The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-01-21


cts before the sun looked over the hills.
Trout are early breakfasters and will
play like kittens i'm the bright sunshine.
! have often watched bunch of them
jumping over each other and having
great fun, as We crept up to their COOL
ing holes in Zee of the sum-" As the
good old miller (the IZaak of our day)
used to put it: Its the early boy with
the early worm that bags the trout"
But early or late there was no worm
could bag sly Ben, the big trout that for
years made his home under the dam of
the old Falling mill. Heemas never
caught with hook and line, being too
wise for the green goods boys of those
days. So We must judge of his size by
the eyes of those who saw him as he
lay in the shadow of the dam tanning
his sides with his great yellow fins.
Said near neighbor whose bedroom
window looked into the dam and whose
| fish stories have a record
He was the biggest trout that ever
lived IN these parts. and when he
| jumped out to catch bat or fight a
muskrat he locker as big as a stur-
geon.'' And so now will Delay my
| yarn With a story of one of my ances-
| tors who lived on the river bank at De-
borah, ford. just below where is now the
/ stone bridge.
The old trail road running from
/ Quinnipiac to the farms of Totoket and
| to that gem of lokes, Lonotononket,
1.-The tear of the Great Spirit" so well
answering Claude Melnotte's" de-
| scription before the vandal hand of the
/ railroad SCARED its fair bosom.
| "A fair lake, shut out by Alpine hills
/ from the rude world" wound down the
hill to the right of the present bridge.
| One Sunday at the close of the morn
ling service a meetings member arose
and asked that I've hole men who did
! dignity We meeting remain, as he had a
| very serious charge to make with much
confusion of face before Lord God and
We meeting"
/ He then stated that he had seen the
deacon upon that holie Saba day shoot
| to the great disturbance of We hole
neighbors some black ducks The dea-
! con Ga most independent character) to
| the Mortified meeting acknowledged it
1 was true and made this statement:
That he had been unable to obtain We
/ staff of life for the Saba day and that
! he had that morning sun up" Wrestled
long with God that He who did send
| food to Elijah when hungered would
now send food to His hungered house
hold. As he came out of his door to
dignity We meeting a flock of ducks did
settle in the stream and paddle towards
i him with great bobbing we heads and
wagging We tails"
He had no doubt, had he waited Gods
time, they would have padded into his
dinner pot. but being short er time Of
I've meeting and knowing the nature Of
ducks, he opened his flint lock upon
them and shot by sight and not by
faith. Now argue if the Lord God
4 sent me ducks for dinner on foot or on
wing or unpicked would be q tarna-
ton fool not to accept them with a
thankful heart, Saba day or no Saba
day. i.
Il will cook We ducks and eat we ducks
myself and household with grace and
i reverence. and if this confession do I'M
ulSHlly 5esiIlSSlilits 1Se Se lioilS itSil pass
We sentence. LII
i We have no account of We meetings
i decision, but have no doubt that the
| deacon asked a blessing upon the ducks
and ate them with great satisfaction to
his stomach and the stomachs of his
/ houehold; and that the meeting, as was
the custom in those days OF robust re-
j
the tankard and the trencher, passed
over the matter lightly. trusting, that
the eater of unholie food would be the
!, only sufferer. EsE p 4 ,Y.
Tradition tells Of a colonial governor
i who built a mansion upon the Totoket
side of the Lonotononl1et Lake eSalton-
stalD, ringing the necks of some of
Aunt Deborat's geese that had padded
/ across the lake to feed upon the ENG
fish grass of his lawn. Aunt Deborah,
] beide running the Pulling Mill, acted at
| high tide as ferry woman where is now
i the stone bridge; she heard of the fate
of her geese with that meekness and re.
i signation that did dignity We old time
& meeting woman, but all the same bided
4 her time. F, B.. 49, a.,
| Some time after the governor, in full
paint and feather, bound upon official
business, came to the river, the tide be.
ing over the broad stepping stones, De
borah was called to ferry him over to
the other side. .s ,,.s Il &
In the middle Of the stream she
lplumped the skiff on to a sharp rock in
! such a way it remained firm, but leak
ing badly. g#'%e r." ~
i What shall / do" cried the governor.
DO? Why, do as do, or stay there
/ until the tide falls. So, pulling up her
home-spun petticoat, she jumped over
board and waded ashore, waging her
head and clacking like goose.
The governor, unwilling to ruin his
gold lace stockings, ruffed silk velvet
breeches, esat upon 1.-THE dry portion OF
the skiff until the tide fell, making
great fun for the neighbors, with whom
/ he was no favorite. ~
] The story of. Deborahs beese spread
from "Quinnipiac to Suckanaug," much
to the governors discomfort as he had
great political aspiration, his success
depending much upon the good will oil
the Egg Suckers (Hartford) and the
"Cohougs.' (Quinnipiac)
In our boyhood the governors man
| sion WAS unite a show house tbe y,,,;o1~e