River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-07-24

Badly, the landlord, spoke up again,
right away.
"Then," said he, "see the time
Charles p. Barrington's uncle died
and left him the 30O-acre farm. Best
farm there was in ali that country.
Worth $25, 900 if Is was worth a cent.
But what did Charles p Darlington
say?
ayes SAID he The farms all
right, / s'pose. But it's a wonder
Uncle Todd wouldn't "a cut the
brush and fixed the fences little
before he went to willin' it to folks.
There's most quarter of an acre o.
brush that's got to be cut in the
back lot, and more than ten rod o.
fence that's got to be fixed. Before
Uncle Todd went to leavin' his farm
to folks it's a wonder he wouldn't "a
cut that brush and fixed that fence!
"BOund to kick and complain,
Charles p. Darlington was, and be
unappreciative and ungrateful. But
what started in to making folks
travel miles out of their way to see
such a gbumblegusted kicker and
j
ton was something that out-ding-
bumblegusted anything in the way of
kicking and complaining, and of in
gratitude and unappreciativeness
that even old Charles p. Darlington
had ever given a specimen of.
"a great big pepperidge tree stood
in field on his place, and he wanted
of lin ND
but if you know anything about pep
peridge trees you'll know that it
amt any gentle piece of work to
move one out of the way. There's
no more grain to pepperidge tree
than there is to a cork, and the wood
is as tough and springy as rubber
betting.
so, by blasting a tree to pieces
with dynamite or such, you get it
into chunks you can handle, the
wood makes first-rate frewood, but
it'd be worth good deal more than
folks could pay for it to make it
profitable to put on the market.
well, old Charles p. Darlington
figured and figured on what it would
cost to blast that pepperidge tree
out of the way and grub the roots
up. Any way he could figure it he
couldn't make the cost come out, so
he felt that it would warrant him
in doing the work, but he wanted
that tree off of that lot mighty bad.
He used to lay awake nights try
ing to think up how he could do it.
h1Tt 4 hnt. !
him like Sam Hill. One night in the
summer time there came up a big
thunderstorm.
Its a great place for thunder
storms, back of Hopewell Junction,
and the lightning does cut up around
there enough to make some folks
talk. At least it used to when [ lived
over there. Well, this Thunderstorm
came up and seemed to just more
than throw itself about the Barring
ton place.
The lightning shot around and
dropped down in regular chunks
When old Charles p. Darlington got
up next morning and went out to
take look over his farm, he found
that the big pepperidge tree was
gone. Lightning had struck it, and
the tree stood there numbering the
lot no more.
"And lightning had done more than
simply strike that tough old pepper
idge tree. 1t had cut and split that
tree up into cordwood lengths, and
ranked it all up in rows ready for
hauling away.
Now you would naturally suppose,
knowing how bad old Charles P Bar
ringtOn had wanted to get that tree
out of his way, that he would have
just jumped and howled with Joy
when he saw that it was gone, and
not only gone, but all ready cut and
measured to put on a profitable mar
ket.
But did he? Not he. He was old
Charles p. Darlington first, last and
all the time. He looked at the wood
all corded up as regular as could be,
and then growIed out:
ITS a wonder the lightning could
MT just as we'll "a chucked that wood
over the fence yonder, into the wag-
on that's standin' there and not put
me to the work o comm in here and
| lOadin' it.
"Well, there! When folks heard of
that kick, they took to travelling
miles out of their way to see the man
who was such a dingbumbleguste
kicker and complainer and migrate
full citizen as old Charles p. Barring
ton was. And"
But say!" interposed Farmer Bill
Leonard, while the man from over
toward Pochuck still stares at Badly
with his mouth open. THAT light
ming. What did folks seem to think
of that?'
THE lightning?" said the landlord,
as if he wasn't exactly clear as to
what the lightning had to do with
| it. ooh, what it did to the tree ?
Why, that wasn't anything out of the
way for lightning back of Hopewell
Junction, and nobody thought much
of that pepperage tree act"
: Badly, the landlord, paused. Farm
err Bill Leonard sighed. The man
from over toward Pochuck closed his
mouth with a snap, rose from his
chair, glared a moment at Badly, the
landlord, and strobe Pochucllward
without a word.
"Now amt that too bad!" ex-
claimed the landlord, going to the
| door and looking after the retreating
Pochuck citizen. Just as like as not,
now, we'll never know what he came