River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1903-05-28
".And after the sheep-bu-er went

away, Caleb's sheep KEEP a-goin' more
than ever they did. So Caleb he jest
made up his mind he'd fix way to
find out who it was that was walkin
off with his mutton, and put stop
to it,
"'Actin' on his idee he drove what
sheep was left into an odd cabin be
had in the woods, about mile from
his clearin', and shut 'em up. Then he
Their, who was sufferin' tremendous
with the rheumytiz that day, what he
had done with the sheep.
"'"That's good idee," says AbEer
eff they won't be safe now," says he
you mowt jest as well turn 'em loose
and let 'em run from Dan to Beershe-
by" says he.
"'"And more than that" says Caleb
''I'm gointer to set the bar trap right
in front o. the cabin door," says he.
"'Poor old Abner he WINGED with a
twang o. the rheumytiz, and when he
| got over it he says to Caleb:
That's another good idee," says
O the door Set it under the wind ow
If the thief comes he'll be sure you've
got the door locked and he'll GO to the
winder to climb in,' says Abner. "Set
the trap under the winder,'' says he
"'Caleb said he would, and along in
the afternoon he started with the
trap for the ca bin. On the way there
h n ~ a1 RI 10 c
the bar trap at the cabin. He'd rig
up dead fall door that'd come down
with bang and ketch on the bottom
the minute the thief opened the real
door to the cabin and stepped inside
"'Then he'd nail the winder down
and as the dead fall door couldn't be
opened from the inside, he'd have the
thief snug in the cabin and his les
wouldn't be all smashed by a trap
Caleb rugged up setch a door.
The work took so long that Caleb
didn't git back home till way after
dark, and his sufferin' old father had
gone to bed, so Caleb didn't disturb him
to tell him about it.
Next mornin' bright and early
Caleb went over to the cabin to see il
anybody had been circumvented in try
in to walk off with sheep or two o
hisn, and sure enough the dead-fall
door was down.
COLA, hal" says Caleb. 1--WE got
the sheep-stealin' citizen, have l?'
"'He yanked the ketch of the door
open and riz the deadfall Josiah, who
do you s'pose walked out O the cabin
Caleb's poor old father!
CHOW, most fathers, after being
treated like that, would have been sc
tremendous mad that they'd have
made the fur fly around there, and nc
mistake, but sufferin' old Abner wasn't
mad. He was jest hurt.
ellis poor old heart was panged. He
looked in sorrow at Caleb, and he
says:
Caleb" says he, 'I'd never "a
thunk it of you. An only son, tool
he says. ''And trappin' for his poor old
father as sheep thief! IF you didn't
want me around no longer, Caleb, he
says, "I'd "a gone fur, fur away, il
you'd only give me hint. But, no mat
ter. You needn't git no warrant. III
go give myself up. You've cooked the
evidence ag'in me, all right, and my
gray hairs'll go down in sorrow to the
county seat and rest in the jail"
"'Caleb he jest bellered andbellered,
to think that Abner should imagine
for a minute that he s'pected him O
bein' a sheep thief.
6 :" faint so much what you've
done to me, Caleb" says poor old Alb
ner, ''but whatll jimmy say? Will
jimmy be likely to take up with the son
of sufferin' father that you've gore
and made out to be sheep thief? She
won't do it, Caleb! In amin at your
poor old father I'm afeerd that you've
put the ball under your own foreshoul-
der, Caleb" he says.
"'This made Caleb feel worse and
worse to see what a terrible thing he
had gone and done, and he begged OF
his sufferin' parent to tell him what he
could do to undo it.
Well" says Abner, the, tears run.
MIN down his cheeks, II can't never feel
the same lords you as use'to, Caleb -
saws he, ''but SEEM. as you're con
science-struck, l won't disgrace YOU by
exposin' what you've done, provided
you give me 500 in cash and paw nv
stagin' to Sprout Hill, over in JERSEY
where I've wanted to spend my closin'
days for a long time back" says Alb
ner.
"'And Caleb, sorrowin' done it. And
he never sot no more traps for sheen
thieves. And the funny part of it was
that he never lost no more sheep nor
chickens, which he said was more than
he deserved, after treatin' his poor old
father the way he did, when he had
got up and gone way over to the cab
in in the night, sufferin' as he was
with the rheumatic, to watch ag'in
the comm o thieves and chase 'em
away, not wantin' 'em to git in the laws
o. the big bar trap that he thought
was sot under the winder.
"'Caleb and jimmy got married. but
see what a narrow escape Caleb had
from losin' her, jest by trappin' for
sheep thieves!
"'Of course says !, there hahn no
setch danger in your tryin' bar trap
in your chicken coop, if you want |
says; but bar traps clutches ire
mendous hard, and there's them a liy-
in neighbors to you that-well,' says.
you've heerd my little recollection o.
the Knob country, and if you want to
set a trap, why set it! That's aIl!' |