Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1896-06-29
THE POLKA DOT ROOSTER.
1t Gave Noodlesby q Great Run and Ii
Still Able to Crow.

he lalQ tn6 paper DOWN, removed his
glasses and smiled benignantly across the
table at Mrs. Noodlesby.
"Phebe, he said, ''too many chickens
on this plantation.
"Ah?'
"Yes. But can't you devise some better
way of expressing your views than by
everlastingly firing 'Ahs' loaded with a
humpbacked interrogation point at every
thing sayf l was just observing, Mrs
Noodlesby, that these diggings were be-
coming ovcrcrowded with a congested pop
ulation of chickens. We ought to begin
killing them off,
"Quite right Peleg, my dear. Several
STABLE friers were picking up scraps
around the kitchen door this afternoon"
Exactly. There's a young ingram
polka dot rooster with lordly strut in his
walk, and propose catching and execut-
ing him in the morning"
"By yourself?"
eyes. Why notf'
II suspect you can do it, dear"
"Faugh! Can't catch little, wabble
shanked spring chicken? Bet you dollar
l can!'
but wouldn't it be better to take him
TOUnu tlcSl 1Uu urb
getting rather too old to run chickens
down when there's an easier way of secur-
ing them."
"Old! Me oldp Phebe Noodlesby, 1
am now fully resolved upon catching that
ingram polka dot on foot and doing it
alone tomorrow morning. Hear my war
ble?'
And he shambled off to bed, mumbling
and grumbling as he went.
Never was rooster, young and inexperi-
enced in the ways of this deceitful world,
more completely astounded than when,
having just begun scratching for an early
worm, the figure Of Farmer Noodlesby
came bearing down upon him, with blood
In his eye and both coattails tapping in
the morning breeze The rooster scurried
to one side, unlimbered a foot or SO of
neck and gave vocal utterance to several
dozen successive notes of alarm. Noodlesby
recovered his equilibrium, tackled his
course and went frantioally galloping after
the rooster.
The race was interesting from the start
The rooster described an eccentric ellipse
of wide dimensions, Noodlesby following
a close ten feet in the ROSTERS wake and
reaching after the doomed fowl as if life
and all material glory depended upon his
exertions.
Entering upon their second tour of the
premises, Noodlesby, waxing furiously i'm
patient, began warming to his work.
So did the rooster.
Noodlesby's breath came and went at the
rate Of sixty odd revolutions per minute.
His mouth stood picturesquely ajar, and
his eyes resembled pair Of overdone gin
ger snaps. But he was gaining on the
rooster. That was clearly in evidence,
and it inspired him with renewed zeal and
longer strides The 10 feet distance be-
tween them was quickly reduced to 4, 8,
az, 2, ~, and Noodlesby, spreading his
hands apart as If in preparation for flight
through space, threw himself forward and
caught-his hands full of sand burs
The rooster darted under the fence and
disappeared, excited and cackling, in the
jimson patch.
"Can help you, dearP" 1t was Mrs.
Noodlesby softly addressing her husband
over the fence.
"You can 60 into the house and keep
your dagswizzled mouth shut!" he prompt
ly snapped, detaching particularly per-
sistent bur from the instep of his off
thumb.
In less time than 1t takes to record it
Noodlesby had cleared the palms of his
hands Of surplus vegetation, had thrown
his coat in one direction, his vest in an
other, and his hat in third, and, with
head thrown back, was careering, flushed
and painting, through the jimson patch,
the fugitive polka dot leading the way and
setting the pace. The devious windings
and turnings and doubllngs made by that
pair of bipeds were simply indescribablo.
The rooster, convinced that the jimson
patch had become delusion and snare,
broke cover, and with wings outstretched
and voice pitched to declamatory key
took his pursuer around the barn, through
the pigpen and across the feed lot, where,
in making his exit through the barbed
wire fence, Noodlesby left a sample patch
of his trousers as big as his two hands,
and another patch of skin as big as but
ton, and then, with dozen other fleeing,
clamorous companions the rooster plunged
under the corncrib and was lost to view.
"Ah ha, you skulking idiot, I'll fetch
you'll
Noodlesby went down on all tours,
peered cautiously under the crib, followed
his eyes with one hand, and, chucklng
audibly, drew his squawking, futtering
victim forth by the legs.
Phebe-Phebe Noodesby!" he yelled.
"I've caught the varmint!'
He came stalking up to the back door
five minutes later, hot and FACILITATING,
but jubilant, and laid the decapitated
rooster down upon the stone step for Mrs.
Noodlesby's inspection.
(Which one did you get, Peleg?" his
wife sweetly inquired.
"Ingrain polka dot, of course! Think
I'd go foundering all over creation trying
to exterminate miserable rickety critter
like this just to entertain you with pleas
ant surprises and keep you in good humor
and then gather the wrong bird? Uh,
uh-h! Not If old man Noodlesby knows
himself! He amt built on no such dag
swizzled PATTERN
Noodlesby, looking up from plate of
boiled chicken and fluffy dumplings at
dinner time, abruptly asked:
"Phebe, was 1t the ingram polka dotp"
"Why, mol OF course not. 1t was the
blooded 50 prize taker you brought home
from the fair last fall. Hark! That's the
polka dot growing outside"
Noodlesby harpooned a luscious dump
ling with his fork and went on with his
meal in savage silence. Albert Smith
in Truth.
One Good Feature.
Bacon-1 see Burrows has got on to that
new style Of Handwriting with the hands
elevated to the top of the head.