The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-11-30
Over to Aunt Thankful.

The best thing about Thanksgiving
dinner over 10 Aunt Thankful Blessing
was the stories which went with every
dish The turkeys always came 70 the
table on huge pewter platter, which
was one of the many portions OF the
Mayfiower's cargo owned by Aunt
Thankful. Near the edge Of the pewter
platter was & nttue round hole, through
which the gravy sometimes dripped on
10 the white cItn. Every year there
were some of the Connections az tie
table who had never noticed that hole
before At any rate IL was understood
by all the family that at the proper
point some one was TO ask about it.
why, Aunt Thankful, how'd that hoe
come in your pewter platter?" a q
Then the old lady would beam with
satisfaction.
Keep right along. Gershom, !" she'd say
TO her husband, carve the turkey and
help the sweet potatoes while tell these
children how that hole came in the pew
ter platter
Now that platter you see, children,
was brought over from England by your
great, great, great grandfather, who was
one of the passengers on the Nayd1wer.
He settled down there at Massachusetts
Bay and became one Of the elders OF the
church. The Indians were thick ali
about the settlement and the men car
ried their guns with them even 10
church. One Thanksgiving day while
the family were at church the Indians
broke into your great. great. great
grandfather's log cabin and carried OF
everything they could lay their hands on.
Among the things they ctole was this
pewter platter The old chief, Soma
wish. had the platter and he made up
his mind that il was intended to be used
as a shield. SO when he saw the peo-
pie coming through the woods from he
Thanksgiving servise he held the platter
up in front Of him and ran gut into the
open. yelling and making insulting ges-
lures at your great, great, great grand
father And your great, great, great
grandfather drew bead on the lnaian
chief and killed him with a single sh Z
That is the hole through which the bull
let passed"
When the conversation turned to the
weather it was Uncle Gershom's recog-
nized perogative to take the center Of the
stage or table.
Regular, old-fashioned Thanksgiving
weather this Uncle Gershom, one Of
the third generation would say Why
there was frost on my window panes this
morning when I got up
That was the old mans cue.
You boys don't know anything about
weather Children so mighty licate
and tender nowadays they can't stand
anything Frost on we're window rane.
heb? What would We think if We should
wake up some morning and find six incn-
| es er a foot of snow on top Of we're bed
| spreads? S'prise ye some, wouldn't it?
When I was a boy me an my brother
Ebenezer used to sleep together up IN
the loft of the log cabin. Father ans
| Ia GIRLS Sian he10nTV
Long about o'clock father'd bank the
fire in the big fireplace an say, Well.
| boys. bout time fer youngsters to be
turnin' in. Wed climb up the ladder to
| the loft, undress, and crawl under the
/ blanket. Lookin' up we could see the
| stars IL they was out between the
! chinks in the roof In bout one min
ute we'd be asleep. Mebbe It 'ud blow
up snow durin' the night and the
snow'd come siftin' down through the
/ chinks and cover the bed thinek over.
Glad enough Tx IT we was TOO, fer there
| isn't any down bed comfort half as
/ warm as one made out of six inches OF
thick snow. Frost on yere window pane
! heb HeW, but that's terribler'
Along obout second helpin, d" time
] Uncle Fbenezer usually got into action
! He needed neither cue nor opening When
/ the spirit moved him, he spoke.
Il nthe fall of ~, he began, father
/ sent me in to Chicago with an OK team
and a big load of corn It was q forty
mile drive each way. It was the first
time 7 had ever been trusted with sucr
an important job. and it was also the
! first time I had ever been to a big city
for Chicago even then was a. big city &C
/ us If you've ever driven oxen you
know they don't travel fast. Beside
| that the load was heavy and some OF
the roads was hub deep in mud I hat
to ask my way from every man me
and I stopped at almost every log cabir
Tor the same purpose But neither Thu
men OF the cabins were numerous enough
to delay me much. Before 7 started
| father gave me silver half dollar. j
was the first money I'd ever had. 7 tee
II up in the corner of a red bandarnr
and made great plans about what {
buy with it.
] v-a1fraE oil &,