The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1886-07-01
THE "WOGGLYBOB."
An Old Settler Tells His Grandson
About the Awful Beast.

ten-year-old from Monroe County, is
visiting at his grandfather's. On one
of the recent warm days the old settler
had been busy for an hour or two watch
ing his wife getting a spot ready in the
garden for early peas, and finally sat
down on the south side of the barn to
rest. Little Peleg, the grandson, who
had failed, after persistent efforts. to
drive the family cat in under a deadfall
he had rugged up out of the washtub be-
hind the woodshed, went over and sat
down beside his grandfather. "Grand-
pop" said he, ibid you ever kill a ele-
phantp"
The old settler looked down over his
spectacles at the boy.
mo l didn't
s.Well," said Peleg, ..you've killed
tigers, havn't you: ~grandpopP"
"Taggers," replied the old settler,
refilling his pipe and looking at Peleg
in mild amazement, ..tagggers is curious
critters, an to kill EN- it takes a Teller
that's got plenty O. ammunition, an a
gun with a bar'l THIS very stout an
very long. Taggers is Almost ez big ez
she side o. that hen house yonder, Pe1eg,
an so red th't We kin see 'em a miled or
more, so ez 'tain't no credit to a feller
to plug one on EN-"
Tigers hain't red, grandpop," said
Peleg. They're streaky, and they
hainft much bigger than a pig. l seen
D tiger once in a show"
ssThem shows th't's goin' bout the
country is bad things, Peieg," said the
Did settler, with a frown of disapproval.
'.They give we wrong idees. Boys that
goes to shows don't think nothin' o.
contradictin' their good OF gran'pops,
too, I've heerd. Mebbe that show yer
speakin' on had a wogglybob with it,
too, an mebbe that were streaky. Wat
kind of a critter did they pass off on We
fur a wogglybob, PelegP"
ssThey didn't have none, grandpop,"
said Peieg.
ibid We ever see a pictur' of a wog-
glybob, Peleg? But I mowt know ye
didn't 'thout astin' we, fur the last one
tn were in the country were extincted
long afore Photographic were ever
short of, an tn wasn't no picturs ever
took o. one. That's onfertnit, too, fur
they'd be curious things to look at now
a-days. A full grow'dwogglybob stood
seven foot an an inch high, an unly
Two feet o'that were legs. But he didn't
mind it a bit cause his legs was short,
fur he had two sets of 'em, one set fur
walkin' an one set fur swimmin,' bein'
eight in all. His body were ez square ez
shoe box, 'cept on the top an bottom,
shat is, if ye could say that tn were any
top or bottom to a wogglybob, fur wen
he were swimmin' the top of him was
the bottom, an wen he were walkin'
the bottom of him were the top. The
,wimmin' side run to a sharp pint, like
The keel of a row-boat, an the walkin'
side of him was kinder roundup, like
the bottom of a sap trough. He wa:
covered all over with stiff hair thai
stuck straight out like ~porkypine's
pulls, 'cept on the tip O. the keel side
an the round O. the sap trough side
which was both ez bare as a Telegraph
pole. His four swimmin' legs was like
. snappin' torkle's, and wen he wer' or
his walkin' legs, the swimmin' ones laid
down fiat 'longside the keel. His foul
walkin' legs was like a painters, ant
wen he were on his swimmin' side hi.
waIkin' legs laid down fiat 'longside tn,
sap trough. He could raise the foul
legs he want usin', though; an gin
er'ly did wen he were mad, so tina
to see a crazy Of wogglybob tear
in through the woods like
painter, with four big snappin torkle'
claws riz in the air on his four uppe
corners, were a sight to do yer hear
good. The wogglybob's head were
pint in nat'ra hist'ry th't none O. tn
books hain't got nothin' about. 1t wer
vol on top of a long neck, an wer
shaped just like a big sledge hammer
The neck were fastened on hinges wher
It fined the shoulders, an the anima
could swing the head up an down an
give a whack with it that'd ha' made
six-foot blacksmith's helper 60 off an
hang hisself. The only use th't tn
wogglybob had fur hammerin' was t
fetch his head down agin a perjectir
lump that stuck out a foot or more O
bis chist. That lump, sonny, were tn
butt eend o. the wogglybob's tail, al
nobody never see the tip eend o. the ia
till the lump were whacked. The ia
were hid inside the wogglybob, an
were the weapon he used in bringir
down his game. He only had n eye
an that were a big un, sot right in th
middle o. his head, an ez long ez
were in his head he couldn't turn it t
look to neither one side nor t'othel
But the eye wei fastened onto the cen
of a sinner th't were wound up in tn
wogglybob's skull like a twisted sprin!
He could ontwist that spring w'enevt
he wanted to, an it'd shoot in the a
: an carry the eye up with it clean abo'
the trees, if the wogglybob wanted
take a. good look round the countr.
Wen the eye were sent out on pick
duty like that, 1t could be turne
Mi twisted To 500 every w'rh wa.
Viiaa I'D sinnef dcnll be pprpn