The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1885-04-08
IN A BLIZZARD.
How FISHERMAN" Tins Truthful
ness Was Vindicated.

ayes, there's been lots of storms long
about Christmas time late years, began
FISHERMAN" Tim; "and speakin' of
'em reminds me of one out in Dakota;
lies see, it must be ten years ago this
lChristmas-"
''Ah, come nowr' interposed "Skep'
Thompson, so called from his consistent
disbelief in everything, from "Fisher-
man" Tins stories up to what the
IparsOn preached on Sunday; "come,
now, if you must tell a story, Tim, draw
&c mild The last fish story was most
too big. Jest for once give us some
thing reason BILE. ~
Tim had been relating an experience
Of his which had occurred while he had
been sharking in the South Pacific. His
ipseudonym Of Fisherman had been
derived from his alleged adventures
amOng the finny tribes of those distant
waters, which adventures being of a
kind entirely unfamiliar to the dWellers
lin the small Wisconsin town in which
Tim was now residing, were considered
by them to be largely the product OF
THE ''Fisherman's s. Imagination. Still.
Thompson, the very loudest to de-
fnOunce their fictitious character, was
sure to be around whenever Tim was
known to be in storytelling mood.
Tim himself always protested that
everything which he related was strictly
true.
''Some day" he would remark, "you
fellows will find out that you've been
abusin' me- One of the South Sea
Islanders or somebody else will happen
along this way, and you'll feel pretty
mean 20 think how you've gone for me
and my yarns all these years.
But such speeches as these were con
lsidered as only a part of Tins stOck-in.
trade, and as further exhibiting his skill
in the art of lying.
On this particular night-a certain
bitter cold Christmas Eve not many
years ago-a little knot of men were
assembled around the glowing stove in
Titus Perrin's store. Titus Perrin
store was the main source of the Crea
Iture comforts of the little village, anC
also the usual stamping-ground for the
more reputable portion of the towns
people during the winter evenings. M
AiquOr was sold there, and Titus Per
rims wife, a smart, " and not UnrefneC
woman, who kept her husbands book
with care and ability, was always sit
ting at her desk in the corner at sucl
times, making the atmosphere of tht
place distinctly purer and more whole
some for her presence.
They had succeeded in waking up
Fisherman Tim at an early hour O
the evening. 1t was cold and stormy
as Tim had intimated; and as thU
rattling blasts shook the little store the
had listened with eagerness-but witt
more inoredulity than ever-to one o
his familiar shark stories. Tins pic
ture Of the warm Southern seas, in Whicl
men dove scores of feet, and leaped
and cut up all sorts of antics, was ut
terly incOmprehensiblei i'm a Wisconsin
winter with the thermometer at ten de
grees below zero. Even Mrs. Tiu
Perrin, the sole person who ever inn
plioitly believed Tim, had had TO admi
that this particular story was trih
lt'steep" She usually asserted, as ia
oreasing Tins oredibility, that he wa
one of those lucky people of whom
might be said, as Of one Of Mrs Whit
ney's Wen-knOwn characters, the
'WheFe he was things happened.
which was the reason why he alWay
had so many strange adventures Co tel
Even the expression of her doubt in thi
instance was tempered with charity
81 think &c might be true Tim, sh
had added "Kou always pay you