News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-02-18
THE NEW YEARS DINNER.
A LITTLE STORY OF LIFE IN PIKE
COUNTY,
Bow the Boys Lost n Dinner and Found
One,

Bow the Boys Lost n Dinner and Found
One,
~ was getting the lumber off of an
old bush whacker's tract over there said
! the sheriff, and was hurrying it up be-
fore he found it out, and maybe made
a fuss about it, and had couple of fell
, lows helping me. We had cabin built
in nice little spot, about half way be-
, tween two creeks-both of 'em may be q
!, half mile away. We had the lumber so
near cleaned out that we calculated to
get out of the woods so as to be home
New Years. So we let our provisions
kind O. ooze away without sending in
Tor supplies, because we knew that we
could squeeze along on short rations,
If necessary, and save the trouble of lug
glng lot of stuff in to go to waste. The
third day before New Years we had got
down to some sour bread, hunk of salt
pork, and a half bushel of dried apples.
One of my men was q regular fend on
dried apple sauce, and he had the fruit
brought in for his own accommodation.
The boys were in for striking 'em in for
the clearing at once, but | said no.
There was only days work left, and
our provender was good enough for
day, and then we'd have so much better
appetites when we got home.
''That was all right as far as my
| judgment went, but / hadn't any
weather predictions with me, and didn't
know that q rain the like of which we
hadn't enjoyed for many day was on
its way to make it pleasant for us in
camp. 1t got there in the evening. 1t
W fharn nnyf q
ing 1t stayed to supper with us that day,
went to bed with us, and next morning
didn't seem to have any idea of going
away at all. But it gave out all OF a
sudden that forenoon, and so did our
last frying of pork and crumb of bread
| The next day was to be New Years, and,
if it hadn't been, it behooved US all the
same to get out of the wilderness and
hunt for hash. As soon as the rain quit
we started. We hadn't thought about
the creeks. We came to one of them
about quarter of mile nearer than 1t
had been before, and it was tearing
along like young Niagara broken loose.
We took the back track, and found the
creek on the other side on the rampage
worse than the first one. We were Just
as good as cast away, and liable to be
for two or three days, and all we had to
rely on to carry us through was two
bushels of dried apples.
'The only thing we've got to do, said
l, is to go out and get bear or deer.
A New Years dinner of dried apples
amt just my notion of good cheer and
festive mirth."
All right, the other fellows said, we'd
go out and kill something. We went
out. We only had two guns, and l
walked along with the boys to keep
their spirits up. Our hunting ground
was limited, as the two swoolen creeks
had a peculiar way of shutting off our
boundary on every side. We went out,
but we didn't kill We came back. The |
fellow who liked dried apple sauce made |
d tolerable fair supper and bunked in. |
l wasn't quite equal to that diet as yet,
and went to bed supperless. We got up
next morning, and the two boys went out |
to kill something, l stayed In camp. |
They were gone two or three hours, and
then made up my mind that I'd have
to come to the dried apple sauce, and
went to work to cook a big batch, for
fear the hunters would come back empty
handed. l took the half bushel of dried
apples, and they were big ones, and
dumped then on slab in front of the
cabin. Then hung the big kettle on
the crane and began to heat the water to
stew the apples in. When the water was
half hot l poured about a gallon out in
our big camp basin to kind O. wash our
tin plates in. l was coming out of the
cabin with the plates, when what should
l see but big bear come slouching
along, about three rods away, square for
the cabin. had no gun, and wasn't in
condition to have o wrestle with bear
just then, and 90 stepped back in the
through a chunk. The bear came up,
shifted around awhile, and then got on
to the half bushel of dried apples He
seemed to like the smell, and pitched
into them with a gusto. He moved
them apples away quart at time, and
grunted and snorted in way that show
ed how much no liked them.
''There goes our New Years dinnerr
I says. Then l hollered 'Shew7 at the
bear, and hammered on the side of the
cabin and clattered the things around,
and danced and howled; but the bear
didn't scare any more than if he'd been
deafer than a mile post. He chawed
and grunted and growled until he had
put every one of them dried apples in
side of him. Then he lay down and
rolled, and rubbed his sides, and lolled
his tongue, and had holly time gener-
ally. By and by he began to nose around
again, and ran against the pan Of warm
water. That seemed to be something
little extra to him, and Pm fingered if
he didn't absorb that whole gnllon in
less than a minute. Then he waltzed
around again. and began to make his
way back into the woods, leisurely and
by degrees.
Where in the blazing bush are those
fools of hunters2' yelled. why don't
hey hunt where there's gamep
Then l tore my hair and bawlod
Help! Murder! Firer in hope that my
fellows might hear me and come tearing
n with the guns. / went out of tho
,abin, and in my desperation actually
ollowed that bear, hoping might
lriye him against the hunters Pretty
Don the bear stopped. He cooked his
lering. There was look of surprise on .
rs face. He rose up on his lunches and
oOked around kind O. queer. He slap
ed one paw on his stomach, moved It
p and down, as if trying to satisfy him ..
elf on some point or other. Then he
'ot down and started on. He didn't 90 !
ar. He got up on ais hind feet again.
lie put both paws ON his stomach. There ,
7as look of pain ON his face, and his I,
louth looked exactly as if he were say {
az: 'Oh-h-hp :
"He dropped again, and started on c
rot, but in a few seconds he was up !
gain, and his looks said plainly that he
'as satisfied there was something serious.
Ie pounded himself on his stomach,
Dubbed himself up in O ball. sprung
imself open again, and rolled and
Thincd and looked sick. ,
"What's the matter with tho bear2' !
aid /. 'Blowed if don't feel sorry for =.
i'm
Then noticed for the first time that :
e was growing larger around the stom :
oh. AS gazed with bullying eyes
ould sec his girth growing bigger and :
igger. Pretty soon 1t got SO that the ;
ear couldn't roll any more, and he as ;
nmcd the shape of big puff ball. His .
avs stuck out stiff, and looked like :
our sticks stuck in goose egg. Then !
Il of u sudden it struck me what tho 6
rouble was The dried apples and warm :
,ater were getting their fine work IN. :
When dried apple comes In contact =
nth warm water, that dried apple has =
D have room to expand in, and If 1t can't !.
nd room it'll make il. Tint WA what