Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1888-12-13
WHAT THE GOOSE BONE SAYS.
Elaborate Study Shows that There
is Going to Be Hard Winter.

The foreshadowing of the approach.
ing winter, as it is read from the dots
and the lines on the Goose Bone, is not
cheerful story. The promise given
forth of sleet, snow and cold is gloomy
picture for the poor to look upon, and
the many whose short purses will not
permit them to lay in bountiful sup
ply of fuel will shiver at the thought of
the kind of weather that the little bone
foretells for the next four months.
There will be more cold and wet weather
than the people of this latitude have ex-
perienced for many a winter, and the
cold spells will be longer and more
severe than usual. The bone is dark at
both ends, which indicates long winter
Winter weather we will have in No
vember, and the ice and snow will be
familiar sights far along into March.
The goose from whose bone this study
was taken was Matched in April and
killed after the ides of September. TIL.
bone is wonderfully marked, the dots
and breves and lines mingle all along
the keel, thus indicating very change
able weather, but the breves mostly
turn down and are heavy, showing that
the general character of the winter will
be falling, cold weather. AS will be
seen by the table given, the danger
period is longer for November than any
other month, running from the 10th to
the end, with the most severe weather
falling between the Goth and Goth, and
at any time within this period buster
ing SHOWS and unseasonably cold
thor 1,a 1oCIvoI
The first danger period in December
extends from the LIST to the 9th, after
which there will probably be few days
of sunshiny weather. The he9 Vest
storm period of the month centrey in the
Christmas holidays, beginning on the
18th and passing to the 27tr.. At the
opening of the holidays We will have
very foul and probably some of the cold
est weather of the season, and these cold
lines run along the bone until about the
middle of January. Watch this period,
but above all prepare for it. 1t is more
than probable that the earth will be
covered with snow when Christmas
dawnS and that cold north wind will
be blowing, so that Christmas fires will
have to be bright and big for comfort.
The oath and 18th of December will be
the darkest days of the month. On the
bone all the indications of wet, cold, and
stormy weather meet about that time.
1t is curious clustering of bad signs,
such as is seldom seen on the bone, and
mixture of weather may be looked for,
with wet and cold predominating. Dur
ing this long spell of bad weather some
OF the dots on the bone are very dark,
which means very cold, and we need not
look to see the mercury far away from
zero during the holiday week.
The new year will come in cold and
clear, with the first danger period COM
mencing ON the 4th. There are three
storm periods in this month: the second
commencing about the 14th and the last
one about the 23rd of the month. The
dots that appear on the bone up to the
middle of the month are heavy, from
about the 10th to the 18th especially so,
and during this period very cold weather
may be looked for. During December
and January the mercury will frequently
be below zero, probably remaining there
for days, and if there should be low
stage of water in the river there will be
danger of freeze over.
IoI L SUrudfy SuOTU STORM PERIODS run
all along the bone, and the general cha
racter OF the month will be stormy and
clustering, with some very cold days at
the first of the month and again at the
close. These severe spells and continued
cold weather will keep the ice and the
snow in the mountains, and the first
spring month will lie as hoary as old
winter. AS the bone ends very dark, it
is very probable that March will be
repetition of November. In that case
the farmers will find it very difficult to
break ground, and all kinds of vegeta-
will be very late in getting start 1t
will not be safe to put things in the
ground too soon, as such winter will
be likely to be followed by killing frosts
far into April. The writer remembers
to have seen only one other bone to COM
pare with the one this year, and that
season there were frosts as late as May.
Every indication, from the reading of
the bone, points to a backward spring,
and the gardeners who have their richest
harvest in early vegetation will find their
IL