Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1897-10-14

want no more life nor backbone left
n 1t than there is IL d wet dishrag.
Ny Of woman come along jes' then an
says:
""Great Peenpaeki Amt he
snorter!"
An that got TO be his name, though
I've always been sorry didn't call him
| Hurricane Dick
just then q mule in log inclosure
+ on the opposite side Of the road raised
! its voice IN the most prolonged and ex-
asperating heehaw l ever heard a mule
/ emit.
That's Limpin Bells said the ma
tive. He hain't sung like that In three
years afore. He knows Shorter is dead,
an he's gloatin'. That's another thing
that weighs me down. I bought that
mule three years ago. I got him cheap,
an he 'peered like q bargain. First
time tried him took him down in the
lot yonder to- pillow corn He yanked the
plow the satisfyinest kind two or three
times acrost the lot, an then he stopped,
braced hisself, an hung down his ears.
coaxed him, an laid the cad ON him.
an I prodded him with pitchforlx, but
he never paid no more attention to me
than If was house fly.
i labored with him for an hour, but,
as nigh as could make out, that mule
had made up his mind to stand there in
the sun till the Judgment day. / was
maxim up my mind to go home an let
him stand, when along come Shorter.
He seen right away what was up, an
he turned his hurricane natur' loose on
to that mule. He hoped up on the
mules neck, socked his toes inter his
name, iabbed his bill way down inter
the mules ear, an hollered things ia
that ear that was hair-raisin' to hear
The mule Was took back tremendous,
but he was mule, an he riz his heels
lords the sky, an topped his ears, an
shook his head, an tried to skeer that
rooster away. But he didn't know
Shorter was the son of hurricane, an,
arter awhile he kind o. settled down
an began TO lock round to diskiver what
he was deaIn' with. anyhow. Shorter,
he soeked his claws an his spurs inter
the mule an ranmed his head so fur
inter the mules ears that l thort sure
he were gorin' his bill through TO get
at what brains the mule had. An yell!
Great wildcat. how he did yell things
way down ag'in the drum o that mules
car! An pooty soon the mule begun to
look skeert, an by and by give up, hung
his head, an went to plowin' as if he had
never quit an never intended to.
Mex day he had "a notion to go on
strike ag'in, but I got Shorter round
l.ax ~ aE LOO al
'persessed an from that time to this
he's been the bes' mule in the deestric'
This Inornin', though, l went out to
put the harness on him, an what does
he do but kick up, an heehaw an hee-
haw, sumpin' he hadn't done in three
years, an hain't been able to get nigh
him. He knows that Snorter's dead, an
he's gloatin'. an he won't never be with
a cent to me ag'in. except as bait fer
bear trapl
:" SO fer four year, pooty nigh, that
amazin' rooster has cleaned this here
clearin' o. rats an weasels an hawks.
Even bar seems to have heerd o. Snort
err, for there hain't one bothered US
sence he broke that mule. I s'pose we
won't be able to keep a sheep nor
pig, though, now, soon as it gifts out
through the deestric' that Shorter is
, dead. wouldn't feel so clean cut up
and banged down by it, though, if we
could only find a feather layin' round
anywhere. Shorter died student an
complete.
Down yonder long the creek they're
workin' stone quarry. Shorter hadn't
never been down TO look the works over
till yesterday afternoon. Then he
meandered that way, Jest as the men
had knocked off for dinner. Sam Sill
Ger brought the news up. He said he
was settin' under tree, ten rod or so
from the quarry, eatin' his grub. He
seen Shorter walkin' over that way, an
lookin' up by an by he sees the son of
q hurricane tuggin' away at sumpin'
the tiereest kind. Sam got up an went
lords the quarry to see what Shorter
was extermlnatin'. He got pooty nigh
| the spot when he see Shorter swing
sumpin' up over his head to fetch it
down ag'in on rock, jes' like he killed
rats. Sam says when he see that he
! turned an run away as fast as his
! legs'd carry him, but he hadn't gone
more'n three steps when sumpin' went
of tremendous. Sam was tumbled flat,
/ an he said he heerd stones an things
| droppin' around there fer a matter o.
1 two minutes or more. When he could
/ Git up aud look back at the quarry, all
lie could see o. Shorter was u hole in the
ground as big as n cellar. Sam has an
idee that Shorter diskivered the strings
| hangin' out Of some cartridges they
blast with Il the quarry, the cartridges
being kivered M. Shorter, thinkin'
they was rats tails, jes' went for one,
an never knowed his mistake. That's
Sans idee, an the heft o evidence is
that he hain't fur from right.
50 you kin ruther imagine that
/ there's gloom settinf down on this clear
ia thicher,n deas on a graunh hog dog.
an ! guess l'll Bio down t. the IIoller All
break the news gentle, fer il it hits