River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-03-10
Uncle Wash's Escape
By NED HUTTON.
ONE night when sat with old Wash
| ] inpton RurnS in front of the bio fire
sesssee:sesssessseeseeses

way county the conversation IAN
guished, and we dropped into a reycrie
as the logs burned down to glowing
Goals. \ rat began gnawing in the
easement of the nantel, and the old
man, rousing himself and reaching for
the tobacco jar, said:
.'Thar's Hazel at it again"
| asked: rs Hazel the rats name?"
1T shore is, sonny" replied the old
gentleman with a chuckle, AN the way
he comes by it is all on account of his
liking for hazeInuts as an article ov
grub. I've knowed the little varment
fer a 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
The room and drew forth handful of
hazelnuts from barrel. After select
ing an iron from a row on the shelf,
lie sat down III front of the fireplace,
clasped the iron between his knees and
began cracking them with an old wagon
tongue pin, peering over his glasses at
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 eyes surveyed the room carefully
and finally settled on the old man.
Then he came out on the floor, and adj
yancing 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
the rat the kernel, which the rat quick
IN disposed Of, holding it between his
paws while gnawing it. His capacity
for nuts seemed unlimited.
BY accident l overturned chair I
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
;r@ ;d was smoking
again He shore likes hazelnuts, an
win quit catin' up the house any time
fer a mess ov IN, but faIlin' chairs
makes him nervous, kinder. .Jes the
minute what he hears me crackin' nuts
here in front of the fireplace, that air
rat'll quit the most important piece of
9nawin' he's got on hand an come polk
in in here fer his sheer, but when
racket like that happens, the leedle var
mcnt gifts in a fidget fer to leave an he
does it in hurry"
Il recollect once when he comes rae
in in here lookin' fer nuts like he did
les now, an he run up aginst more'n
that fetched your Uncle Wash outen
difficulty that was a pinchin' him might
liz, an | reckon the rat recollects it.
too 1t was mighty embarrisin' TO the
rat, an to another party who was here
present, but ii shore ticllIes your Uncle
Wash, an that's why l think so much
ov him"
'Yaas, Sir" continued the old gentle
man, chucllng to himself. "Yaas, sir.
that pore leedlc insignificant animal
shore saves your Uncle Wash from git
tin married to n wilder woman onct
on a time, an on that account 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.
i,'S iieiS "I'''''' "0liIt -! III soi'I
70 'eti gu "''p,'' a, ''''i'.,' " - 'i'T ~
- TT ,A f .''' -, i','I ~
" ~ ~
~ lfis, Sflas Nt,dda,, aft, ba,. bushap1
III, ca everybody I,no,ved ber nc Nris,
s.Io
guy %'9 " " ~ "o'.''-'i - q
LttUie "n''e' ""'h '''' - ','t,S
ca'"S'roi'i,e 1t" SAVES :, our OH'.e WASH
"-iaarrN III ''er' sue l''es perry near
oNe' ~ '''' ny ~ ~. :, "'h'''i''
WIS u =" ii''' "'o ',Pi ~ = ~ =" '"'
ice ON '"e lif'' N"ei' 'iieA was d INA"
eoIh on. ne ice o"il Ciach'" Nlitu
ne was a-sd"ili oF H. an 0llaS lell ~
an was GIoWl.e.' "ioiS WIN d l'e Sd"
Ihat one i'lii G|li't'> l"u oo.'S"' III n, o.
'-o''ls a" i''' s;io" - ~, ''''ii -; ,rs
1.-THE. III, guess before SiIos Ind
drif+ad ~ tho mouth of the river that
,ir ,yornon yas cbasin' over +be county
Irol.ir, for another man
..ct. ~. o,.o,. al ~, ,,.,,.I,1,1o f,I
l,,s in tbis milk oy the woods an, i
-. IN, H. tiro,I,. Ieci,1es ,o. so++Ia
-, -, ,.o,,- T-,oIa wei ,s !, f+to,,,
-, ~ Iaas+ i.ro,,.r
49, afta,. Ant .I,e devo+oe an bor ~
- .1,,. 81
49,, l:-1....,..,.,,, -,
- was -, "Pi,''' W. ~ 'he
N"uoeI' ,oo' iVt N.uuei mn o"'N ana /
''''i '''' an ne - l','' - o.o az
'''t i''"'l''o' YIN ol't Si,e si'o'e
Wa ~ i'''' NY sh'
,.'''N's = :. -. ..'o', mem
~ - =. .a,..'',-'i ny ~
-. - ON nee
WASH
II WIS do'"' 'ie 'i''ie '"a' ,le wiz
der was mdhooNer most an was a |
weakenh that l lorHis me acqUalnt- |
anee OF thiS rat. ne was KINDER ake
the Wlduer WOulu' ne JSS 0Fapt IN, an /