Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1894-12-27

household duties diminished, Mrs Xii.
/ ty spent more or less time pleasantly
visiting rela1ves end friends She was
member of the B ptisc Church, tav-
ing joined it when she was girl. Few
people st her age are SO fully in pos
4 session OF all their faculties. She was
unusually bright in thought ami sretch
and experienced but few of the lutirm :
/ ties of aye Her desire was to spend
her last DAYS in the Old home when the
incidents and associations of long lite
/ had made so dear 10 her, but she fin
ally yielded to The solicitations If her
son, Mr.. j. j. Kilby. and made hel
home with him until her death, which
took place Nov. LIST. 1898. All that
is mortal of This most excellent mother
and neighbor, lies at rest in the quiet
little cemetery near the Hurricane
Church, but the memory of this re-
markable woman is still warm in the
hearts of those whose fortune it was to
know her.
The sketch of the life of Mrs. Rhoda
Kilby, printed in another column,
brings up some "reminiscences of other
settlers of that early day and among
them OF well known character named
Gen. Brown" The General went
out hunting wild turkeys one day and
while deep in the woods on his way
home in the evening, he passed under
tree in which several large owls were
no ding a confab. Now Brown was
good deal nervous for there were Iudi-
~ in The woods and report was
abroad that they might be troublesome
when the chances We're on their side.
The owls clicked Their bills together
with a noise that to the Generals vivid
Imagination sounded very much like
the clicking of gun locks He started
for home, fit, Gu feet or less at a Jump,
scared almost to death. When he
reached home. he told his story with
more earnestness than judgment.
The older settlers were more than
amused Mt the glowing account and it
was told with good bumored zest in
msny home unul Browns Indians
became we'll known term for owls and
so remains TO this day in The Hurricane.
Away back before the 40's. Uncle
Abram Miller built mil on Pigeon to
grind corn and rye for the settlers. II
was not much OF mill. as Iaills 90
nowadays but it i'll cd want that few
mills, no matter how pretenious, can
claim to do now. Uncle Abrsm was
puzzled TO know how to get the main
shaft perpendicular. knowing we'll that
II he did not, the burrs would never
match evenly ana he could not do good
work At last n bright idea struck
him. He bit off huge chew of Old
Missouri plug, elm oed into the upper
story bored hole through the floor.
stood up and spit through the hole and
thus marked the spot down below where
the other hole was to be bored. The
plan worked exactly for wonder and
we will wager sixpence that Old Mis-
souri, plug has not another instance IF
the kind to its credit Uncle Abram
was quite prond OF ais mill when it was
completed and although il wasn't
very fast grinder he WAS never tired
of showing it TO visitors except on one
occasion, WHEN be and MS visitors were
down below watching the meal run
from the burrS The stream of meal
was not very large at best but pretty
soon 1t stopped altogether. Uncle
A5ram scratched his head unable to
divine the cause unul he and his friend
went above and found an old setting
hen that had just left her nest. standing
on the edge of the peculiarly construct
ed hopper spout, industriously picking
up the graius of corn as they came
down The mystery of the failure Of
meal to How was clearly discovered,
much TO the discontinue of the hen
and Uncle Abram.