Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-11-30
Indications of a Mild Winter,

81 LOUIS UtOOe- DeHtOCfut.
''Muskrats amt troubling themselves
much about hard WINTER" said an old
hunter Yesterday. ''You don't fool them
much on the weather." he continued;
''they'Ie better than any almanac. PYe
watched them for a good many years over
in the American Bottom, and / Can al
ways tell, along in the fall, whether we
are going to have an open winter or not.
How can l tell"' added the NimrOd, re-
peating the reporters question. easy
enough. l don't have to feel for it, either
fits going to be hard winter you'll see
the muskratS commence house building
early in the fall, and by this time they'll
have their mounds on the marshes built
up of mud and sticks and leaves three or
four feet above water. But if the weather
is going to be mild you'll see nothing of
that kind" A cOlOred man from Bon
homme Bottom, where he has lived most
of the time since the war, was standing
by, and added his testimony as to the
signs of the season.
81 tell you, boss" said he, ode groun'
hog am de animal goes by. He's learned
more about de weather IAN all de rest OBJ
de beasts. If he kin see his shadow when
he comes outen his hole in February he
gifts back in de groun' quick, and stays
thar six weeks longer. Then you can bet
thar'll be a late spring. He's les' as smart
about de winter, fOah if it's gwine to be
VAIN he jes' scratches a shallow hole to
hide in; that's all he wants. But if it's
gwine to freeze hard he'll 90 in deep, an
make himself warm nest of dry grass
and leaves. De groun' hog amt troubling
any bout cold weather now. He's made
up his mind it's no use, an is going to lib
close to de top oh de groun' WidOut any
bed dis winter. | amt got any use for a
big wood pile dis winter, nor you won't
either boss" and the cOlored scientist
walked away. Looking for further infOr-
nation, the reporter questioned we'll
known poulterer III Union Market, and
was informed that the inner coating of
chicken giZZards peeled off very easily, a
never-failing sign, they say, of a green
Christmas? Another point was gained
from farmer, who says the corn husks
are remarkably thin and light this fall,
another evidence recognized as promise
of thin ice.
Mallary ducks have very few feathers
this fall. "YOu needn't fear much cold
weather when the ducks are not well
feathered," remarked Judy, the game
dealer. "Another thing" said he, "the
wild fowls haven't gone South yet. They
are feeding north of here, will come down
later and stay around here, as they did
two years ago." Chris Niederweiser, of
Baden, cites the old infallible German
sign of the breastbone of the goose to
prove that fuel ought to be cheap this
winter. Chris killed a goose for dinner
last Sunday, and after eating the meat
from the breast, he found the bone so thin
he could see through it. I'll the winter
were going to be very cold," he says, "the
goose bone would have been three times
as thick"
If further evidence is needed to con-
vince the skeptical that there is no neces-
sity for squanderlng fortune in coal it is
afforded by the willy catfish of the Mis-
souri, river. When the stream is going to
freeze up the catfish knows 1t long enough
in advance to prepare himself with good
thick hide. johnson, the fishmonger, de-
cIares the catfish had skins like whales
last winter. but now their winter cover
inn is as thin as q niece of silk.