Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1900-08-10
WHIPPED THE OXEN HOME.

Virginia. The other day as he was
telling some of his experiences his face
became suddenly Illuminated with the
light of recollection, and he exclaimed,
ooh, by the way
Then he paused, and the light faded
out, and he made some trivial remarb
about the Republican national conven
ton.
'"That wasn't what you were going tc
say" observed one Of his friends. '"Tell
it. Everything's in confidence here"
ut wasn't that" said the lawyer. IL
was afraid that if did tell you you
wouldn't believe me, that's ALL
This preposterous idea was generally
secuted, and after little pressure the
lawyer reluctantly told his story.
''Not that it's much of story" he
said, "only the thing struck me as
rather curious at the time-being right
where it happened at the time made
it seem more 80, guess. There's a
little schoolhouse in the valley district
"a log schoolhouse, and one of the
most delightfully."- primitive and pictur-
esque buildings you ever saw, with the
long gray Spanish moss clinging to the
rough barked logs and bright lichens
on the roof Of warped red cedar shakes
and honeysuckle bushes and creepers
and wild grape vines making a glanc-
ing screen of foliage before the door.
You don't see schoolhouses like that in
Chicago.
But l was going to tell you about
the snake. 1t was what they call a
bullsnake out there-a long, supple
snake, with tapering tail and a
bright, intelligent eye. Well, they didn't
know it at the time. but it turned out
afterward that that snake had been
hanging by his tail from one of the
roof timbers all spring, listening witt
the keenest interest to what was going
on.
Snow, that statement may sound
little far fetched to you, but the event
proved conclusively that the snake was
watching with interest. 1t happened
lust about a week before l left the
place. 1t was in the morning, little
before recess, and the teacher, Miss
Nettie Hymer, had the pupils up for
spelling. She had given them some
word to spell-it was 'connubial,' she
told us-and they missed it up and
down the line to the last one Of them.
Some of them spelled it with X and
some with one H. and two started out
with Ger The schoolma'am was
pretty we'll worked up about it, and she
told them what she thought Of them
is there not one Of you that has intel
ligence to- spell that word correctly aft
er all the teaching I've given your she
asked them.
"There was a moments silence and
then noise on the puncheon floor. The
snake had let go his tail hold and drop
ped.
NATURALLY there was little confu-
sion when they saw what it was, and
Miss Nettie climbed up on top Of her
desk. told her that I'd have given a
good deal to see her then. Say, but
she was a pretty girl! However, the
snake didn't pay any attention to the
fuss they were making, but wiggled up
Just before the desk and arranged him
self into letter C. They didn't no.
tice it at first, but he lay so still that
the children quoted down.. and little
girl called the teachers attention to his
shape. She'd no sooner done 1t when
Mr.. Snake stretched out and took his
tail into his mouth, and when they
called the turn on that he made two
straight lines and an angle of himself
and after mixing himself up minute
did the same thing again. By the time
! he got to u the teacher understood
what he was trying to do-in tact
! what he did do-for he went through
| the word without a break or mistake
and then wiggled his tail in triumph
| and glided off, They tried to catch
him afterward, but he went and hid
somewhere, and they never got him. l
guess he was naturally modest, and he
calculated that they were going to
make q show of him or something. l
thought that was little out OF the
ordinary myself"