The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-05-07
THE STRONG LITTLE BOY.
LEWIS JACKSON AND THE QUEER IRoN
GREENINGS.

|
A Saving to His Father. who Raised Him
on Green Apples That Were 90 Per Cent.
Iron and 10 Per Cent. Apple-That Made
Him the Strongest Bov in the World.
Lewis Jackson was Just x years old. and to
look at him you would not have suspected that
he was anything more than a happy. hearty.
ordinary. country 10Y. AS n matter OF rucS,
however. he was the strongest boy in the world.
and all on account OF the iron greetings. You
see Mr.. Jackson. Lewis's father. had a large
apple orchard and right in the middle OF It was
a tree OF greetings. and the day that Lewis
was born the old man buried a lot Of rusty
irons and iron barrel hoops and the scraps
OF n c%ast-iron stove at the foot of the tree
because It had never borne an apple. and
he thought the strength of the iron rust
might do It good. That was in December.
and early in May that tree was 30 covered with
apple blossoms that 1t looked az IL an immense
flock of butterflies had descended on IL and
were resting preparatory to flying somewhere
else. That summer the tree was loaded with
greetings. and Lewis's brother. a harum
scarum child OF six gave the seven months
old baby one OF the apples to eat-not
only that. but cut 1t up for him. and in.
stead OF dying In commissions the infant.
who had been sickly before. thrived upon
it. The village physician was called in to look
at the child, and he Immediately said that he
was one to whom apples are necessary. He
advised them to throw away all their milk and
to let the child eat all the apples he could-but
only from the one tree. HE is likely To abb
sorb so much iron that he will he the strongest
child in the world he said. He analysed one
Of the apples when he got home and found
that it was 80 per cent. iron and only 10 per
cent. apple. SO. OF course. any child who ate
nothing else would absorb so much iron that
his muscles would be hard as anvils.
Mr.. Jackson was one Of those men who al.
ways think they have the best OF everything.
His cattle were the heaviest in the county, his
fruit was the finest. his wife made the best
cheese. his dog was the best sheep dog. his Sum
day hat was the cheapest that any man had
the thhef chance Nance 20 Of 'R haTihs So ths so str %ay ,ms son IN 1h tRs
world apnealed to him. !, and ne told his wife to
im nss to es snpply t tRe Sab by' When rr9 the ' hpsIe sr wers
all eaten or until more apples were ripe.
his strength. II, he hadn't been good natured
pened. because he could have pulled the school
house to pieces and, could uproot ssplinRs Of
such a strong son. He'd clear a field Of rocks
s en- Si ana to aayi wt them oSe rn the fence G@s o. as sh 4
1 then. hs too. been he d RddOs si th 1esi pioas 2f sou'f hs!d
his pocket and a plough at his heels. and BY
e eGGn h and R Would fo have sh shC % 3 Of t q tu pair to Of
t but eat # fd for q a Few 1 SosTs b hs s Tss Snn leis
one day when he was pulling a load Of feed up
apple. and his Strength left him. and he h had to
leave the wagon by the side of the road and
turned he, picked up the shafts and skipped up
the hills like a colt in a meadow on a frosty
There is a high MOUNTAIN near, the Jackson
place called Mount Nomadnettuck. 1~tistwenty
m phers e to Be a the Il SRas'd moSn 9s sG IN Ss Ssq Ens-
land. although whether New England extends
as far into the air as that is a thing that
rather doubt, so the mountain may not be In
New England after all. Anyway, the view from
The top is fine; and on q clear day YOU can see
son had a houseful Of boarders and they were
all crazy to go to the top Of this mountain. but
teamwork to take them up in the big e~arryall.
III / get my %buckwheat az planted by the
drag you to the top, It's too far to, walk and
the hss road i :. too ifS, rough li for my cattle put Itt avis
TO- Jet him have a day OF pleasure Il he wants TO-"
Fourth OF July was n beautiful. clear day,
t fhr5s ]sarr and e shIc |" w t6s %2 Ro1d sw nsw's D slssnsa
then he CREASED the wheels and ate Ave OF the
largest apples that he could find on the tree. I
think | see some OF my readers laughing at me
and saving that Rreentngs, aren't ripe on the
Fourth tn, hut the iron gr zee ta,s ~ we're. After The
they were so hard that he cracked pig nuts on
them.
Right. after breakfast the picnickers came
out and clambered into the wagon, There
were three stout old ladies. two fat old gentle
young men. besides a huge basket ofluncheon.
for p me'n i salS L to put and IN s3 3hen i vent sTI eeo fss
barn to get eth his hairless a" on. III "'u' '"''
Five minutes later they started. BE sure to
G keen stro on|S f hGs heb back a in tine tro,t to d DC , tie
a young. gazelle. and; thanks to the five, apples
under his waistcoat. he soon reached, the top.
lthntIph II yEnc n fuynntv- 1 nlinh nUnF n
rough mountain road, .
The picnicKers felt themselves we'll repaid
enough. they Gould see the sun as plainly as Il
it had not been 90 ,023,9 $50 miles away.
eyes ached they were ready for luncheon. The
rest OF the party ate such foolish things as pies
at such things and ate nothing but Ave.
greetings He knew that they would be sum-
f PSot b to c hr did hI mot h Rn%s t Eith a full mis stFeef Sad
been brought up. II you ask how there came
must ask you not to interrupt me.
Late in the afternoon they climbed into the
danger Of his being run over. He had gone
h h"1sa " and "aeie his is Strength $ 9a's1nE le s1fhS him n% as Quickly / y
as a nysScent b pisse drops s s tnrSnsh "a q hole s2sr in
body to lump. but, he didn't speak quickly
enough. and Just then the wagon, came toa
nIra i in ,he REID 1 n}sn plunged of a sheer preci-
Br q little Lewis sprang upon the , dash:
party. hut he felt that they were all in a tick-
Iish position and he wished he had chosen his
apples himself. He looked above him in despe-
and saw a halloonist who had been maxi
ing a Fourth OF July ascension. He made .
Of his hat and called to the aero
naut to come down and help them. Quick as a
flash the good natured balloonist let out gas
picnickcrs, who we're beginning to faint
rom fright. He made tho wagon fast
% the basket of the balloon and then they went
Town easily enough. and in less than ten min
ltes they bad, aliRhted in a meadow about .
a mlIe 'pUtn and and n r"n home nee to i Got so onSnk app Ine
After. he had eaten them he returned and
pulled the wagonload OF, picnickers back to
he farm. where he arrived Just at chore time.
But after that %eventful day Lewis always car
a supply Of apples in IA bag along over his
And il it hadn't been for the kind
the picnickers would have had Q
nasty fall. It's no Joke to drop seven miles.