The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-09-14
HIS FOWLS ON a JAG,
Bad Rum Nearly Did for Farmer HilPs
Flock

AANNnsf
Caldwell, N. j, Sept. IA. The poultry
flock of farmer Ezekiel Hill, according
to reports just received at the leading
general store in this town, has had
marrow escape and rum was responsible.
Hill lives some three miles north Of here.
Both he and his wife are strict temper
ancc folk on this would not have hap
pened So the people out here are draw
ing the moral either way, according to-
their leanings,
Hill found flattish brown bottle
Thursday morning in his corn crib. He
pulled the cork and smelied it, He
judged that it was fine new grade OF
the native Juice known gariousy as
Jack" steam" and apple lightning
| Hill was mad clear through. II looked
as If some hobo had spent the night
sleeping in his corn crib aud gone away
| forgetting his luggage. Hill hurled the
brown bottle against the side of the
crib. It broke and let ont pint and a
half or 80 Of liquor, which trickled down
into the halfapeck measure full Of corn
used for feeding the fowls. Hill was too
angry to notice where the liquor went.
Hills wife came ont in the afternoon
and took the corn out to the fowls in the
barnyard. The smell about it puzzled
her. She admitted it afterward. She
thought it rather like that of the leak
| ings from the kerosene barrel But she
didn't bother much about it and tossed
the kernels out to The flock IN the barn
\ yard, ais usual There was the Gus
tomary scurry among tho hens and ex-
citement among tho turkeys and ducks,
with perhaps little more than the or
binary dueking and tapping and turkey
gobbling and quaeking.
| 1t soon became evident that the fowls
corn had pretty well soaked up the
| juices of the apples which farmer Hill
/ had heedlessly let leak into 1t. For n
time everything went as usual, on better
Several hens went of and laid eggs, over
I which they eaelled as much as if each
had LAID the foundation Of a prize chan
I tieleer instead OF an ordinary boiling egg
/ The fortunate hens rushed out TO the
| flock Of chickens and started talking
about what they had done. The other
hens, young and old, lively and sedate
all joined in with so much advice, en-.
couragement, sarcasm and insult COM
bined that the resulting uproar, swollen
by the tapping Of wings and the coming
OF the rooster with loud growing, sound
ed like the alarm when the old riugtail
from Second Mountain was sighted in
the air over the barnyard.
! The farmers wife ran out to find out
the trouble aud stood spellbound, watch.
ing antics that grew more curious every
4 minute Not only we're the chickens
making an unholy noise, but they were
apparently trying at times Co chant to
4 getber. They couldn't hit the time right,
even with repeated attempts. Quite I'M
abashed at their failure they hoped
around, circling about each other, try
/ ing to do what Is known in Jersey as
the Dutch roll and knocking into each
other seandalously.
When farmer Ilill came home for his
supper he realized what had happened
and threw several pals OF water on the
uproarious poultry, but with little effect.
The worst was yet to come.
| After passing through the noisy stage,
in which the rest left Old Tatters the
rooster, still growing with a suspicious
catch in bis voice, "Ooer 90 (--l Ell er. 90.
err 90. iooooo," the flock reached the
! fighting stage and there was a terrible
time. Then that gave way TO the drow-
sy feeling, fortunately for feathers. The
hens went to sleep without even trying
to climb up to the perches in the roost.
/ Dead tired. they lay right down in the
dust baths Of the barnyard, in shameless
attitudes, with their feathers RULED up
every which way The rooster was not
so bad lie had 70 much sense to try
to climb up on the perch, too. So he
4 Just leaned with ono shoulder up against
I the hitching post ont in front of the
/ horse block. With his head fallen upon
his breast. and in the midst OF last
uncertain crow, he fell into a deep and
dreamless slumher
The ducks, which had acted sedately
at first, were most dsgraeefnl in the
wind up. They all started out on the
I duck pond, a small affair. for sail.
! At first they quacked garrulously and
seemed TO be having a fine time, but
4 after a while they got confused, lost
their way on the water and could not
get bael, TO the shore. Farmer Hill had
to pole out in the sldf and carry them
back as passengers
The goose, which sleeps on one leg,
was losing les balance continually and
passed pretty mean night. Every
time It dozed oil instinct would pull up
the extra leg Then alcohol would get
in its work and the goose would topple
over OF course the minute it lost its
sleeping position il would wake up. The
distressing process WIS repeated over
and over again.
Fortunately there was only one seri-
Gus accident among the entire flock. The
turkey gobblcr, which flew up to a tall
limb while under the influence. there to
spend the night lost his balance in his
J sienr md fnll hrealinn hia wishhnne