The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-06-10
GRAND OLD TIMES.
When Two Base Hits Wcre nrado with
Broomsticks.


Broomsticks.
SUMMIT, N. j., June IL had been
taking walk through the woods and
over the winding roads Of this beautiful
but very much overbuilded place and
happened to mention tho fact that this
once romantic spot was being ruined by
tho march of progress, which from tho
poets point of view is a veritable dead
march.
eyes" said bystander at the rail-
road station where happened to be at
the time, 1.-THE place is simply spoiled
for me, because it is built to death.
Why, can remember when 1 used to
catch six pound pickerel in a beautiful
crystal lily pond that used to be right
where one of the big hotels now stands.
Of course the pond was drained and
filled i'll, that the land might be sold by
the square inch. +"
'Those must have been great days."
remarked to draw the old man out
''Well, just guess they WERE" re-
piled the mossback, with smile that
told me he was on his favorito subject.
''Those were the days when you could
go out and knock cartridges down with
n broom if they happened to fly near tho
ground. l have often jumped as baso-
ball player does for a ball with broom
stick i'll one hand and knocked par
fridge coming on curve to what was
about equal to two base hit have
even jumped and caught them OH the
fly, but this was, of course owing to tho
fact that they were very plentiful -
They were never rs plentiful as that,
were they?" asked the man at the news
stand.
Il guess they were, - replied the Sum
NIT pioneer Why, they were SO
plentiful that sometimes they few
around in swarms. Why, often in the
dusk, when they could not see very well,
they would fly into each other and drop
to the ground. have often gone out in
the morning with a good sized basket
and gathered them as you would chest
nuts
Were the rabbits pretty thick?" ask
ed the keeper of tho newsstand.
"Were they thick?" repeated the old
man, with dilated eyes and an express
sion of wild surprise ut such all inter
rogation. well, should say that thick
is not the word to give you a fair idea
of it, / have seen the earth almost gray
with them, and it was common pre-
caution to have ones garden supplied
with couple of beagles to keep the rab
bits from coming III and eating the
green stuff. l remember once when |
fell down stairs in the dark one
night 49,
Here the old man paused to rclight
his cigar, and l asked to start him
again:
How did you come TO fall down
stairs in the dark
Il stepped on a rabbit and slipped ut
the top of the stairs After that al
ways set rabbit traps all over the house
just to be OH the safe side Sometimes
I'd come down IN the morning when
the front door WAS carclcssly left open
the night before and find that l had
caught more squirrels and rabbits than
my family could eat in week -
What did you usually do with them
If you didn t eat thcm:" asked the news
dealer.
Used them for fcrtilizing the fields.
Every fall we set nets and drove them
into it After we thought we had
enough we scattered them over the
fields like seed and plowcd them I'M
der -
''The qnail must have been album
dant," remarked
We'll, rather" replied the old man,
warming up afresh "They were. 50
plentiful that only colorcd people would
eat them These birds wero considered
the cheapest and commoncst kind of food
to be had. High toned, prosperous people
ate salt pork, which greatly excited the
envy of people whose circumstances COM
PEELED them to consume quail and wood
cock. / have seen the air fairly black
with them, and when sat on my piazza
at night had to use a fan to keep them
from flying i'll my face. 4"
Here the old pioneer hcnved "a sigh for
the present condition of Summit and
hooblcd away, probably to lose himself
Ill happier thoughts and visions.
r. X MUNKrrrRIcK.
The Veteran Congressman Sicltl,s