The daily Republican., 1902-11-15
THE CATFISH AND
The CAT OF POCHUCK


ward Pochuck came this time he
seemed lahoring under an emotion
which he WAS endeavoring to suppress.
"Its news from Pochuck," said he,
dropping into his chair and mopping
his face on his sleeve. ITS news from
Pochuck, and it's great. But wouldn't
"a believed it. No, sir, | wouldn't "a
believed it."
"And | won't!" said Badly, the land
lord, quickly and positively.
"But / seen it," said the alleged Po-
chuck citizen, eproachfully.
Yet doubt stood revealed on the
landlords face palmer than the warts
on a crook-neck squash.
"You believe there's holer stumps,
don't you?' asked the man.
The existence of hollow stumps
couldn't be denied, even by Baldy, the
landlord
"And as to yaller cats" the man
went on. "There ain't no doubt about
yaller eats, is there? And yaler cats
has kittens, don't they?" said the wan
| derer from over toward Pochuck.
"Not if their name is Tom, they
DON'T" said De Witt Green, of Jolly
Farm, who is bound to have things kept
straight or know the reason why.
The Pochuck citizen having settled
that point to the satisfaction Of all, it
was admitted that there could be no
doubt that yellow cats had kittens.
/ Al, Il, t,,'t
the man asked
"You'd think there was" said Baldy,
the landlord, "if you'd be here some
time when I've been fishing for 'em!"
Some folks would have wondered why
nobody said anything after that for
quite a spell, and why even the man
from Pochuck grinned; but the land
lord didn't seem to notice this behavior.
"And as to families Of young cat
fish," said the man, after awhile.
"Sech things has been heerd of,
hain't thcy?'
OF course they had. Certainly.
"Cattish and their young lives in
water, don't they?" asked the bearer
of news from Pochuck, intent on set
ting himself straight.
No one had any record Of catfish
living more than day or so on
land.
"And nobody that has read about
Noah and the food has any doubt
that water gifts high, now and then?'
asked the man.
The fact was well known.
"WcIl, them" said the pochuck cit
izen. with look of triumph at
l,aldy. the landlord, 81 seen EN- all!'
"When did you sec the watcr?"
asked Badly, the landlord, malicious
", and Farmer Bill Leonard who
lives opposite Goose Pond Noun
tain, said: "Shamc." and Farmer
Green said: "Tut, tut, Haldy."
The man who stakes his word on
his homes being over toward Po-
chuck cracked the thumb on his
right hand and three fingers on his
left. as if de family, and said:
"Them's the news I've brung over
this time. and | wouldn't "a believed
'em. First place, I'd been down to
Sprout Hill stone frolic If you've
never been to a Sprout Hill stone
frolic it's a lectlc hard to give you
all the pints a Sprout Hill stone
frclic has.
"Whcn got home from the frolic
in the cvcnin', Uncle David looked
me over and I see he was kind O.
bcgrudgin' me.
"I see il was a hummer says he.
81 said it was and | went to bed
and forgot to milk the cows. Next
morning | Thought I'd walk over to |
the river to see if the water had fell |
much, cause it had been uncom-
promisin high. ] see that it had fell
considerable, cause a big h0lIer |
stump that had been all covered with |
water was shown above it for more
than two foot. but the holIer in the
stump was full O water yit.
81 sot down to rest a spell, and as
sot there what should ] see but a
catfish raise up in the water inside
that holler stump and peek down
over the edge o the stump. I never
seen n bigger catfish than that one,
and I've seen some all gozllin' big
ones in them Drrwnded Lands wa
tiers,
"When the catfish seen how far J
below the top o that stump the river
had got, II looked scared, tell yon,
and it dropped back into the hoIcr.
"'That catfish has been hatchin'
its young ones in that stump, not
thinkin about the high water. I'll
bet hoss,' says, 'and it has been
ketchcd there unbeknownst to it,
II hadn't more than said it, when
up to the top came the catfish
again, and she had her mouth full
o. young catfish. She give u flop,
and out o the stump to the water
she went She released her mouth
ful o young ones, gcthered herself
together, and sprung back into that
stump. In less than ten seconds out
she jumped ag'in with another
nouthfnl o young ones, released em
md back into the stump.
Five times that catfish went in
and out o the holler stump before
she got all of her young ones out
safe, and away she swum, the whole
big litter of kitten fish follerin' !
along in her wake.
"This was interestin'. and I sot
here w,onderin' on it, when down on
20 dead tree that lay out from the
'ank into the river maybe ten foot
n more a yaller cat came trottin'.
She was the yallerest cat IL ever see,
md the little kitten that was foller-