New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-12-03
SEEKING AFTER 4 SIGN.

The National Bureau OF Winter Prophets has
closed it's seasons labors and its various members
all over the country have retired to their respective
hearths, lit their pipes and fallen to contemplating
the fire, while they blow clouds of tobacco smoke
toward the NORWOOD and strings OF pump
kin drying above And the worst of it is that
after all we don't know yet whether we are
going TO have hard mild winter.
Three signs have been given us-thc beavers
house, the corn husk and the goosc-bone; and the
greatest Of these is the goose bone But usually
it is the corn husk which is heard from frs,
and this year no exception. The great high
prophet OF the corn husl< generally appears in
Illinois: 50 when, early in September, he arose
IN that State and announced that the husl1s were
thin and the winter would accordingly be mild
it was no more than everybody expected. The
Chicago papers devoted large editorial space to
il the next morning discussing the effect the mild
winter would have on the price of coal and
railroad stocks. lake navigation, the literary
movement and other matters, and especially called
upon all patriotic citizens to help put down
and crush out any prophecy the Indiana man
might make, il having been the habit of this
INSCRIPTIONS individual to wait till the Sucker
State seer had been heard from and then take
an opposite position. Sure enough, a few days
later came special from the Indiana man, saying
have hard winter This left the country in
doubt, though State pride still caused the leading
Chicago journals TO cling TO the open winter.
Then the miscellaneous company of smallfry
prophets were heard from in Ohio Iowa and Wis
ccnsin, some of whom claimed the huSks were
thin, while others said they thick and
the country that it must wait for the
Michigan beaver-house men. who were due in
October.
They did not fail us Though very busy telling
how they voted for the elder Harrison in $40,
they did not forget their duties The first to
report said the walls of the beaver
houses extremely thick, and we
wanted TO get ready for the hardest winter
since 81. This not encouraging. Some
relief was brought, however, by another man
living about ten miles from the first one, who
after stating that the ballot he cast for General
llarrsOns grandfather was his third Presidential
vote announced that the beavers had erected no
houses at all, but were living under hght-sheler
tents and that we wanted to look out for the
mildest winter since that of ~ Then came the
chorus still divided And the Wisconsin men,
who pinned their faith to muslxrat instead OF
beaver houses were no more unanimous. There
was nothing to do but to wait for the goose-bone
When it comes to the goose bone the grand old
Empire State speaks in no uncertain voice. Our
oldest inhabitants know not the cOrn-husl. and
the beavers have ceased to build, but the goose
bone is an open book. But this year the excite
mcnt concerning the election of 1910 got our
prophets mixed up even that. Early in No
vcrnber the Greene County man. after having
incidentally remarked that he had voted for three
Presidents before William Henry Harrison, said
that the goOse-bonc was gray, and therefore we
should have a mild winter. Promptly the Jeffer
son County man spoke up, and with singing
rcbuke, such as ought to come from a man who
had voted for four Presidential candidates before
old 1ippecanoc told the Greene County recruit
in goosc-b lore that if the goose bone gray
it. meant hard winter, and advised HIM to lay
in an extra supply Of yarn mittens and keep quiet
till he knew gOOsc-bone from a tin bottle. The
Greene County took three days to prepare
his reply and when it came it a crusner for
the Jefferson County man. The Jefferson County
prophet cnt a week his rcohder, but it failed
TO convince the Greene County pretonder after all
Here the public lost interest, and though We be-
lieve they are still at it, the country has given up
hoping TO learn of the approaching winter from
them Indeed, our old prophets, usually SO trust
worthy seem to have wofully failed us all along
the line this year But let hope that il
was only IIarrison's campaign that demoraized
them Perish the thought that the corn-husil the
beaver house lie goose bone could ever fail the
Republic.