The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-23
TIE FAIL OF JONAH LASHBROOK.
His Soothsaying Power in the Rnttlesnake
District Leads Him Into Dire Difficulty.

His Soothsaying Power in the Rattlesnake
District Leads Him Into Dire Difficulty.
ROMAN LINE, Ont, April 1G.-The quiet and
peace-loving residents Of the Hattlesnake dis
trict have been In q state OF fevered excitement
for the past month over the arrest and trial OF
Jonah Lashbrook. the soothsnyer and know-all
Of the district.
Jonah Is the seventh son OF a seventh son
with pretensions to second sight. For years he
eked out n precarious existence In the way Of
gifts given by those who came to him from
time to time seeking information about articles
which had mysteriously disappeared. and de-
spite his appearance and hating gait Jonah was
the most popular man in the community.
Ills patrons were not confined to those living
In the immediate neighborhood. but people for
miles around tockcd to his shacklike hut on
Rattlesnake Hill. anxious to know the where
hoes. s6oyels. pots. pans. Kettles and. In the
words of the sale bills posted In the Tamarack
Corners grocery. - other articles too numer-
The facility with which these articles disar-
den made Jonah's services Indispensable.
Jonah secuted the idea OF charging anything
eyer. no one thought OF going to Jonah for ad-
ity. These gifts they would by some clever
move alloy him to see. nnintentionally OF
but it was infailible in its results. and his
Inst;sr ba% kRo wins; this nssd 9 9SsSs E5Hmb'e 3D. f Eo
meath his bed II black euddy with large bowl
piece of coarse wooLlen stun which once served
as, a horse blanket and might have been Of any
S eire w imaE%i TaSsda F Frsan,h Re wy w9pl The l9 d"iu thf
horse blanket about his head sothat only his
nose and mouth were visible. and after barring
way, is the vilest brani that has BEEN
with, his face, to the east and, smoke
sL,Nwly and silently to tho last drag.
Knock t the ashes R.sf from n his pip "e l" %I"i nin Ell tines mes
to the four. points. Of the compass, open the
door. and after walking nine times around the
almost suffocated acknowledgements where to
look for the missing article. IT made no differ
thrifty old farmer with his back timothy In the
second blossom and the ,pitman rod Of the
was unable 10 ind the traces Of the llisht har.
ness when he wanted TO take his sweetheart
for a drive on a Saturday evening. the same
tedious ceremony was always observed.
otmlsfortune all his followers forsook him. HIS
troubles began with the sugar-making season.
AL on account of some 300 patent spiles which
the farmer who2wns a hard maple bush near
laid them carefully away in the sugar house at
the close Of last season. Taking, a peck of
s%proutei potatoes with him, the spilcless farm
~ OlIu y us UNA "h' N'Ii w
tree at the lower end Of the woods. He did as
spiIes. but he also noticed in the snow
the peculiar footprints which Jonah with
h liz a aF faSh he feai fialtd a tEat ha ma had
been tricked and returned to Jonah's, hut in a
towering rage. He hurled at the, frightened
man every abusive phrase known in the local
ity aud threatened to fay him alive. Had there
been one OF the iinny tribe, with q sufficiently
certainly nave sought refuge tler' as llI his
namesake OF old. But this was out of the qucs,
ton and Jonah admitted With fear and trem-
nhouts Of missing goods was obtained by first
hiding them. This confession soon got to, the
gushing in an unused box stall in the local
magistrates stable. there being no Jail in the
4. this is the first offence against the law
oyer committed in the Rattlesnakc district. the
he Shall rnrsu", i" Is not ahic to ind a paralI.
lei case in his Revised Statutes" for 1884,
nor can his n%r"th"r, magistrate ut Tamarack
Corners recall a similar one. Grave legal Iu"s,
ti"ns asto what is the proper charge To bring
against Jonah have arisen. Aspiring, young
estcd and hay" given thrir Official opinion ON
the ca,c. some hold that he should be
,,Tni st i 2r p s5oula inre Ss cE Mniis otE wiTS hold oE.
tanning goods under false .prrtnnc"s. One
bright Young lawyer. who is alone in his, opin,
ion. says that IL the case is urged Jonah vii
become a burden upon the public. as he will
either have To be sent TO the Jail or the poor
Ih'lISl, W l'E'IS H'ItlplbI' u ''HliI.uhlNSi W
not feel the burden Of supporting him. n,
suggests that Jonah be restored to the conlI'
dcnrc OF the people or bc allowed to 90 some
where els" whore his schemes ar" not known
III" magistrate. like The wise man he is, ha,
refrainch from giving an opinion.
Tn" members of tn" kattl"snake Dehatini
Society. which has Just closed, feel that they
have lost Il rare opportunity for exercising
their oratorical powers; They srcnt the whole
tl"i Unitrd States, and proved to their owl
satisfaction that both nations are equal, The,
zeal. however, that JOnah's case would hay,
afforded "A much wider range for thought, ant
II the authorities do not settle the matter sool
they propose 10 make it the subject for mex
winters discussions.