The Burke County news. [volume] (Morganton, N.C.) 1899-1901, 1899-03-03

Nalue about the weather, and he SAID
lie hai suffered about As much down
mere as Ep there, hut didn't sutter long
at o tlme-only i dav or two; but ul
there II was several long weary months.
.'Wnere | was raised, he said, 9TH.
mercury was far below zero for a month
at a time. aud | remember one long.
weary night when 1t dropl ed tc 30 and
then 30 and ~. There was an old fash.
toned box stove IN tt,r bg room. 1t
was made OF Thick ua;eab,e lron anu on
bitter nights we crowded IN wood and
pine until it was red hot all round.
On this particular night we boys had
to turn round and round to keep from
freezing on one side while We were
scorchlng on the other. About mid
night the mercury dropped to As, and
the house cracked aud popped like lit
tie guns. Father got alarmed, and,
being an Il -fashioned Christian man,
sald, Come, children, let US oil kneel
down and pray After prayer We piled
more pine into the heater.
Father said to mother: "When Eli
sha Kent Kane was IN the arctics he
said that he found that fatty matter was
better than fire and he made his crew
stuff themselves with whale bludder
and seal oil AID grease and it saved
their lives. And SO, mother, you had
better bring us all the grease in the
pantry" Mother turned us all loose
on her lard and butter and fat meat
and We cranmed it down aud it did do
us good. But the mercury kept on
dropping. Father had al old donkey
that brayed necessarily all the fore
part of the night, but about 3 O'Clock
he ceased aud father said: MY chill
dren, the poor old donkey is dead
About 4 o'clock there was a fire in the
little village. but nobody went to it.
refuge. Just before daybreak the mer-
said: Come children, let us kneel
down and give thanks to God for His
mercy
wen, 1t was glorious to see the big.
round, red sun rise aud shine in the
windows next morning. About this
time we heard q racket in the barn
which was pear by aud father SAID:
Boys. go out and see If t%hatdonkeyi is
alive" And sure enough he was and
there he stood facing the door with an
lclclo sticking out Of his mouth
three feet long and as big at
the base as q coffee pot. His
brays had frozen and frozen to a
sharp point and had stopped UP his
mouth SO etf-ctually he couldn't brsy
ary more. That's what my fried told
me, but y. 3. lie was newspaper man.
Well, I'm rot going 10 write q poen on
the ne beautiful snow. for l don't like
1t, especially when l am the
boy-the only boy about the house. and
have to keep trotting to town or the
woodplle or c%oalhouse. or somewhere.
But the children like it, aud there's
some comfort in that. and the other day
While was trampipg slowly to town
on he slippery walk I met a pretty
lady, a middle aged matroD, and lust
before she got to me her foot slilp.d
backward and the other extremity had
TO bend forward and she made me the
lrettlest little courtesy [ aver had made
to me. She never lost her %perpendicu-
lar, but Just come down gracefully on
one Knee IKE l have seen ciris DO IN
tho parlor dance. OF course I tipped
my hat and said, "Thank you, madam. y
She colored up and smiled and spoiled
1t all by saying, II didn't mean to- |
haven told my wife about it yet, for
our golden wedding Is near ut hand and
1t Is no time for these irregularities.
1t was the beautiful, tho slickery. trick.
sry snow that did 1t. had to shovel
out of the pathway from nv house ia
he street $50 yards SO that my women
;olks could walk without wettinc their
shoes aud stockings. but every one OF
them, even to my wife, prepared to
wade In the beautiful snow, aud tne
girls found q ditch where it was knee
deer and waded IN that. That's the
way they impose on a poor old boy like
me.
But there is not 50 much difference