Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-02-15

something against his WILL he SAID:
"Wel, sorr, now that we're on it,
l will tell you what happened to me;
bat don't like speaking about 1.-THE
less that's said The better but I will
tell you what happened to me sorr,
and it's many the year since told any
one the story. was 10 at the time.
NV mother and me, we had gone to
the fair of Letternahinch to sell two
sheep; and there we were all day, and
the devil bit could we sell the sheep.
No matter, Patsey, said my mother
to me at the end of the day, you'll
buy yourself a pair of boots all the
same, for who knows when we'll next
be at Letternahinch from the farml'
And so | bought the pair of boots, and
mighty proud was of them sor, and
I kept them on during the evening,
until it was time for us to set out to
walk back to the farm, for the devil
an offer could we get for the sheep.
Well, now, sor, about three miles from
Letternahinch, or maybe It's three
and half, there's woodland dark
wood it was that night, though it was
a moonlight night, and the road as
white as silver; and says |, Mother,
the new boots are hurting my feet !;
wait minute now, and I'll take them
off, But she went on with the sheep,
and was sitting down at the edge of
the wood taking off the boots, when
there was a noise and something rush
ed at me from the wood and hit me a
slap and went by. Sure, hope your
hIf lib
that terrible beast. Twas in the road
now, and | was up, with the boots IN
one hand, and bit of a stick in the
other; and / kept threatening it when
it came near to attack me. called
out to my mother, but she was fright
ened too, and would not look back.
Come an, Patsy, come am she cried
to me; and l dursn't run for fear of
the beast
"But VIII 1t was it like, Patsy2"
"WelI, sorr, / will make you sin
sible of it; though | was all of trim
BILE. for it followed me along the road,
and sometimes twas in the ditch, and
when | couldn't see it | heard it, and
nay mother heard it, and she was as
terrified as was. Twas about four or
five feet long-yis, sorr, maybe five
feet it was-and red, and when it put
up its head it twas like to strike at
me like a snake, but L had bit of a
stick in my hand and | kept that
turned to it. Maybe it had legs but |
could see none, and the body-well
now the body was about the thickness
of thin dog, long and thin it was
and the noise it made was terrible,
terrible. Well, now, sorr, maybe it
was something in my own head-like
a fever. But NANNY and nanny is the
time have thought over it, and what
bothers me.entirely is that my mother
should have heard it when it was
growing at me in the ditch.
Even now the recollection of this
strange thing seemed to overshadow
Patsy with fear and trembling. His
eyes were distraught and he spoke
like one speaking to himself and des-
criblng something that he actually saw
before him.
"'Twasn't the size of it, your Honor,
that frightened me; sure it couldn't
reach at me higher than the knee,
when it put up its head as if it would
strike me; but there was something
terrible about it that made me trimble
from me head to me foot. And when
put down my stick it would keep
back, RAINING along by the side o me,
but always wild its head turned to me,
and threatening; and sure was afraid
to strike it, if l had had the power,
but | was awake with the thrlmbling
and my mother She wouldn't look
back-twas aGod's truth, your honor,
| never was in such n fright as that
night. And Tin, when it left the road
for a while, / knew it was there still
all the time, by hearing of its growl-
ing at me; and at such times when it
was in the ditch would have hurried
on faster, and got up to my mother,
but my legs were wake with the fright,
and sure | was afraid it would come
up behind me if | was to run. There
now, sorr, there may be an eXplana
toni will not say no to that; may
be twas a kind of fever in my head
but sure that couldn't have made my
mother hear the beast whin it was
growing al me in the ditch, and
made her hurry on, too, for she was
too frightened to look back"
But you haven't finished the
story, Patsy; what became of the
beast2"
"Well, twas terrible night, your
Honor, and that's a fact. l thought
we would never get to the farm,
though my mother kept ahead of me
with the sheep, and | was afraid to
overtake her, for fear Of giving The
beast chance at me. Sure L think it
must have been between l and 2 in
the morning when we got up to the
farm; and the beast kept following
me-sometlmes in sight, and some
times IN the ditch-all the way, until
we were nearly at the door; and then
it turned and went away down the hill
again, and ] saw it rs far as the lake,
but there | lost sight av it. Divil the
wink of sleep did | get that night,
you may be sure, sorr; and the next
day my mother cautioned me not to
spake of it to amy one, for fear of bad
luck.
Twas six months after-six or
seven months after. My mother and
me we had not been speaking about
what had happened on the Letternah-
inch road, for the fright was on me
for nanny and NANNY day; and my
mother would never spake of it either,
for fear of bad luck. Well, sorr, one
evening [ was going into the house
twas about supper time-and | was
thinking of nawthin' butthat; and the
door inside was bit open. Well, sorr,
there was woman standing talking
to my mother - well, | knew the
woman, she lived at Maskene that
was about eight miles further on the
road and my mother was asking her
to sit down and rest herself, for twas
long way to go, and she had not
passed our way for many and many
a day. Thank We kindly, Mrs Cong,
says she, but It's alonely road to Mas
kene, and l am frightened to be out
after dark since what happened to me
at Letternahinch. Begob, sorr, we
may suppose 1 listened thin, and her
back was to me so that she couldn't
see me, and my mother coulds't see
ME nayther because of the door. We'll,
sorr, what she said was that two years
before she had been in the market at
Letternahinch, and she hada power o
things TO carry, and so she waited for
the night mail-car, that would put her
down within mile or so of Maskene.
She was on the back seat of the car