Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1898-03-31
! The Yanking of Joe Vail. (
! Nay Be the Victim of Deer and May
} Be Only Liar.
r is puzzling me like everything"

or whether he IS simply the lnnOcenI
victim of peculiar circumstances. I've
been trying for two weeks now to make
up my mind, and I can't, and it worries
me like fury.
"Once year go up to spend few
days with Joe during the season of
picl1erel fishing through the ice, and
this winter didn't get up there until
late. had sent word to Joe that I
would be there on certain day. 1t is
a six-mile drive from the railroad sta
ton in to Joe's place, and Joe always
meets me at the train to drive me in.
This time, though, Joe wasn't there, but
a man that works for him was in his
place. After we had got started a ways
/ said to Joe's man:
"'Where's Joe? Why didn't he come
imp
"'Why, said the man, didn't you
hear about il?
"'Hear about it?' said. No. Hear
about what?'
"'About Joe,' said the. man, looking
at me as if he was surprised that l
hadn't heard about it.
/" NO said I. What about Joe?'
"tHes yanked,' said the man.
"'Yanked?' said I. What do you
mean?'
II mean he's yanked!' replied the
man, somewhat positively. "A deer bit
him, or hooked him, or kicked him, or
sumpin' or other like that, and Joe
killed it. It might been in the season
for deer to bite or hook or kick Joe,
but it don't seem to been in the season
for Joe to kill the deer for DOM of
it, and so they yanked him. That's
what I mean
ARRESTED him p asked, puzzled and
worried.
"'Yes,' replied the man. Took him
up. Yanked him. And it looks to me
as if they was goin' to sock it to him,
too
"'Isn't in jail, is hep asked.
"'No,' said the man. 'Leastways, not
yit. But it looks to me as if they was
goin' to sock it to him, and if they sock
it to him l don't see but what he's list
as good as in jail
This wasn't very pleasant news to
man who had come out for a couple of
days sport, but thought I wouldn't
coax any more information from Joe's
pessimistic factotum. Iwould wait I'M
til heard Joe's story. That might put
an entirely different face on the mat
ter, I thought.
when we arrived at Joe's place Joe
came out to meet me. saw at once
that he was respondent. After greet
ings he said:
"'Well, I s'pose you heerd I was
yanked?'
II told Joe I had heard SO.
"'What be we comm to- said he,
when a deer kin come and chaw Won,
and rip you, and jump on you, and do
anything else he durn pleases to YOU
to make your wife widder, and, if the
moon or the season don't happen to be
jest right, you got to lay there and take
it without raisin' your hand ag'in the
deer. unless you want to git yanked
and be held for the grand jury? What
be we comm TOP
Il told Joe [ didn't know, and asked
for particulars of this difficulty he
seemed to have got into.
"'How did it happen, Joe?' asked.
1T happened the aggravatinest
kind said Joe. You know Bushmiller's
pond, don't you? Well, I went over
there yesterday to git some pickercl.
Say, John! | never see 'em bite so!
I only had ten lines in, and them pick
erel bit so fast I had to pull out five o.
them lines cause I couldn't git around
to any more quick enough to haul out
the fish. 'Tip-ups in the air all the time,
and l1eepin' me on the run for more'n
an hour.
"'The way it was goin' I see that if
them pickerel didn't let up on me I'd
be so tired I'd never git home, so Jest
pulled up all my lines and quit. You
ought to been there and seen the stacks 4
O. pickerel had layin' round there on
the ice. see there wasn't no kind o.
use O. me thinlin' O. gittin' anyways
nigh quarter of 'em home by backin'
'em in, so [ was startin' for home to
git Sam and the OK team when heard
noise behind me. [ looked back over
my shoulder, and there see slammin'
big buck comm right lords me. There
was lot O. snow on the ice, and the old
Teller had good footin'. First along
thought he hadn't seen or shifted me.
and was only crossn' the pond T
didn't want to be run down and walked
over by no deer, and so turned square
around and hollered at him. Now, what
had that consumed deer ought to up
and done? Accordin' to the gener'l idee
of the natur' O. deer, that buck ought to
hnen scared half tO ,7an+l, +Io, $50