The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-03-07

BY LEWIS HopKIN

wow gnat and swallow q camel |
of an old lady whose boy ran away
to sea. returning after many years
wandering, and who wept over the
awful mendaclty of the boy when he
told her of monster of the deep, sixty
feet long, that wrecked boats and
killed men by blow from its tail; of
great sharks that attacked and de-
voured unwary swimmers and ce fly
ing-fsh. but who embraced him and
forgave him for all these awful lies
when he told her of their pulling up
wheel off of one of Pharaoh's char
lots on their ships anchor in the Red
Sea. We who write of the incidents
that come under our observation, and
occasionally embellish them. often
have our pure fiction accepted ms fact
and our unvarnished truths branded
as fiction. and so unwittingly prove
that truth is stranger than fictlon-to
some people.
A kindly disposed friend will occa-
sionally call your attention TO the ease
with which h separates the wheat of
truth from the chaff of fiction. in
something you have written, and often
will have the former in the fuel heap
and the latter in the grain bin. but if
you love him, let it go at that and
thereby keep your friend. That an in
cident recounted is out of the ordinary
Is no argument affecting its truthful
ness. If not unusual and strange in
some particular. why tell it, with the
hope that it will interest or entertain
the reader?
Many men eat fish for dinner in the
city every day, which fact interests no
one saving and excepting the fish
dealer. But one prominent. prosperous
and well known citizen gets n bone of
his fish fast in his throat one day,
which chokes him to death and there
upon the victim of the accident, the
bone. the table and the waiter are one
and all portrayed upon the front page
of the daily papers, with full and de-
tailed accounts of how it happened.
So even so insignificant a thing as n
small fish bone can change an Incl
dent from trivial to tragic, and many
will read and believe though they see
not the bone nor be acquainted With
the man. We all know many incidents,
, great and small that are out of the
ordinary and of interest. some of
which we allow to remain untOl,- for
fear of the doubter And yet 1 am
sure that most of us, when disseminat-
| ing hot air products, use due diligence
to see that the output is duly branded
while molten. to the eye of the fair
and reasonable reader.
/ often think of an amusing out of
! the ordinary incident that came under
| my observation in Florida last winter.
We were at hotel on the Halifax
River where the fishing was good,
and one day very large sheepshead
was brought in by lucky fisherman.
When all had seen and admired the
fish it was turned over to Bill, the ex-
pert fish cleaner, for preparation for
the table. This Bill accomplished by
removing the scales and sllcing off
each side, leaving the big head and
frame. including back fin and tall
intact.
| watched the two great slices of
white flesh laid carefully on tray to
be carried to the Kitchen, the frame,
with its big head and bright eyes, cast
as far out into the water as Bits
strong arm could throw it, and as the
diplomats say, considered the incident
closed.
The next morning several of us We're
fishing off a point of rocks near the
wharf when a new arrival appeared
and began casting out with heavy
hand line. The second cast he hooked
something, and although it made little
resistance, he was novice enough to
grow much excited and hauled in hand
over hand as though he We're landing
q record fish. We were all watching,
mildly interested. when. with a final
jerk. he landed his catch. which proved
to be the frame of the big sheepshead
above referred to, and which was
fairly hooked (by accident l admit in
the mouth.
To say that we were surprised is to
mildly express our condition, but the
lucky CD fisherman was a little more
than this. He was profoundly aston
ished. and genuinely frightened. AT
first 1t looked as though he would
faint. and then as he surveyed the big
open mouth, with its double row OF
white teeth and gruesome skeleton
body, he tried to run. We soon eX-
planned matters and quieted his fears,
but he fished no more that day.
Now. this is an example of the un-
usual and unexpected happening, but
If | told this story, as / positively de-
cline to do, some fellow would write
to know if my real name was Nun
chausen.
Or this incident, told by native of
Florida. a young man of character and
standing;
Accompanied by a negro man was
looking for COW that had strayed
off in the woods when we discovered
a lusty rattlesnake. Aiming ourselves
with sticks OF safe length we attacked
and quickly dispatched it, The skin
OF such large snakes having ready sale,
/ determined to secure this one, expect
ing my companion to do the skinning,
as | had never seen such an operation
performed. But there | had another
guess coming. for my man positively
refused TO even assist me.
"'Naw. suhr he said, 4 wouldn't
tech dat reptile, dead nor live, for all
-. .o.,TJ s4,,ee tn, 10 hfAa