Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-06-02
wooDMAN, SPARE THAT TaEE.
He Remembered Happy ChiIdbOod's Day
ON the Denr Old Homestead.

He Remembered Happy ChiIdbOod's Days
ON the Dear Old Homestead.
He was a stout gentleman, with silk hat
and blue beaver overcoat, and when he
stopped to look at a squad of laborers at
work in the digging OF the new city hall eel
lar the other morning, place was at once
made for him on the heap of granite blocks
that had once been fence base. Surveying
the crowd, his eye fell upon two men who
were engaged in reducing the recently felled
trees TO suitable lengths for hauling away.
He at once gave vent to a sigh and sadly re-
marked:
'Ah, gentlemen, this reminds me of my
happy childhood on the old farmp
The crowd looked at him sympathizingly,
and ono of the number ventured the question:
"Does itF
MANY time have shouldere1 my ak at
daybreak, and gone out into the woods over
near Muskrat creek, and chopped until sun
down Yes, and mover felt it as much as
do "A walk down to the office"
mo times like the old times, observed n
little man in a faded overcoat; 'old age
makes us indifferent men"
81 don't know my friend; / think l could
swing an AK with tho best of 'em, burned If
DON'T" announced the stout gentleman, us he
began removing his gloves. Ppm going to
try if / can't get chance"
BY producing a silver quarter, he was al
lowed 10 take the place of one of the chop
pers, and removing his overcoat, spat upon
his hands. Swinging the ak around his head,
he knocked his silk hat into n wash rag and
brought the edge down ON Il limb that en-
dowed it with enough elasticity to cause it to
violently rebound, the helve striking him ON
the chin. Gossip he gasped, while the
crowd fell back to distance of fifteen feet,
81 forgot that hat Settling himself, he
brought the ak down again, with enough VIC
lence to break a steel ball. But he under
estimated the distance from the tree and he
missed il by foot at least, striking the AK
out of sight. Some one snickered at this
point, and the stout gentleman got three
shades redder.
az can do it!r he gasped 81 forgot the old
time swing" Then he blazed away again,
this time overreaching his work. The handle
struck the trunk, and with howl of pain,
he dropped the ak.
whats the mattergn demanded boy with
a fur cap.
"Ouchi Gosh, all serpentsl That stung
like blazesln
Here the owner of the ak suggested that
perhaps he was tired. This insinuation had
an irritating effect on the old time woolman,
and he Indignantly seized the AK.
"No, sirl l can do this for two hours!" he
replied as he again went 10 The onslaught.
Amid the applause of the spectators he
buried the blade in the wood and then pre-
pared to cut on the other side Bringing
down the AK, he sent pound chip into his
face like rifle shot Dropping the ak he
stepped on a bowlder and fell like a felled
giant of the forest into heap of brush, from
which he was dragged bleeding.
policeman and the little man in the
faded overcoat took him around the corner,
where they sat him on barrel, instructing
the little boy with the fur cap to tell him
when the next Central avenue car came
along.
''Mnch obliged, friends; much obliged"
whispered the woodman as he mopped his
bleeding nose. ''But that ak wasn't bit
like the one used to have. Must have been
awful duh. Much obliged. - Cincinnati
Enquirer.