Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-07-20

early GAVIN rose to visit the church
Kneeing on the cold stones before the
altar. tie woman implored God to heir
her, to sustain her, and to give TO hcl
poor WORKOUT frame the strength she
needed 10 avenge her son.
On her return from these strange
devotionS she went into the yard
There She kept an old broken barrel
in which the water gathered from Il
rain-spOut. She turned it over. emptied
it, fastened it to the ground with stakes
IN stones. and chained Semillante 10
it
With her eyes fixed upon the Sar-
dinian coast. the woman returned in
doors and paced necessarily up and
down the room.
The dog barked all day and all night
In the morning the old woman gave il
some water in pan, but not morsel
of food. Another day went by. Semil-
lante, weak from hunger. slept. The
second morning her eyes were lustrouS.
her hair bristled, and she pulled at her
chain with all her might
Itit tlC oItI NoillttI tIOUI
feeding the dog. which growing furious
now. barked hoarsely. Another night
passed by.
On the third morning Mother Saverin.
repaired to neighbor and asked for Il
few bundles of straw. She took some
old clothes, left by her husband, and
stuffed them with straw in limitations
Of a human body. The dog regarded
the straw man with surprise, and
though suffering pangs Of hunger re
manned quiet for a while.
These strange preparations all being
completed the old woman went to s
butchers shop and bought a long blood
pudding This she fried over a fire
that she built in the yard near the
barrel to which the dog was chained
Semillante, almost wild, bounded for
ward and foamed at the mouth as she
beheld the frying sausage, the fumes
of which filed her nostrils.
With one bound, the animal clutched
the throat of the manilkin, and, with
her paws resting on its shoulders, she
began the work of destruction The
Iavenous brute fell back with piece
of the sausage in her NAV, only to re-
turn again to the attack, each time
burying her fangs in the fastening>
and tearing the neck into shreds.
The old woman looked up in silence
her eyes burning with excitement.
When the sausage was eaten-the les
son concluded-she chained her deg
again, starved it for another two days
and resOrted to the same strange pas
time.
For three months she trained the ami
NAL to this kind of sport-to this say
age means Of procuring food. 1t was
no longer necessary to chain the brute:
simple gesture sufficed to set it upon
the man of straw. She at last taught
the dog to attack the manikin even
without putting the meat around his
neck, and as a reward for the trick
gave it a smoking sausage afterward.
AS soon as Semillante would catch
sight of the straw man, she would
tremble and turn her eyes upon her
mistress, who with kissing voice and
finger held aloft, would cry 60"
When Mather Sevarini thought the
proper time had come, she went to
church one Sunday morning, and with
elastic fervor confessed and partook
Of communion. Then, disguised III
mans clothes, and looking like a de
crepit tramp, she went away, accom-
panied by her dog, and a Sandman
fisherman rowed her across the straits
In linen bag she carried a large
piece of sausage. Semillante had been
fasting for two days. Every now and
then the old woman held the odorifer
Gus meat under the animals nose.
When they reached Longosardo she
repaired to a bakers shop and made
inquiry as to the whereabouts of
Nicholas Ravolati. He had resumed
his old trade of carpenter, and was at
work all alone in the rear end of his
shop.
The old woman pushed the door open
and cried aloud Hey, Nicholasv'
The man turned around. flashing
the dog, the woman yelled: go! Go!
Tear him to pieces."
The brute sprang upon the unsuS-
pecting man and seized him by the
throat He threw his arms around
the dog, clutched it frantically and fell
with it to the floor. For a moment he
writhed in its deadly embrace, beating
his feet in agony against the stones
At last he grew motiOnless, while
Semillante buried her fangs in his
neck and tore it to shreds. Two of
Ravolatis neighbors afterward re-
membered that when sitting in the
doorways Of their houses that day they
had noticed an old man coming from
Nicholas house-an old man accom-
panied by a black dog, which fed rs it
ran on piece Of Drowned meat which
the old man held in his hand.
In the evening the old woman re
turned home, and that night she
slept peacefully once more.-Transla' r
ed from the French of GUY de Mau-
PEASANT by Emily S. Howard.