Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1884-04-11
Il DROLL ADVENTURE.

We had started at sunrise one morn
ing, with pair of oxen and a cart, to
go to Woodstock, to market. In the carl
we're two shotes and twenty-seven tur.
keys, which had been killed and dressed
the night before.
1t was early in November, and I re.
collect that the ruts in the road were
frozen, and that the ice was so thick on
the puddles in the road that it would al.
most bear the oxen.
I was boy then, and lived in the
"blue-nose" country, as the Province Of
New Brunswick is sometimes called.
We had quite large farm, though it
was some distance back in the woods,
and raised large numbers Of cattle, pigs
and poultry. Father worked at lumber.
ing in the winters, and at the time I am
speaking of had already gone up the
Tobique, to build "camp" for gang
of choppers who were to begin work the
goth of the month. So my brother Ran.
som and had the winters wood to cut,
and the marketing to do.
1t was sixteen miles from our place to
Woodstock. and for the first three miles
there was only cart-road. We had
heard that there was to be shooting.
match at Woodstock that day. Geese
were to be fired at, at Cd shot. The dis
lance was only fifteen rods, for any sort
Of guns that competitors might bring.
Ranse and !, Of course, took our guns:
and Joe Ethridge, a neighbor from over
the river, went with us. If we should
get to town in time, we meant to try q
few shots at the geese.
We had gone q mile or more, and
were passing through second growth
Of white birches and some thick clumps
of hemlock that were on each side Of
the road, when Ranse and 1 heard the
sharp squeak of hedgehog, such as the
animal often makes in November morn
ings.
Joe, who was walking little ahead of
the cart, on the lookout for cartridges,
cried, "Just look at the quill pigs
over there across the hollow |"
There was valley on the west side Of
the road. Across it, on the mountain.
side, twenty-five or thirty rods off, the
poplars grew thick and tall. The leaves
had dropped from their branches, and
in the tops of the poplars we saw -four
hedgehogs gnawing at the bark.
The sun had just risen, and shons
upon them SO that we could see the ami
mails very plainly.
They're fat now," said Joe,
"They're as good as geese. Let's gil
EN-, and take 'em along in the cart"
We did not dare to leave the team il
the road, for our cattle were yoke O.
"sparked" 4-year-old steers, not very
we'll broken. Turning them partly
round to tree, Ranse chained them te
it, with spare ox-chain that was in thu
cart, through the staple of the yoke.
That done, we took our guns out O
the cart and ran after Joe, across til,
hollow. He had fred at the hedgehog.
before we reached him, and had brought
down one great fellow. The other,
were in plain sight In the bare poplar
tops.
Ranso and 1 soon had two more lyinl
at our feet in the dry leaves. But thu
last one, which Joe now shot, lodged a.
1t fell in the crotch of limb, where
1t chung, being still alive.
just then we heard tremendous
noise, that came from the place
where we had hitched the steers. The
chain was rafting. and we could heal
the cattle thrashing the yoke against
the tree.
"Thav'ra hreakin' away p exclaimed