Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-12-09

I'M GAIzxAzax Or rus pnxAx-
- cd Of ths Goa and there wss .
crack In the noor right under them
~ eousss the carpet had been taken
up> - when the vind came around 70
ths north II blsw straight mp NJ my
fesl hadn't very good assortment
Of bedding. Most Of our stuff kSd been
sent ever 10 Wenner's barn had
sheet foldcsi lengthwise. In the form Of
one az those sleeping hays which ex-
plorers use Then had IN old blanket.
and. fR . coverlet. one Of . pair Of emo
pourchairs. Al two o'clock | got up
and secured The other pourchsir. They
we're sti1l attached 70 tie poles. but
that wss rather On Inconvenience.
pat The poles across nader my head.
and thus slightly ipcreased the at
fectivs length Of the cot
"A little after two arose again and
secured . fur rug. IL was . tigers
akin with the head Of the beast on one
corner of e. There seemed 20 be some
warmth In that tigers skin. for So
cured little sleep almost immediate
ly after spreading II over me. ! had
left the lamp burning because
thought u might warm the room . lit
sle. Well. air. ss I say. slept a. few
minutes-just long enough to dream
that was one Of the early Christian
martyrs In the arena-and then
woke 20 End this tigers head. with It's
cleaning glass eyes, staring me in the
face. Say. what do you think / did,
yelled 20 loud that the conclusion
put the light out My wife and her
sister thought there were burglars in
the house. What did they do about it,
don't know. but my opinion is that
they crawled into a pile of cxrpets and
ru9s In the middle Of their room and
hhi there till morning.
As for me. the shock of my fright
made me SILVER. And when got over
being frightened couldn't stop shiv'
ering. How l could be cold with al
those things over me. couldn't under
stand, but II was true. ] arose and Sc
cured the stair carpet IL went ur
and down me five times. / remember
bat 10 didn't raise my temperature one
doQree.
sThen I made the important discov
cry that Il didn't make any differenc.
how much had over me. 50 long IA
bad only one layer of canvas under
ne. And the wind stin whistled NJ
through the bare boards. I decided q
put the tigers skin over the cot and lie
down on IT, Then q new inspiration
came over me. Why not go down and
sleep In the kitchen? Good idea
picked up the cot. the ponrchairs. the
far rug and the stair carpet and
started for the kitchen. At the head
fof the back stairs stepped on thu
fringe Of one Of the pourchairs en-
dcsvored to step of IL. but there were
ave sperturcs In the fringe. and escf
one OF them had secured one Of my
toes. Therefore. I just calmly fel
over forwards, and slid downstair,
with the cot for toboRgan.
- reached the kitchen in this easJ
and unconventional manner; and dis
covered almost immediately that thu
hrs had gone out This was not whar
I had fallen downstairs for. Ths
. kitchen was perhaps shade warmer
than my room, bat IL was cooling
rapidly; and . kitchen In the morning
with no fire In IL Is the coolest room II
the house. AZ every married mar
knows
There wasn't any fuel at hand. bu
between you and me. Just had to hav'
some-. There were two or three con
vsnicnt pieces of light woodwork
which belonged To my late landlors
end not to me. With these I kindled /,
IRE and then I broke mp two of on
Kitchen chairs. and piled them in
handy spot NV cot placed close bJ
tue stove, 20 that could feed the fir,
without getting out of bed. There
lay and kept her agoing with selec
tions from my furniture. til by and b,
I got real warm and snug. and then
went to sleep The last things l re
member putting In were the pour
chair poles
These brass halls are the orna
mental knobs from the ends OF thos
poles They wouldn't burn. Of course
and didn't dare To put them In IN
stove for fear my wife would flnd then
and suspect me. so ! simply I'M
screwed them a. lay there. with tn
intention OF throwing them away q
my leisure
''IIsve you followed my story Hav
you got an idea Of how much walking
around did in my robe der nooit.' .
the Preach say. ON that interesting oe
ea<ionf II vas enough 10 kill a man
But she says-hoid en. are you mar
ried mani"
II am
"Thsn maybe you'll believe n
ssory. She says got thls cold playinl