Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1898-03-05
75'7'77 '7'5'7'77
l Uncle WaSh'S Escape \
BY NED HUTTON. n
eEe,e:ge;gGEGE;E&
BY NED HILTON.
ONE night when sat with old Wash

putShed, and we dropped lnuo TcNeIlS
as the logs burned down to glowing
Goals. A rat began gnawing in the
easement of the mantel, and the old
man, rousing himself and reaching for
the tobacco jar, said:
"Thar's Hazel at it again"
1 asked: as Hazel the rats name ~
cit shore is, sonny" replied the old
gentleman with chuckle, IAN the way
he comes by it is all on account of his
liking for hazelnuts us an article ov
grub. I've knowed the little varment
fer long time an fer to kill time I'll
Jest call him out an show you his leedle
pecooliarity with them nuts"
Uncle Wash crossed to the corner of
tile room and drew forth handful of
hazelnuts from barrel. After select
ing an iron from n row on the shelf,
he sat down in front of the fireplace,
clasped the iron between his knees and
began cracking them with an old wagon
tongue pin, peeriug over his glasses ut
the hole in the easement after each nut.
When the click of the iron on the nuts
began, the gnawing ceased, and pres
emily the rat appeared at the hole. His
shiny ewes surveyed the room carefully
and finally settled on the old man.
Then he came out on the floor, and ad-
vancing to the old gentleman's side
climbed up his trouser leg and sat on
his knee and waited, watching every
move of Uncle Wash's hands with his
little, beady eyes.
Uncle Wash cracked nut and gave
~. til, ,;n1r
ly disposed of, holding it between his
paws while gnawing it. His capacity
for nuts seemed unlimited.
By accident l overturned chair
had been twirling, and the rat jumped
from his perch and scampered to his
hole in apparent great terror.
"Hazel is mighty pecooliar thata-
way" said Uncle Wash when he had
finished the nuts and was smoking
again. "He shore likes hazelnuts, an
will quit eatin' up the house any time
fer a mess ov IN, but fallin' chairs
makes him nervous, kinder. Jes' the
minute what he hears me crackin' nuts
here in front of the fireplace, that air
rat'n quit the most important piece of
gnawin' he's got on hand an come polk
in in here fer his sheer, but when n
racket like that happens, the leedle var
mcnt gifts in a fidget fer to leave an he
does it in hurry"
81 recollect once when he comes rae
In in here lookin' fer nuts like he did
ies' now, an he run up aginst more'n
he bargained fer an raised racket
that fetched your Uncle Wash outen n
difficulty that was pinchin' him might
fly, an / reckon the rat recollects it,
too. 1t was mighty embarrisin' to the
rat, an to another party who was here
present, but it shore tickles your Uncle
Wash, an that's why think so much
ov him"
"Yaas, SIR" continued the old gentle
man, chuclling to himself. "Yaas, sir.
that pore leedle insignificant animal
shore saves your Uncle Wash from git
tin married to a widder woman onct
on n time, an on that account l kinder
takes pains to look out fer him now, an
sorter comfort him when he gifts
skecred at chairs or the dogs movin'
round under the house an growlin' in
their sleep.
HIS mere MlNluCl NCllltii III gum
to tell you about was called Mis- Sile by
all the neighbors round here. Her
name dun fergot now, cause l never
was much interested in this female no.
how, but she uster sign it up at the store
as Mis- Silas Madder, after her husband
an so everybody knowed her as Mis-
Sile.
"She was jes' a widder woman fer a
leedle while, when the rat averts q
catastrophe an saves your Uncle Wash
u-marryin' her. She lives perty neal
over on The county line, an her husband
was drowned one spring tryin' to cut
ice on the river when they was thaw
goin' on. The ice dun cracked when
he was a-sawin' ov it, an Silas fell in
an was drowned, along with ice saw
that ole Bill Gaines had bought in st
Louis an had loaned to him. They
never found Silas, ner the ice saw
neither, an / guess before Silas hat
drifted to the mouth of the river thai
air woman was chasin' over the county
lcollin' fer another man.
"She looks over all the avaylable fel
lers in this nailt ov the woods, an i
looks like she finally decides ter settle
down on your Uncle Wash as fitten
victim fer matrimony; at least l knows
that after that she devotes all her at
tentions to that end.
at was about the time that the wild
der was manooverin' most an was a
wealSenin' that forms the acquaint
nnce of this rat. He was kinder like
the widder woman; he jes' drapt in, an
fndin' the surroundings congenial, ma
fully he stayed here.
81 first notices him one night wheI
I was a-sittin' here like we air now, an
was jes' passin' the time away crack
in hazelnuts when l sees. him stick hi
head outen the hole down thar in tn,
casin' an look up at me like he wanted
some hazelnuts, too. ] rolls coupl,