Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-04-04
FRIsRIE's PET o11Ee
creature with One Rad H.h,<
which Caused Its Death.

creature with One Rad Hah,t
winch Caused Its Death
arsey frisbie drives a tin peddler,s
1.' through the upper Lehigh and
Iocono regions at regular intervals
iio seifs tinware to the farmers bunt.
ers' iumoermen and mountaineers and
NC gamers up paper. rags and fur skins
AIMING the natives. paying cash for
them In case he can't make q dickar
Tor some of his wares. All tho naorIo
.nrougn these sections know the jolly
peodier. and they are always glad
wneh ne comes around, for he eener.
aiiy mas n new story or two to tell
.helh' and his visit is break in the
oull monotony of their lives. Up to q
snort time ago Peddler Frisbie had q
pet animal that greatly interested and
amused his many customers all alone,
MS rough and hilly route: but it will
amuse them no more forever. for il met
sudden and tragic fate the other dav
euoier frlsble's pet animal was O.
lame outer That he called Funny, and
IL was as interesting a creature as the
writer mas ever seen in the Pocono re-
gions.
ihree years ago this spring Farmer
Aionzo Miller caught two young offers
near the head of Ash creek, in Clifton
township. They were as black as let
ana very cunning little creatures, and
FARMER Miller took them home. Ped
dler Frisbie's cart stood in front of his
MUSE when he got there, and the
storytelling peddler was very much
taken up with the young offers. He
picked out the one he wanted. and he
told Farmer Miller that he would tame
the young otter before the middle of
summer. The farmer didn't believe
that II was possible, but the peddler
knew what he was about. When Ped
oler Frisble came around six months
later he had the otter with him. II
was as tame as kitten, and knew its
name as well as any of the children
knew theirs. From that day until
Funny's sudden death. Peddler Frisbie
carted the otter around with him on all
OF ms long Journeys into the wilds.
Whenever it rained Funny lay in a
warm and dry nest underneath the
seat, and when the weather was fine he
sat by the side OF his master or capered
around on the top of the cart as they
logged over the rough roads. Funny
was the peddler's constant companion,
and he was as much attached to his
owner as-dogs get to be to their mas
tiers. He would beg for food when he
was hungry. and Peddler Frisbie soon
got to know just what the young otter
meant by his various noises
There are many trout streams in tho
Pocono and Lehigh country, and what
amused the peddler's customers about
the young otter more than any thing
else was to see him glide into a pool,
flop and wriggle around bit, and then
scamper out with plump trout in his
mouth or paws. Peddler Frisbie took
a good deal of comfort in showing his
customers how Funny caught trout in
the brook, and it was a common thing
for the whole family of wood chopper
or q farmer to follow Frisbie and his
otter to the bank of the nearest stream
to see Funny get his food in the way
that nature had taught him to. After
the otter had got his belly full of trout
he could not be coaXed or driven 10
glide into the creek again. If the cart
happened to be rolling along near the
bank of a sparkling, murmuring stream
when the otter was hungry, he would
make such fuss that Peddler Frisbie
would have to stop his horse. lift Funny
from the cart, and let him get his dim
ner out of the brook. Then he would
make his way back to the cart, and be
contented until he got hungry again.
Funny had one trick that many of the
wives of the peddler's customers didn't
like at all, and it was this habit that
cost him his life. Peddler Frisbie
generally let his pet follow him into
the houses wherever he made bargains
for fur or sold tinwa-e, and the otter
had the habit of climbing on every bed
that was in sight, stepping around
with his dirty feet. and Nesting under
meath the bedclothes if no one drove
him off.
When Peddler Frisbie made his last
trip through Coolbaugh township last
winter, the weather was warm and
spriuglike. The front door of James
Gleason's house stood open when he
drove his cart in front OF the dooryard
gate. The otter ran into the house
ahead of him. and made for Mrs Gtea-
sons bed. which stood in a corner of
the front room. Mrs Gleason was
rolling out pie-crust on the table when
the otter climbed into her bed. and she
beat poor Funny's brains out with the
rolling pin, she was so vexed at his
getting her bed dirty. Peddler Frisbie
felt bad. but he could do nothing, and
he is going to try to find another baby
otter to take Funny's place. Scranton
lPa.) Cor n. Y. Sun
Defective Acoustics.