The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1892-01-16
the BUG foRfTolD n.
Curious Superstitions Concerning
the 0rovedng Celery Bug.

all the country as celery Bug Bill"
died at his home near Franklin,
Mass, recently. His death ended
peculiarly superstitious life. Hop
kins lived and died firm in the be-
lief that the changeable gold and
black stripes Of that beautifully
tinted species of caterpillar known
as the celery bug foretold his for
tunes and misfortunes.
Hopkins was seventy-one years
old when he died, and acquired his
highly superstitious nature in his
early youth. He was born at Man
chester, England, and when quite a
lad his father, who was sea cap
tain, took his motherless boy aboard
the ship to give him a nautical train
ing. In the forecastle the boy inn
bibed those delicious morsels of sea
tales relating to the locker of David
Jones, and those regarding the high
ly delectable damsels who disport
in tropic waters under the title Of
mermaids.
Young Hopkins took these tales
of the tars without grain of salt,
being of a serious turn OF mind.
His memory was tenaciously reten-
tive, and, combined with lively
imagination, his mind was greatly
wrought by the stories of the sea
dogs. It was thus that, early in his
career, superstition took the firm
hold on his life that years Of expe-
rience with the matter-of-fact world
failed to shake. He abandoned the
life of the sea at the age of 40, and
settled in Massachusetts, where be
lived for forty years until his death.
A Press correspondent saw the
old man a few weeks before his
death. He was standing in the door
of his home looking anxiously at
the heavy clouds that were forming
black banks in the skies.
cts going to storm hard" said
he abruptly to the writer; "the bug
says So"
"How did the bug predict a
storm?"
"Come in n I'll show you," said
the old man, turning into the sit
ting-room of his home.
In a close wire-screen cage on a
small table was one of the destruct-
i've and poisonous bugs clinging
with eight clamp-like feelers to a
small twig in the bottom of the
cage. In the light the soft, seal
brown stripes that crossed and re-
crossed on the velvet gold of the
insects back changed and twisted
about like 80 many pieces of brown
and gold gloss in kaleidoscope.
"See," said the old man, as he
lifted the little cage in order to Sc
cure better view of the stripings,
"see the first line. It twists itself
into the letter S. Now, this next
line resembles the letter I as near
as such lines can be drawn, and
here, plain as daylight, is 'orm.
What palmer prediction of a storm
do ye want?"
AS Mr.. Hopkins traced the letters
on the insects back the word storm
was plainly to be seen. An hour
later q storm of great fury broke
over the little valley, and the predic.
ton of the celery bug was verified
"Yaas'n that amt ALL" drawled
the old man, after he had traced the
word "storm." "Round on this yere
side yell read sick, if yell notice. .
The old man traced plainly the let
ters of the word "sick" in the many
curves and crosses.
1.-THE first time ! ever noticed tina,
yere animal giving out signs wuz
the day l bought this farm Of mine
jis' forty years ago." drawled the
old man. 81 wuz goin' down to
Bellingham, where third or fourth
cousin o. mine lived. Th' day wuz
warm and dusty and l lay myself
down by tn roadside kind o tired,
when I seed the little yaller bug
come crawlin' up a weed beside me
II watched the pretty little thing
for long, long time, and all of q
sudden I read plain as day on its
little back the words cousin dead.
That's ez true ez I'm sittin' here
When / got to Bellingham I found
my cousin had died the night be-
fore. Gurus, wuzn't it? Th' mex
mornin' I saw another beetle bug
and it read buy land I followed
that bugs advice, and from thai
day I never knew tn want of 8
dollar.
9TH fust night I met my wife th
bug read marry and b'gosh | did
and" with chuckle, II never. knew
a days happiness sence."
At this Mr.. and Mrs. Hopkins
broke into loud and continuous
roars of laughter. It was amusing
to listen to the old man talk 50 Sc
r..ously of reading bug" just 81
the mariner would talk of reading
his compass. ).
After the old mans death his wifi
said "Bill knew he was going t
die. The morning that he took sicI
with pains in his back he asked mi
to bring him the bug, When b