Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-05-21

tban L kln tell ye, tne rooster swung
il up over his head and slopped il
with all his might sgin' that big stone
by the side o the barn. He whacke'l
It three umes; an then chucked the
rat away. There want no more life
nor backbone left in it than there is
in wet dish rag Since then we've
found 20 more big rats in the yard.
Every time we found cae we'd find a
fresh spttterin' o blood on the stone,
and so we know'd that Shorter had
done 1t. So We nailed their skins on
the barn as we got 'em, and they re
known all over the country as Snor-
ter's scslps.'
II noticed that there was a big
patch of feathers missing from the
roosters hack, and that they were
pretty we'll thinned out on his neck
and one wing. | asked the farmer
what had caused the damage.
L. Big chicken hawk" said the
farmer. That was the incest little
tussle ever see, Last week one of
the biggest hawks that ever lived
was 'hangin' round here, sailin' about
most O. the time with his eye on my
barn yard. One day stood over in
that feld there when all of suddent
| see sumpin' drappin' down ont o.
the sky like a big stone square in the
direction of the barn. In second |
know'd it was that Old hawk and |
started on a run for the yard When
! got there the allfredest hullabaloo
was goin' on among the chickens that
| ever listened to and there was the
Shorter with his jaws fastened on that
hawks neck, and jist liftin' him IN
the air and swattin him down on that
rock yonder, like my old woman
might whack the dust out'n a door
mat. That hawk want fur from bein'
as big as the rooster, and the Shorter
found out that he hadn't tackled no
durn squeakln' rat. The hawk
thrashed his wings about and clawed
with his toes till the ROSTERS feathers
flew around that yard like dead leaves
in gale But Shorter had the grip O.
that iron jaw O his on the hawks
gullet, and after ten minutes or so the
chicken stealers caloric give out and
then the rooster soon pounded the
life out'n him. I'm havin' the hawks
skin stuffed, and that'n be a scalp
worth shown.
"'Old Shorter won't have no fightin'
goin on round his premises that he
don't do hisself Sometimes some O. the
young roosters tries to settle some
grudge by little sparrin' 'twixt their
selves, but if the old boss is around he
breaks that fight up. He jist slides
over to where the young fellows is
whackin' away at one another, and
swsts one this way, and t'other one
that way, and jaws and swears at 'em
as good If he spoke English The
other day he broke up fight, but he
hadn't no sooner walked away when
the two youngsters was at it ag'in
tooth and spur Then Shorter walked
over and ketched one O the roosters
and put him out o the yard, fyin on
the fence with hum and droppin him
on t'other side. He KEEP that rooster
out side all day, and the next day ev,
was as peaceable as Sunday
school picnic.
"He's queer old cuss about family
matters, too. When a hen matches
out her brood, she's got to pass the
whole lot of 'em right over into Suor-
ter's charge, and he looks after 'em
like mother This rather breaks the
hens up, and so we have to lake oil old
hens with chickens and put 'em away
by themselves. That rooster hain't lgot
his match on the American continent,
said the farmer, and the man that can
buy him don't live."
"a great many curious things happen
up in Sullivan county, concluded John
according to the natives. -
". Y. Sun.