The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-02-02
The Angora Goat Again

To the Editor: After reading what
Mr.. w. S. Parker had to say about the
Angora goat / thought l would say a
word to the wise along that line About
the year 1886 way down in Louisiana,
the people through my section of that
country were very suddenly attacked
with Angora goat fever and ! will have
to admit that | was about the first one
to take the fever. | purchased two An
goras at cost of SIS and freight
charges and put them on my fathers
plantation TO eat up the weeds. but it
was but a short time before the goats
had to stay close up around the barn lot
sate to keep the weeds from smothering
them to death. Whenever a gate was
opened they would slip into the barn
yard and before l could head them off
they would slip through the barn door
and climb up a ladder that was used Is
GO up in the barn loft where | had
about ten tons of hay and oats They
sometimes made me so mad~thar Twas
tempted 20 kick them out of the loft and.
try to kill them, but | could not stand
the thoughts of losing that SIS through a
fit of passion So I would go up and
bring them down the ladder in my arms,
one at time One day went up in
the barn loft after my goats and while /
was scufHing with one of them | lost my
straw hat and did not take time 10 get
it. | went down the ladder with my
goat and put him down at the barn door
hut in my rucus | lost the hook that fas-
tened the door. so l hauled off my sus-
penders and tied the door and went
hack up the ladder after goat No. 3
| at ha IF bn lodi
der l discovered that my goat had just
finished eating up my hat. This en-
ragged me so | grabbed him by one leg
and one ear and pitched him through
window that was in the gable end of che
barn loft. which is about thirty feet from
the ground | was sure that fall would
make cake of his dough and | did not
care. for l mad made up my mind to get
rid of those goats went on down the
ladder and when l got to the barn door
[ saw goat No. / licking his mouth. He
had just wound up eating my suspenders.
Right there and then l took another one
of my mad fits. | seized a hay fork and
stove it into his side clean up to the
handle. There was nothing on my mind
then but TO kill out the goats, but in my
round the goat got away from me and
run round and round in the LOT with the
fork handle sticking out from his side.
took a stand by the side of the fence
and made Q grab for the fork handle but
missed it and ii hit me up side of my
kead and knocked NE as cold as
wedge. When | came 10 my senses
goat No. . was standing over me and had
eaten about half of my shirt off of my
back. crawled to crack in the fence
and got away from him. ] then decided
that nothing short of powder and lead
would settle the goat question. So |
went to the house. got a SO caliber Win
chester rife. came back and found my
goats standing in a vacant stall eating
on nv coat | said to myself: two shots
will fix my Angoras for the bone yard.
aimed at goat No. 2's head and the
ball hit him but glanced and went
through an adjoining stable and killed
the only horse | had. which cost mo
$50. The first shot frightened goat No.
| and he came out of the stable like wild
fire. with the fork handle still projecting
from his side. BY this time the yard
was full of turkeys. ducks and chickens.
Everything he passed he knocked their
heads off with the fork handle. | think
he killed turkeys. ducks, and about
two dozen chickens. I was standing on
the fence shooting az him at every jump
ne made and I killed cows. hogs, shot
&c holes through a $500 carriage and shot
bee hives all to smitherines. It was
not long before those bees got good and
hot They made the goats break out
through the barn fence and stung me
from head to foot That was the last
saw of the goats until l joined the X
of P at Alhambrs. California. in 1890
and they brought out one of those goats
for me TO ride. / don't know what be-
came of the other goat. neither do | want
to know l hope some one has found q,
way to kill him.
AS for their wool | can't see any
money in it. My goats did not have any
wool on them. They were so mean /
kept it all beat off. | only kept them four
months and I wore out S22.75 worth of
buggy whips on them.
No doubt your readers will say that [
have told lie about my experience with
the Angora goat. | will say l have. and
the biggest one | ever told.
s. ID. MCMILLAN.
Junes, y. c., Feb. 1st.