Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-12-09
yERTIEFEN GRABEN.

with an admOnIt0ry nOd 10 Tie u11HSl
to stop his horses Then, popping bel
big black bonnet in which her small
sharp-featured face seemed about The
size Of a hickory nut, out of the win
dow. she took a brief survey of our sur
roundingS.
We were at the top of a high hill
our back was a little Mohawk valley
town, 50 far away that its roofs and
chimneys were mere pecilings in deli
cate violet and deeper purple On
either side were fresh, green pasture
lands, while directly in front Of us tho
dusty brown roads took q sudden leap
downward into a hollow cool and shady
and with the pleasant sound Of running
water crossing it, That's Beaver
brook said grandma, with a wave Of
her black mits 'But it's dried up con
siderable TO what it used to be. You'd
been surprised to have seen how it Iiz
in the splingtime, an the Pine Grove
schoolus'. I've seen the beavers to
work jest like folkscs buiidn' damS.
Needn't tell me animiles hain't got
sense. Yes, that's Beaver brook and
this is the IIOllor'- solemnIy, the Yer
tiefcn Graben, as they called it. Why,
child, hain't you got enough Dutch in
You 10 know what that means: It's
dug out" or dccpcncd out like It
grave
There's something there like a tomb
stone" | called out, ''but it's broken off
halfway and awfully old and messy.
oh, there's Il name on it Hon-honicl<I",
JIonickIcn"
''That's IT," said grandma, eagerly.
>IIonickle is the Dutch for John Nicho-
las"
But there isn't anything else, grand
ma. It doesn't say born or died or
who or what he Was?"
"No, child, it liant likely twould;
the poor Teller was ment to sink out
Of folllses' memory jest ike | dare say
his grave is sunk III, for he was buried
y long, long time ago-'Way back III
eighteen hundred an ten or thcrcabout.
''Sce that old orchard up there on
the right slope Of the hill? When them
trees was fuSt st out an even before,
there was IL house stood there, the
Devcns lived there. They was kind o
queer people Old man'd been Tory
in tho Revolutionary war an he went
off to Canady with the Buffers an
JohnsOns an other King George men
down the valley. When he come back
after it was all over there was some
that looked kinder black at him an
talk Gf tar m feathers, but there WANT
nothin done Count Of his wife. likely,
for She was mild-manncrrd creetur
m drctful obligin ncighbor But the
poor soul was umlucIy in her children.
Had three boys. Oldest ono was rs
handsome rs Il picture-nnc of those
atraight-limbcd. rudlY-faced curly-hait'-
ed chaps, with eyes that danced an
laughed an almost spoke. Cay and
lively was Bill Dcvons an u great
fayoritc with the young folks. His
brother Zen was az humble rs snake
fence, but he was i smart worker.
Want i man in the county that could
beat him in harycstin time. But he
was sourcd dispositioncd rs different
from his brother rs day is from night.
'IIc was the worker in the family
an his brother Bill the dandy. Then
there WAS poor half-Wiited IIoniclZle.
tho Youngest boy, i lank, bandy-lcggcd
crcctur, with 4 thin, peaked face, an
biz, innocent. babyiSh-looling eyes.
Everybody had Il good word for Hon
ickIc III spite Of his addIc-pat".
"NoW, Bill an Ben didn't hitch well
bcin' SO different, YOU see. Worst of
all, they both fell to likin' the same
girl pretty Nancy DcIong, over to
Shells Bush. Nancy was giddy an no
mistake, an it was jos fun for her to
Keep both on 'em danglin' after her
She didn't mean no harm, poor Crectui,
an she paid dear for her nonsense,
She really loved Bill, an when he got
killed, why she pinned right away an
died with gallopin' consumption.
How'd he Get killed? Well one day
no had some words with Bent was
about Nancy, Of course She had rath-
or favored Ben o late and it set him
to putin on airs an actin rs though
Bill didn't have no rights. an when he
seen him fiNin' up to 30 over TO Shells
Bush To spend the cvenin. he jest mp
and forbid him to But Bill only laugh
Cd, sassy-lil1e an said he'd do IS he
pleased
We'll, If you so you'll be sorry for
IT. SAYS Ben And the men fOlks-it
was threShn' time an there was lots
Of hired help around said that he was
rs white rs 4 sheet.
$50 Bill rode off. mounted on the
best horse an dressed in his Sunday-go-
io-mcctin' clothes. fine as you please.
But when he como home he was car
ricd into the house stone dead-found
with his neck broke at the foot Of tho
Ncrtiefen Grahen. An folks made out
Ia saw that when no was comm down
into the hollow. ridin' in his reckless
way. that Fen was Il watchin' Of him
nm sprung out sudden like. scarin' his
horse on purpose. They claimed that
there was witness to it. an some Of
the neighborS was for Stringin' Ben
right IN. givin' him lynch law rs folks
call It, But they couldn't lay hands
on him. for he felt that guilty that he
run away. He'd been seen the mornin'
his brother was carried In. white an
silent as a beautiful Statlr. He'd stood
nv almost as white when poor Nancy
Del ong rushed in. an THROWN herself
beside Rilrs body sohbed an screamed
in 4 manner to melt stun. An them
standin' nv said that he looked 1T her,
ground his teeth an muttered. TT was
OF no nse after all! She loved him.
e., ~, NO f,n6