big heart in him, and he will nj.
ways remember the pleading look and
trembling voice of the man who paid
him two dollars.