Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1893-08-30
4 VERY GOOD ElsH sIosX.
When You Come to Inquire Into It. It's
 Good Ghost story Too.

when You Come to Inquire Into lt. It's a
 Good Ghost Story Too.
 "A few years ago, said an old gentleman, T was a-cutting and pill ing driftwood on the lake shore when a party from the village came down to fish through the ice. It was a 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. We'll, at 1t they went. Just as was packing up at night to go home they fetched me a pickerel that would a-pulled down SIX pounds good and strong. l brought him home and put him up in the crotch of that apple tree over there. Then I done my chores, eat my supper, got the pickerel and thought I'd clean him, but he was froze hard as brick, So l run a string through his gills and hung him up back of the stove to thaw him out.
 I'd got a 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 st the door. I listened bit and heard a noise jest like some fellcr was a-knocking on the door with mittens on his hand. I were a 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 stuffing out of any thing. But, my dear sir, there weren't anything there to knock. I run round the house. Not a living critter could see, nor even my tracks in the snow.
 ''To bed went agin and was just dropping off when the old wom- an she nudged me hard and whis- pered: Hear that Jest listenl There it goes aginr
 II sat up in bed, and jest as plain as day could hear dull sort of a thump, thump. Ibegun to feel ager- ishhke. Mought have trembled & bit, then hollered, Who's theref No answer.
 II kinder shivered for bout half a minute, when there was the alarmed est racket out in the kitchen you ever heard. Sounded as If some one was a-kicking tin pan all around the room, and my dog he came a-yelping and bowling in the bedroom and crawlei clear under the bed. where he kept up a-whining and a-yelping My wife screamed and crawled down under the bedclotheS- l had not only the ager, but the chills-sweating chills good and strong. was rattled- badly rat tied. Jest hadsense enough to crawl out of bed, grab my gun, which was loaded, and creep carefully to the kitchen door. There was certainly some fellow there barefooted, and he was having a hull dancing school ali to hisSelf. l located him as near as I could in the dark, then without making any noise brought my gun to my shoulder and let her go.
 The flash of the gun was just long enough to let me see what the trouble was. went back, lit a can, de, and then went to the kitchen. There, right in the middle of the floor, was that are cussed pickerel hay 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 a stick of firewood I busted that are show quicker'n you could say shoo.
 You see, hung him up in good, warm place to thaw out, directly over the old woman's 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 iappings og 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.