Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1893-08-05
A VERY GOOD FISH STORY.
When You Come TO Inquire Into 1t. IT'S a
Good Ghost Story Too.

Good Ghost Story Too.
"A few years ago" said an old
gentleman, Il was a-cutting and pill.
ing driftvood on the lake shore
when a party from the village came
down to fish through the ice. 1t
was cold, raw day. They told me
if I'd let them use my fishing shanty
and they had any luck they would
give me some fish. Well, at it they
went Just as i was a-pacl1ing up at
night to go home they fetched me a
pickerel that would applied down
six pounds good and strong. l
brought him home and put him up
in the crotch of that apple tree over
there. Then l done my chores, eat
my supper, got the pickerel and
thought I'd clean him. but he was
froze hard as brick, so 1 run a
string through his gills and hung
him up back of the stove to thaw
him out.
''Td got good grip on the sleep
that night and was a-plowing ahead
on the gallop when my wife woke
me up and said there was some one
at the door. / listened bit and
heard noise jest like some feller
was a-knocking on the door with
mittens on his hand. 1 were bit
vexed, slid out of bed, pulled on my
pants and boots, but did not strike a
light, grabbed a big cane which stood
at the head of my bed, hurried to
the door, opened it and jumped out
ready to knock the stufing out of any
thing. But, my dear sir, there
weren't anything there to knock. /
run round the house. Not living
critter could 1 see, nor even my
tracks in the snow
''To bed 1 went ag'in and was
just dropping off when the old WON
an she nudged me hard and whis-
pered Hear that Jest listeni There
it goes ag'inY
81 sat up in bed, and jest as plain
as day l could hear dull sort of
thump, thump. Ibegun to feel ager-
ishlil1e. Mought have trembled
bit, then hollered, Who's there2
No answer.
II kinder shivered for bout half
minute, when there was the darned-
st racket out in the kitchen you
yer heard. Sounded as if some one
vas a-kicking tin pan all around
he room, and my dog he came
.-yelping and bowling in the bedroom
nd crawled clear under the bed,
there he kept up a-whining and
-yelping. My wife screamed and
rawled down under the bedclothes.
had not only the ager, but the
hills-sweating chills good and
trong. l was rattled-badly rat
led. Jest badsense enough to crawl
ut of bed, grab my gun, which was
oaded, and creep carefully to the
.itehen door. There was certainly
ONE fellow there barefooted, and he
vas having hull dancing school all
o hisself. located him as near as
could in the dark, then without
making any noise brought my gun
20 my shoulder and let her go.
1.-THE flash of the gun was just
long enough to let me see what the
trouble was. Invent back, Lit can
die, and then went to the kitchen.
There, right in the middle of the
floor, was that are cussed pickerel hav-
ing the hveliest kind of a circus all
by hisself. He was a-cutting up in
great shape with his fiippity flop, hip
pity hop, jest as lively as if he had
Jest been pulled out of the water.
With stick of firewood 1 busted
that are show quicker'n you could
say shoe.
you see, l hung him up in good,
warm place to thaw out, directly
over the old womans dishpan, right
under the pan being a good, warm,
out of the way place the dog used to
sleep. AS that internal pickerel be-
gan to thaw out his old cussedness
crept back into him. Between the
fiappings of his tail and the work
ings of his jaws he broke the string,
then dropped onto the dish, and both
fell onto the dog."-Forest and
Stream.