The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1906-01-26
CAUGHT IN HIS OWN TRAP
JOHNNY oUMPER TELLS A GOOD
JOKE ON HIS "PA."
WAS AFTER CHICKEN THIEVES

! ne Chicken Inlet Droppeu lnto the
Piuall, All Right, But Johnny's Fa.
ther Fell In, Also, and Both Had to
be Hauled Out Next Morning.
Editor News: Pa has had chickens
stole two or three times this winter,
an he scd he'd stood II as long as
| he's gon' to. You see we live just
| little ways out of town an thare's sum
of them town folks that cant git no
more meet at the buchers shop without
payin' for II, 40 they've taken to steal
in chickens Pa got big bull pup
an tide him up nights to the hen-hous
door. He hadn't had i'm more'n n
week afOre he dide of led poison. Sum
body shot him Pa scd he'd fix them
fcllcrs for KILN the dog, so he set
me an the hired man to dig hole
inside the hcn.hous about fore feet
square by ate feet deep. 1t was Il
COrlin big Job an took us nearly all
day. Then pa put down bords all
around the hCn-hOus floor an over the
hole he put sum thin bords that 'ud
brake as soon as you stopped on ON.
Then he left the hen-coop door un-
locked an everything handy an sed
he'd bet we'd catch somebody afOre a
week But nobody cum around an
the hole waZ lots of bother. The old
rustcrs wud stratch around an scratch
the bords away from over the hole an
fall in Then we'd haf to put a lad.
der down the hole an go down after
'cm But one night last week while
ma waz away visitin' her sister that
lives on farm about ten miles out
pa herd "A noys in the hen-coop an he
slipped on his pants an shirt an slip
pcrs an tuck the gun an lantern an
, without walin' me or the hired man
he run out to the hen-coop.
Tharc waz too fellers after chick
ems; one of 'em stayed outside the cool
an watched while the other went in
' side. When the fcller inside fell down
. the hole an pa started ont with the
lantern the feller outside run ava!
V an left the fcllcr in the hole and pi
to iitC 1t out Pa went in the cool
an over to the hole an waz holdin
out the lantern to see who was in The
tt hole, when the bord he'd stepped OF
broke an afore pa cud grab hold o
ANYTHING he went down the hole whaT,
the hen thief waZ, the lantern goin' on
in the shuffel Thare wa2 about thre
inches of mud an water on the bot
tom in the hole an pas slipper
want no hCtter'n nothin'. Pa an tn
man hollered for me an the hired ma
n to cum an help 'em out but we neve
herd 'cm at all an slept right alon
| till mornin' Pa told the man h
wudn't have him arrested if he'd hel
him out an not let it out how he sc
S caught in his own trap.
SO the man helped pa up onto hi
sholdcrs an pa tride to elm out bu
he cudn't get hold of nothin' solid al
' he slipped back every time. SO the
both stood thare in the mud an waite
a. pa a shalin' in nothin' but his shi
,d an pants
In the mornin' when me an IL
~ hired man went out they waz sit
to look at NecthCr one of 'em GU
scarscly get up the ladder we pN
al down the hole, an the hired man ha
n TO go down an help pa up he waz thj
&C. stiff 1t wa2 lucky that ma got bac
IS that forenoon an she put pa to be
c. with a lot of blankets over him a
or some plastcrs on his feet an he's &c
III tin around all rite now eXceptin h
rucmatism is wors. Pa set me an Il
he hired man to fill up the hole agen tn
n. same day, an | thot I'd rite you abo
ed it an if anybody reeds it that's be,
ss bothered havin' chickens stole they
to know good way to catch the theeye
ns Yours,
la Johnny Bumper.