The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1889-01-04
AN OPEN WINTER.

CHICAGO, Dec. IS, 1888.
Editor Free Press:
/ received letter from Frank Hoerr,
of Mankato, few days ago and his
closing remark whats the matter
with Minnesota weather,-It'sa all right"
reminded me of o conversation ION an
open winter) in shoe shop close by
where all topics of conversation are dis
cussed, from electing the President of the
United States to janitor of the Women's
Rights convention. Sitting around an
uublacked coal stove besmeared with
the juice of the weed were number of
the male gosslpers of the present CEN
fury and engaged in conversation about
the weather. eth make up for this
yet" said one in vigorous and told you
SO way, 'it takes mighty dry spell of
weather to knock all the old reliable
signs out of the box. The signs this time
are all auguring an open, pleasant VIM
ter. Another said 81 was talking with
man the other day who is cutting the
timber from forty acre woodland. He
said that he had paid particular atten-
ton, and had discovered that the squir-
rels and chipmucks had not laid in their
usual store of nuts to crack on the fami-
ly hearthstone this winter. It's sure
sign of an open winter when those amin
ais fail to store away a large supply"
The old citizen stroked his chin with
look of complacency which indicated
plainly that he did not expect many
billiards. to whistle through his whisk-
ers this winter. "And that suits my no.
tion," said another, "I've been quite OBJ
serving this fall, but have not yet seen
or heard single flock of wild ducks or
geese in their fight south. It's strange
how geese know so much about the
weather, but you can bet they are not
staying north to freeze to DEATH"
''That reminds me-" chimed in new
conner, "that heard a hunter who had
been north few days ago say. that the
feathers on the ducks and other water
fowls were thin and open. He said the
people up there had not laid in as much
coal for fuel on that recount"
Yes. but we've got just as good signs
as that right at home," remarked an old
hickory who had just returned from the
rural district where he had been ever
was walking through the cornfieids that
the shucks we're very thin on the ears,
and in many cases they were so short
that about one-third of the ear was ex-
posed. Nature doesn't make any mis-
takes, I've observed, and the farmers all
expect to go in their shirt sleeves during
the winter. They say the corn shuck
sign beats the signal service prognostica-
tor all to fiinters."
"Boys, if I'd known you was a going
to be so anxious to cross the river before
you got to it, I'd told you year or two
ago that we would have green Christ
mas in 1888. I've noticed for nigh onto
sixty years that every seventh year is a
mild winter. This, according to my
count, is the winter when it will be
warm and muddy" Then the old fell
low took chew of navy and subsidized.
So the conversation went on in the same
weather bureau strain. One had not
heard that the muskrats had built their
winter quarters high and early An
other had not noticed that the wood
peckers were very busy. That they
were simply chasing around with appar-
emily nothing to do. Everybody seemed
to accept the accommodating proof. Not
withstanding all this array of proof /
would not advise the readers of the FREE
Press to make any less preparation for
the rigors of winter than is usual. 1t is
some time yet before we will receive any
reports from the ground hog.
JAMES F. CARNEY.