The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-08-14

vertised
Old Man Barlow came from some
where down in Maine-some little
place with IA big Indian jawbreaker
name-and he was daddy to Woclly
Barlow, one of the most respected
citizens of Bad Leg, and Woolly had
let us LAow the old mans good
points He used to sit for hours and
brag about his daddys value to a
growing city like Bad Leg, until we
came to believe that if we could just
get Old Man Barlow to come West
and settle at Fad Leg we would have
the so-called city of Ringtail beat to
finish. So we all Clipped in to
raise enough to pay his fare West,
and he came.
When Woolly first raised the sub
ject of the advantageousness of Old
Man Barlow as citizen of our metro
polls, we naturally wanted to know
the old mans good points, and he
asked Woolly, and the conversation
went something like this:
'Is he a good worker?" we asked.
"Well, no." says Woolly, "he amt,
very"
"Is he a good fighter?"
"Well, no, he amt, very"
cit he a good talker?"
"Well, no, he amt, very"
And we went on down the list
until at last Copper Judkins says:
"Well, what in Sam Hill is he
good for?"
well" says Woolly, "he's the
best weather prophet you ever see.
There never was a match for the old
man at pointin' out what the weather
will be, He seems jest natural
born predicter, and no mistake. Let
me tell you-every man in the State
of Maine is a weather prophet. You
can lay your hand on any man you
run across first in Maine and you'll
have it on better weather prophet
than the best in any other State.
Weather prophesying is science in
Maine. Kids there three years old
can go out doors and sniff the air a
minute and say, Cloudy weather to-
morrow or Snow fore nightfali, l
reckon and hit it right every time.
I don't spose you'll believe me, but
the men have prophecy contests
every winter, when the best prophets
get together from all over the State
to prophesy for a championship belt.
Well, my old man can give all of
them four aces and win the game
every time"
So that was why we paid to have
Old Man Barlow come to Bad Leg,
and as soon as he landed from the
stage and Limpy Taylor had made
his little speech of welcome and we
had done the honors at Ryerson S
Palace, up speaks Copper Judkins
and says:
well, Mister Barlow, seein' as
how you've been initiated into the
good society of Bad Leg and are now
a full-fedged citizen of the comm
metropolis of the West, what say you
to giving us little weather prophe-
cy right now, just as a sampler"
The minute Old Man Barlow heard
the word weather" his eyes began
to sparkle, and he ran his hand down
his long white beard, and ne says
$'Boys, l see my son here has been
tellin' yoI I'm some at foretellin' the
weather, an he amt told no untruth
guess the weather is one critter !
know from A to lizard and back
cir o,,1vy IAta tho
and hev studied her all my life till
know her tricks like book, and hey
her all codifed and scheduled and
put into rules and maxims and poe
try. Jest let me step to the door a
minute"
With that he did step to the door
and he looked at the sun to get his
points of the compass, and then he
held out his hand in the breeze
which wasn't much of breeze, but
as much as we usually had at Bad
Leg that time of the year-and he
says, short and decided like, wind s
in the east; we'll have rain"
Well, sir, you could have heard a
pin drop if anybody had one to drop
but they hadn't. We was all might.
ly embarrassed, for the truth was
that the breeze came from the east
six months every year at Bad Leg
and that was during the six months
: of dry spell, when it never rained al
all. We ought to have told Old Man
Barlow so, then and there, but he
was smilin', so confident like and
truthful that, seein' it was his first
day in Bad Leg, we didn't have the
heart to do it. So we let him go of
to his sons shack without saying
anything, and he went off smiling.
First thing Copper Judkins says
when the old man went out was
'He's bloomin' old fraud" But
Ryerson spoke up quick and says
Hold on there, Copper; don't be sc
fast. How do you know he's c
fraud? Give him show first" says
me. "Of course" he says, I'll admit
we amt ever had rain durin' the dry
spell since mortal man come to Bat
Leg. but then. we amt ever had 6
weather prophet, either. Mebb,