Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-09-01
QUlLL'S YARN.
This One About Man Who
Colored His Chickens.
Effect Upon the City Man Was Every
thing Desired.
A Transaction That Pleased the
Farmer Very Much.

Patrick Henry once said: Il have
but one lamp by which my feet are
guided and that is the lamp of eX-
perience," which goes to show that p
Henry had other things up his sleeve
beside his elbow. Now if there were
more people in this vale of tears who
would handle this kind of lamp more
freely and not be so afraid Of breaking
the shade they would have less cause
for regrets afterwards.
There are lots of people who have
the idea firmly grated into their Co
coanuts that anything that comes from
Maine is easy and that when a Maine
lite visits the metropolis he comes with
his Wad of green tied up in Il ban
danna handkerchief, all ready to scat
ter money to the birds and lay in a
winter supply of gold bricks and let
any old thing with a shirt waist and
an angelic smile warm her cold hands
on the inside lining Of his coat, and
that he is greener than peck Of Gel
cry. When he sails out of Union sta
ton the hurdy gurdys. and street bands
unite and play When Reuben Comes
to Town.
This is the kind of picture that city
chaps paint on that vacant space in
their mind. but when they come down
in the rural districts and see the ma
tive on his own heap Of dirt, why, he
is liable to go back and kick himself
to think he did not take Henrys adj
vice and a lamp along with him. For
a down east Yank is about as keen 4
specimen Of the dickerer as does bust
ho - !,
and when the slick city chap with his
game of chance undertakes to ride one
of these Changers into camp he is quite
liable to get hold of the busy end OF
the bargain.
a fellow came down this way some
little time ago on an automobile trip
and brought his family with him. They
had been doing the western part of the
State thoroughly and thought they
would blow themselves over toward
Camden as a final windup. They had
gone about half way over and had adj
mired everything they saw. when they
came across n flock of chickens that
were hopping around in a farmers
yard which rather took their eye. 1t
was the most variegated flock they
had seen since Noah went out of the
poultry business. There were all coiors
of the rainbow, black. brown, green.
blue and some gorgeous shades of red
and purple in the flock, and when Mr..
Cityman and his family saw this
kaleidoscope her family it was re
solved right then and there to hunt up
the tiller of the soil, the owner of the
chickens. and negotiate for a few eggs,
just enough for setting, taking them
back to New York with them on their
return and go into the poultry bust
ness in earnest and drive their neigh
bors wild with envy. So they hitched
up their old combustible wagon and
tramped down in the field after the
farmer.
After some preliminary skirmishing
on their part they made their wants
known. The farmer looked somewhat
surprised and finally said: well,
mother has charge of the hen popu-
lation on the farm, but 1 guess she
can be induced to part with some of
the eggs if she gets pay enough. Wo-
men always like a little spending
money. | never have sold any and l
shall have to see the women folks be-
fore I part with any hen fruit" He
chickens and wanted to buy them but
he sort of kept them as pets for the
children.
He ran along like a thrashing ma
chine as they wended their way back
to the house. Reaching the yard he
said he guessed it would be better for
him to go in and have talk with
mother first and see just how the
barometer was standing. So the auto
mobiist and his family waited. He
was gone some little time and when
he finally appeared he said he had had
rather hard job TO get mothers con-
sent. but at last she had yielded and
if they were willing to pay the price
he thought they could close the decker
The New Workers were delighted with
the prospects of getting CROP of red
and blue hens and did not propose to
let a few paltry dollars stand in the
way of their getting undisputed pos
session. So five good honest American
dollars were paid to the honest old
farmer and the dozen eggs carefully
packed in the box with oats TO keep
them from breaking.
The old automowarbler was hitehed
up and the party with many good