Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-02-08
A Mild Winter.

'iMuskrats amt troubling themselves
much about q hard WINTER said an old
hnnter Yesterday. you don't fool
tlen meacb on the weather." he con-
1;nueds ''ther're better than an alma
FAC. I've watched shesm a good many
Years over in the Americas bottom, and
/ can always tell along irr the fall.
whether We are going 10 have at open
winter or rot, How can T. tell?' adj
ded the Nilnrod, repeating the report
er's Question: EASY enough. don't
have to feel for it, either. If it's going
to be Il lard winter, you'll see the
muskrats commence house-building
early in the fall, snd by this time they.
will have their mounds ON che 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
anan from Donho1dne bottom where
lie hts lived most OF the time since the
. war, was standing by, and added his
testimony as to the Sims Of the season.
II tell YOU, boss said he, de groun'
hog am de- n.mal dat | goes by. Hes
learned more about de weather dan all
dc rest 90 de beasts. Ii 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.
'TElen you can bet thar'n he q late
spring. Hes jest rs smart about de
winter, tGah if it's gwine to be warm
hejas' scratches smaller hole to hide
in; that's FL he wants. But if it's gwine
ter freeze hard he Ii goin deep and make
hisself~a NTaru, nest Of dry grass and
leaves. DE groun hog amt troublin'
any bout cold weather now. He's
made up his mind its no use an is
going to lib close to dctop OBJ de groun'
widout any bed dis winter. I amt got
any use for i,ig wood pile dis winter,
nor you won't either, boss" and the
colored scientist walked away! Look
ing for further Information, the reporter
questioned a well known poulterer in
Union market and wis informed that
the inner skin Of chicken gizzards peel
ed off very easily, 81 never failing, sign
they say OF Il green Christmas. Another
point was gained from q farmer who
says the corn husks are remarkably
thin and light this fall, another evil
dence recognized as q premise Of thin
ice. ~ ~>'7>.-
Mallard ducks have very few feathers
this fall. You needn't fear much cold
weather when the ducks are not we'll
feathered," remarked Judy, the game
dealer. '.Another thing" said he, .*the
wild fowls have not gone south yet.
!. They are feeding north OF here and
will come down later and stay around
here as they did two years ago. Chris
Meiderwei5er, Of Baden, cites the old,
iufalible German sign Of the breast
bone OF Il goose, to. prove that fuel
ought to be cheap this winter. Chris
killed goose for dinner last Sunday,
and after eating the meat from the
breast found the bone SO thin that he
could see through it. If the winter
were going to be very cold, y he says,
the goose bone would have been three
times as thick. )" d l., ri ~. z}@
~ II Ripe tomatoes, picked daily from the
vines, are for sale on Union market, a
luxury, Grundemeycrts says, that is not
afforded so late in the season one year
+ in ten. -,
IL further evidence Is needed to con-
vince the skeptical that there is no ne
*cessity for squandering a fortune in
coal, it is afforded in the wi,vcatfsh OF
the Missouri river. When s>Streanl
+ as going to freeze up, the catfish H.. rvs
\ 1T long enough in advance to prepar.
i himself with q good thick hide. john
Z sou, the fshmonger, declares the cat
fish had skins like whales last winter,
but now their winter covering is as thin
as silk. - ST. Louis Globe Democrat. J. 3% Il