The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1901-12-26
The Courtship OF
Hod and Jason D
BY HAYDEN CARRUTH.


1 NAO pTODdDly lHt blBB'oI llc tH- |
taut at Hawieyburg, the home of
many experienced and intrepid liars.
1t is doubtful If the iIaweyburgers
themselves believed it all, though of
great capacity in this line. But the
Widow Gilbert certainly did exist,
though now married in accordance
with the tale; she also had farm on
which was a likely hollow where the
chief occurrence might have taken
place. Perhaps it was the simple truth
after all. Truth is stranger than fic-
tion-at Hawleyburg it was very much |
more of a stranger.
There were several versions of the
legend known; let us take that Of "Old
Dad" Highbottle, who maintained a sa-
loon al Bofinger's grocery store.
"When the Widder Gilbert was a
running her farm" Old Dad would say,
as he munched dried apple and looked
at the newcomer with fiabby eye,
"she used to have to keep a couple o
hired men, that there boy o her'n not
being able to do much work beyond
hooking my watermelons and raising
the Old Harry generally. The wilder
was a pretty likely-looking woman.
lemme tell you-bloo eyes and fetch
ing way. Abe Trotter and Jim Buck
was going to fight duel about her.
but they compromised d on pizening each
| otherses dog and sowing pusley seed
| in each otherses garden. Used to think
in them days that the widder put sort
of soft-appearing eye on yours trooly,
but fit shy.
This summer the widder had her
usual two hired men. One was Hod
Buckley and the other Jason Dobbs.
Wei, now, you know how it is with
hired men-always lazy as all get-out,
or more so. Bound to soldier on you
no matter what you do. The only way
to get anything out of 'em is to work
right alongside of 'em and prod 'em
along. Leave one Of 'em working alone
and he'll just naturally lay right down
and never wiggle wiggle till he sees
you coming. And these year men, Hod
and Jason, was just the old great
grandfathers of all lazy hired men. Go
to sleep right in their tracks, stand
ing up, with their hoes h'isted into the
air ready to hit a weed. They'd both
worked for me, and the only way |
ever could get anything out of either
of 'em was to use 'em for scarecrows;
and finally 1t even got so the crows
would roost on 'em-'and the fowls of
the air roasted on its branches, as the
good book says about the ginger seed
But what do you think?-both of these
year shiftless galoots fell dead in love
with the widder. And it had the queer.
est effect on 'em. Hod braced up and
went to work like a steam engine
Work? Wy, he just sot up nights to
work. Worked in season and out o
season, rain or shine. Done the work
: of three men II he done stroke
Thought sure he'd catch the widder
with his pesky industry, you see. Bui
it had just the opposite effect on tha
there Jason. Seemed to just sort o
petrify him. Couldn't seem to move
if he tried. Managed to stir about ;
little If the wilder was watching him
! but at other times just elapsed. The
r wdder had pertater pa tch down bacl
I of the barn in little holler where She
i kept Jason a-hoeing the main part o
: the time. But all the hoeing he dom
you could a-put in your eye. Didn'
e work enough to keep his hoe bright
K Just as soon as the widder's back wa
y turned Jason would get up on the fence
and set down and go to sleep, his fee
r resting on the second rail and his el
d bows on his knees and his face in hi
: hands. Always, regular, all day long
e there Jason sot, snoring steady. tel
e you Satan never found no work 70
them idle hands to do, cause h
X wouldn't work at nothing. The rea
q son that Jason got on the fence wa
that the ground down there in tn
4 holler was sort o. wet and sudgy and h
s. was afeerd of rheumatic.
e We'll, it made Hod mad to see his
s. self doing all the work and Jason a
q the resting, even though he was sur
n he would catch the widder by it. ii
n didn't like it cause the wilder wouldn'
II discharge Jason, and he sot ahou
bringing ridercule onto his head FuS
l. he knocked down the rail fence and LET
$ Jason without his natural means {
e support. But he knowed this woudn
do. with old Deacon Thorp's cow
10 ranging about seeking wot they Nigh
x devour, so he put up wire fence
al not barbed wire, cause it wasn't il
vented yet, but old-fashioned smoot
fence wire. Strung up five wires frol
p post TO post down long the side {
q the pertater pa ch and 'crost he hole
II where Jason was 'customed TO roos
- There says Hod, i reckon that wi
!, fetch him. Leastways he'll have to Ia
"a down on the sudgy ground now and g
;. the chilis. and III get rid of him. an,
a. how But did il fetch him? Not mucf
n Jason just put his coat on the to
.v wire. clumb up, sot down, hooked h
~ heels on the second wire and wei
Il, plumb to sleep as soon as the Wilde
wasn't looking. In fact, | think /
slep' better, cause he swayed lit
he in the breeze and ii sort o rocked hi
,u and made him dream he was a chi
again in his mothers cradle.
n+ "At fust Hod was dead beat. He
I. too many for me- says Hod. The wi
~ der might just as wei put spring be
out there and let him regNarIy tul
in and sleep iii meal time. But He
lg got a-thinking. and one day hit on a
ut other plan,
he at was about the middle of war
afternoon, and Jason was a-s.cep pin
quietly on his wire at The bottom
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