The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-19
MONT TRAP FOR
- CHICKEN THIEVES.
Warning Conveyed In a Suit for
Slandef brosght in the Knob Country

LAcxAwAxkN, April 81 hain't spoke
20 old Jason not since he shot the big tame
deer o. mine right In its own pastur' and
luReed IL away. KNOWN II was mine and
that he hadn't no more right to do it than
he had TO shoot one o. my cows said the
man from the Knob country. -and yit now
he goes and sumnonses me to be defendant
In a lawsuit he's bringn' gin me for SLAM
der! Hain't spoke to him nor mentioned
his name In better than four years. and
here he goes and surnmonses me to be the
defendant In o suit for SANDER!
Josiah come In t'other day and he was
considerable elum. asked him what was
achin'. and he says:
ITS them chickens o. mine he says.
Half a dozen o my best ones was stole
last night. Half q dozen was stole the
night afore that, and I s'pose that half
dozen II 60 ag'in tonight, and then won't
have none left he says. That's what
| the ailin' IL, DanT,' says he.
Josiah n old Jasons on-in-law, and q
oonsarned nice young Teller he Is. too, for
! all o. that. And Jason lives neighbor to
Josiah. So"
I'm soin' to put bar trap in that hen
| coop Tonight says he. and jest find out
who It b that's depopulatin' OF it, says
he.
Il sot and th,ink awhile, and then I says:
JOSIAH I Aays, before you set trap
| for your chicken thief, let me tell you
| little recollection about somethin' that
happened In the Knob country somethin'
like a good many years ago. Then. says I.
| II you want to set your trap, why set It. 1t
won't make no difference to me- ! says.
The time I'm feferencin' to- says /.
Sackrider Jupp was In pardnership In
the shingle-splittin' and ladder-makin'
business. over back o the Knob. Sack
rider had q daughter jimmy. She want
more than Is when this happened. but
abe could an out Q calico dress like sugar
cake dough run into mould.
'Sackrider's pardner. Jupp. was tip
top. strappin' youngster Of % or 90. He
| was an orphan on hts mothers side. but
his poor old father, Abner. was left TO be q
old man lived on the boy. and had the
rheumytis most O. the time, with now and
then q call from plumtago in the back.
and similar cheerf 81 ailin.s.
was folks mean enough to cay that though
/ he wss always sufferin' terrible when his
boy WAS afound-which the youngsters
name was Caleb-he was clipper enough
ths Sy SS St n bres %sd IKE
tavern and absorb more rum and tanzy
than any other citizen o. that bailiwick.
That's what there was folks mean enough
to say about .Abner, but you'll find jest
seteh meddlin' folks everywheres' Josiah.
s.tslsb, he never knowed OF their talk.
though. and was always worryin' about
his poor old father, and feelin' cory for
him, and saying that he was afeared he
wasn't doin enough to make the old man
! comfortable on his way TO t'other shore.
s'The ground that Sackrider's daughter
! jimmy walked on was worth somethin
like $40 900 q square inch TO Caleb, and tho
J price mark that jimmy put on Billy was
so high that the Queen o Shelby couldn't
! a carried enough treasures and things In
her chist to pay it. and setch betn' the
case. Of course. II was settled thing. az
to marry one another when the time come
F'There was considerable o. sheep stealth
! and chicken stealth and setch pastimes
days. and nobody WAS more dead sot ag'in
/, 'em tina Sackrider's daughter jimmy.
why, says Jimmy to Caleb one day.
sSsep the ssy: ana al mad s"Ss .he
s'every time think o one!'
Caleb be said that be did. too, and that
ne didn't want nothin' to do with anyone
that eAsonss sss :hssP 9 thief I'D .. soon
tetch pissn!s says she.
Along Early that spring . man came
through there buyin up sheep; Caleb
had como O. the choicest kind o sheep.
| but none Of sm was for sale.
The sheep buyer he sort o. deputized
| Uncle Lijer, At the tavern. to pick up all
he could And forward 'em to him at the
Eddy. Now, somehow or other. Of all the
sheep that had been stole IN the deestriot
Caleb, and somehow when chickens was
levied on, CAlsb's seemed 70 be the favorite
! brand o. chickens that was called for,
And af,er the sheep.buyer went away.
d tS.s did, ;AesS t cs.s made A up his
| mind he'd Az . way to flnd out who IL was
that va. waikin' Oh With his mutton. and
put ac sSP S 30 liz III lido. h. drov. what sheep
woods, about . mile from his clesrin'.
and shut en- up. rhep he vent home
and told his poor old father. who was suf-
day. what he had done With the sheep.
.Thatis q. GOOD idee... says, Abner.
IF they won't b safe now says he, you
mowt jesf ss vel turn EN- loose and let EN-
from Dan 70 H tssn sSsy s s:r. n Caleb
I'm eointef TO sst the bar trap right In
front O. the cabin door, says he
POOR old ',Abnsr he WINGED with .
twang o the rhepmyti.' and when he got
Only DONE q the trsp in front o. the door
| Bet Il Under the window. II the thief
comes he'll be sure you've got the door
locked and hen g 70 he vinder to climb mt
Oieb said he would, and along In the
afternoon ne sts rted with the tmp for the
o.bh. On the. WY there he got smother
the oabin. He'd rig UP D. dead fall door
that'd oome down With . bang and ketch
on the kttom the minute the thief opened
the real door 70 the cabin and stepped
|, Then nd all the winder down and
A the dead fAll door couldn't be opened
! from the insids, he'd have the thief snug
In the nbin and biz leg wouldn't BE- an