Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1895-09-26

snip, this is for Mrs. M, who
sat beside me at supper. Give ii to
her, then take this other note to your
Miss Catherine"
Snip ran away. The men sat
smoking and chatting. Very shortly
waiter brought in a scrap Of paper
to the passenger. His wife had writ
ten, What does it mean, your
{ sending me note by this little dog ?''
AT almost the same minute the Cap
tain's wife wrote: "Snip came in
and ran about shifting at all of us,
then jumped on Mrs. M.-'s lap, drop
ped bit of paper there, and came
on to me with the other one" The
passenger owned himself beaten and
offered $1,000 for Snip, saying luck
could not go against him if he owned
so wise a beast. But the Captain
would not part with Snip, who lived
and died river dog.
So much for the dogs. They by
no means monopolize the reasoning
faculty In what are styled the lower
animals. Many men are not 50 wise
as some very wise mules. Jet was
one of them, a big black fellow,
standing nearly 16 hands, and so
tough and supple that he might have
been made of whalebone and India
rubber. AT work he was a jewel of
of the first water. A playful spell
made him a torment. He could
open gates and draw bars rs though
his feet were hands, and the fence
was not built that he could not jump
if the humor took him. Conse-
quently most of his summer leisure
was passed in stall, though the rest
of the work stock ranged and roll
licked over acres knee deep In lus-
cious clover. Jet, if turned to grass
would crop it ravenously, but move
swiftly as he cropped toward the
outer fence, where 1t was nearest n
neighboring plantation for which he
had developed an inordinate fond
ness. He was over the fence and
galloping to the neighbours always
inside half an hour after he was out
of the stable.
The neighbor usually stabbed him
or sent him home outright, but that
made no difference. Jet ran there
all the same. One day his owner,
vexed beyond endurance by his con-
tinual outbreaks, begged the neigh
Dor to set the mule hard at work the
next time he broke in. The neigh.
Dor agreed, and put Jet to the fall
lowing-plow besides two of his own
beasts. A half day they strained
and tugged through matted clover
and weedy tangle. When Jet came
tor the noon feed he was turned
loose to wallow, but in place of that
he leaped the fence, set his head to
one side, and his tail up, and went
whinnying home at gallop. What
is more to the point, he stayed there
faithfully, evidently reasoning that
1t was better to take pleasure in leis-
ure than to go visiting and be set at
wearying work.
Big Pete, another mule, knew the |
meaning of the dinner horn, and al
waps answered it with loud joyous
bray. After he had heard 1t he
would plough furrow toward the
house, but refuse utterly to draw i'll
he were headed away from it.
Beck and Lady, team of mare
mules, grew so accustomed to the
drill In the course of so many wheat
seedlings that it was almost impossi-
BILE for an awkward driver to make
them skip ground. They under
stood that to do good work the outer
spout must run in the track made
by the wheel in the previous round,
and there they held it unless there
was mighty tug upon their mouths.
similarly In harvest time they would
turn and half back at the corners be-
fore the driver had time to speak.
They had learned what was needed.
and did 1T of their own motion.
A chicken story may fitly close
this record. It has to do with
f1irty hen who undertook to raise
four broods in the year. She brought
on the first in January, mothered
them beautifully, but got a fresh
nest OF eggs and was sitting while
her chicks peeped about her. When
the young brood came she did not
disown the older one, but cared for
her mixed family In q way to win
your heart. Yet in very little
while she went away flirting with
gay red rooster, leaving great chicks
and small to cry their hearts out for
her. Then two pullets of the early
brood, themselves not half grown,
played mother to the little peeping
three-weeks-old fellows, scratched
for them, covered them at night,
and, when they grew sleepy by day
clucked to them as best they could,
and in the end brought the dozen of
them to robust and handsome ma
turity.-Ne,0 York Sun.