The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1900-09-01

patent on it. Well, the langwidge that
went over that lake when that man arsked
that guide for them frogs was just won
derful. .Aleck swore they was behind him
amiEute aforc. His man asked SARCASTIC
al what brand of Ticker he was drinking.
Then Aleck he said he was as sober as
any dude that ever come out Of Chicago,
and his man said that Aleck was a liar
Then A1eck got sulky and turned the boat
round and made for the portage back into
| Mason Lake, and SO on to the hotel, and
| next day the hotel man that gave him his
grub to hang aroundand guide for the
guests, fired him over two counties. A
tree 10 feet high and feet 2 inches thick
| fell or him last winter, up in Rube
Smiths camp, and mashed him fatter
! than ladybug; but that don't gimme back
| my tobacker.
| "Theys funny tree right back of us up
on the hill there. You couldn't find it I'M
less I took you to it, but it's wonder I,
| stands 325 rods from where we are sit
| ting, northwest by north. 7 run against i:
| one day when I was out hunting for
| wasps' nests. They amt no bait for bass
| like young wasps some times of the yeat
| The tree is a silver birch, and it amt
morn three inches through. I noticed it.
! because about a foot and half from the
ground there was a blaze on it two inches
square, like some Teller had done it with
an axe. I didn't see what a blaze was
doing there and so low down, because
there weren't no trail anywhere near, and
L went up to have a lock at it, Maybe you
won't believe me when tell you that it
| mad thlrty-three porkypine, quilts sticking
| In 1t, just like little arrers. 7 never see
anything like that BEFORE and I hung
around for an hour waiting to see some
more. I knowed the porkys was up to
| something. Bimeby see two come out of
the woods, waddle up to the tree and the1.
Waddle away from it about two yards.
measured the distance afterward, and IL
was six feet two inches.
! They looked at one another minute
and seemed to be arguing about some
| thing. They were just plain black porky.
pines and I see that their quilts was thin
| ner than they oughter be. Finally one of
EN- switches hisself around until he was
broadside to the tree, give hisself a little
| jerk and quill went flying and stuck in
| the tree, half inch above the blaze and a
quarter inch to the left The other one
sorter s1fickered. took his posish and land
ed inside the blaze an inch below the cen
a
what they was doing-but, what they 1ar
bet on it I don't know. and if I knew ]
would not tell, as the song says.
"The first one which was the bigges,
looked sorter mad and tried another shot
lie got pretty close to the center, but tho
other one beat him with a bulrseve. They
! trled another shot apiece, but the little
one won again. He sorter danced ahor,
fuy0 Loo fov
the big one gathered him. Say, YOU never
see any leaves fly like them leaves few
There was cloud OF 'em whrling a7ouA
and In the center of the cloud was the
two porkys. The little onc wasn't e
strong as the big one, but he was scienced
Tor Keeps. [ never see a little Teller f1gh;
like he did Three times the big ono DOT
him down, and three times he broke
away, and the way they slung the o71i11s
into each other was orful. You conl6
a-heard EN- rattle quarter-:nile awav.
AT last the little one give a half-whir1
jumped foot high, passed over the hie
ones back. lit six inches from him. half
turned and socked his teeth into his throa,
where no quilts don't grow. Say, it was
Katy bar the door then. The big one let
out squeal like young pig, and in half
a minute he keeled over on his side and
lay STILL He didn't have life enough left
IN him to roll up into ball. He Just died
DEAD The little one looked at him for q
Wfi1le, then he went over and looked q,
the mark they had been shooting at. He
sorter sized up the posish of the mills
STICKING IN 1T, and then he went awav
L could a-kll1ed him with a club. h,,+
oldnt nave the heart to 90 it. He sure
was game little fighter. When that fight
ended them two porl<ys didn't have
dozen quilts apiece on 'em that grower
there They had used up most of their
ann unition reefing the sharp pfnts into
each other The one that lived looked like
he had been In swind that blowed his
ou,lls the wrong way, and the other one
what was dead just bristled with 'em. Il
amt no use for people to tell me a porky
can't throw his quilts, because I see 'en
do 1t and do 1t mighty accurate. Eff I
| could shoot as straight according to nv
size. wouldn't have to guide nobody for
living. The dead one WEIGHED five
pounds and three ounces
"And talking about bass and porkypines
see some looms do funny trick once !
was over on Little Price lake trying for
some California trout the fool government
put In there to feed the muskies bout five
| years ago. They's lots Of looms on Little
| Price because Of the small fish in It. ]
i was late starting back, and twilight nae
| got plumb into moonlight afore I took up
| ny anchor. Just then I heard splash,
| and about hundred and ten yards away
| see a loon come swooshing down and hit
| the water kerblop. He gave the signal
cry, and another and another came in uo-
til 1 counted eighteen of 'em swimming
/ around in a circle. 81, .- s--.cg-E ~
Then the firet one raised his head and
made along cry, and the others took it ur
n chorus. They swurn slowly round and
:ound and kept up their crying. Il sound
ed like sorter loon squalling match to
me at first, but pretty soon began to
| pick out the different notes. One feller'd
squall way down deep, and another way
| up high, and another sorter in the middle,
and the others joined in first here and
i then there, and see that it was singing
! bee. That's what it was as sure as the
Lord made little apples. The first loon
] was teacher and the others was learning
from him.
We'll, say, that noise got to be pretty
agreeable after little while. It had a
sorter tune to it. Bimeby the tune got to
q be strong and plain. I never heard no
tune like it, and I'd been hitting the fid-
9 lie for twenty year, but it was a tune all
right. Then the leader waved his head
three times, and one Of 'em came swim
ming slow out of the bunch and took :
station five yards and one foot away. Ht
raised his head, and his voice came out
II sorter sweet and clear and thin. ike the
note you make on the little string when
the pitch is high and you draw the boy
soft and even. Then the big teller that
had more white on him than he oughter,
rolled in with a bass. that was like the
COntiT ned on End Page.