Waterbury Democrat., 1902-01-02
The Courtship of Hod and Jason Q By HAYDEN CARRUTH.
Copyrighted by Daily Story Pub. Col

It is doubtful if the Hawleyburgers 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 stranger.
 There were several versions of the legend known; let us take that of "Oid Dad" Highbottle, who maintained sa- loon at Bo6nger's grocery store.
 .When the Wilder Gilbert was a. running her farm," Old Dad would say, he munched dried apple and looked at the newcomer with a habby eye, ''she used to have to keep 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 widder was a pretty like1y-looking woman, femme tell you-bloo eyes and fetch ing way. Abe Trotter and Jim Buck was going to fight duel about her, but they compromised on pizening each otherses dog and sowing pusley seed in each otherses garden. Used to think ill them days that the widder put sort of a soft-appearing eye on yours trooly, but I fit shy.
 "This summer the widder had her usual two hired men. One was Hod Bickley 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 lem working alone and he'll just naturally lay right down and never wiggle a 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 weed. They'd both worked for me, and the only way l ever could get anything out of either of 'em was to use lem for scarecrows; and finally it even got so the crows would roost on em-sand the fowls ot the air roosted on it's branches as the good book says about the ginger seed. But what do you think ?-both of the SC year shiftless galoots fell dead in love with the widder. And it had the queer est effect on lem. Hod braced up and went to work like a steam engine. i 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 if he done stroke. Thought sure he'd catch the widder with his peskyindu you see. But it had just the opposite effect on that there Jason. Seemed to just sort O. petrify him. Couldn't seem to move if he tried Managed to stir about a 1 little if the widder was watching him, 1 but at other times just elapsed. The widder had a pertater patch down back of the barn in little holler where she kept Jason a-hoeing the main part of the time. But all the hoeing he done you could a-put in your eye. Didn't work enough to keep his hoe bright. | Just as soon as the widder's back was
 
 r and set down and go to sleep, his feet resting on the second rail and his el- bows on his knees and his face in his hands. Always, regular, all day long, there Jason sot, snoring steady. l tell you Satan never found no work for l them idle hands to do, 'cause he wouldn't work at nothing. The req son that Jason got on the fence was that the ground down there in the holler was sort O wet and sudgy and he was afeerd of rheumatic.
 "Well, it made Hod mad to see his self doing all the work and Jason all the resting, even though he was sure he would catch the widder by it. He l didn't like it 'cause the widder wouldn't l discharge Jason, and he sot about bringing ridercule onto his head. Fust l he knocked down the rail fence and left l Jason without his natural means of support. But he knowed this wouldn't do, with old Deacon Thorp's cows ranging about seeking wot they might devour, so he put up wire fence not barbed wire, cause it wasn't in- rented yet, but old-fashioned smooth fence wire. Strung up five wires from
 
 post to post down long the side of l the pertater patch and 'crost the holler where Jason was 'customed to roost. sThere,' says Hod, I reckon that will fetch him. Leastways he'll have to lay down on the sudgy ground now and get the chills, and I'll get rid of him, any howl But did it fetch him? Not much 1; Jason justppnt his coat on the top wire, clumb up, sot down, hooked his heels on the second wire and went I plumb to sleep as soon as the widder wasn't looking. In fact, I think he slep' better, cause he swayed little in the breeze and it sort O rocked him and made him dream he was child again in his mothers cradle.
 At fust Hod was dead beat. He's too many for me, says Hod. The wid- der might just as well put spring bed out there and let him reg'larly turn in and sleep till meal time' But Hod l got a-thinking, and one day hit on an other plan.
 'sIt was about the middle of warm I afternoon, and Jason was a-sleeping 1 quietly on his wire at the bottom of the holler. This holler, you know, is 1 mebby 40 feet below the tons of the