The sun., 1909-06-27
THB LOST SHEEP OF G0SaEE
CITED TO SHOW THAT THEHAY
CROP rs IN NO DANGER.

ADDS IN Instancc OF the Amazing
Ase Reached ~ Many Blacksuakes.
GOSHEN. N. T.. June A.--Just why he
should have assumed that the stranger
was farmer and had vote because hs
came into tho hotel with his trousers IN
his b boots and good deal OF dust on 'em.
wearing chip hat turned up behind and
carrying whip with hickory stalk and
= long leather !ssA. nobody can tell. but
Pa Hook interrupted for the rnoment bis
Amillng musings over the bulge In Sem
ator Jack Roses boom for Republican
boss Of Orange county and addressed The
stranger cordially on the uppermost topic
In the dairy country just now. e
'How's the grass crop down your way
this season. neishbor!' said he.
Big replied the stranger, allowing hls
bat back on bis head. biggest hnd.
Judging from what Caleb Slatterly tells
me l should say that there's never been
such crop Of grass down our way as thArp
Ia this year. Caleb tells me that his gf4ls
was 80 heavy that It came within an -
Of starving flock Of ninety -seven sheAp
to death for him. That may Aeem quASf
to yoa, but It'd be plain enough II yon
knew anything about sheep and Shout
Caleb Slatterly. 80. II ...iss
'Caleb tells me that a week or two
before he out his grass his Aock Of ninety-
seven sheep suddenly disappesred. Hs
secured the country for miles around fQf
those lost sheep but could find hide nor
wool OF them. 1t was one OF the mos
mysterious disappearsnoes since Miles
juikia los. h:s spotted calf that had hroken
a leg and was fitted with a wooden leGg
The calf turned up missing. and no olue
to II was ever found until couple of ysars
later, whom Miles said he found Its skeleton
In the top OF willow tree twenty feet high
In Mud Swamp. Tho only way hS,ooaM
account for the calf having got into the tpp
OF the tree vas that ths wooden leg hHd
been out from q green willow. s.
'Of course you know about willow.
Even Q willow fence stake will. take root
and grow branches almost ~ soon q lt
u sst. The way Miles figured II out. H.
calf had got into the swa1np and etslqk
fast In the mud by its wooden leg. IT
couldn't get out and had TO kick the
bucket. The wooden eg being willow.
though. Just took root and started In
to grow. and--well. the mysterious die-
appearance OF Miles Judkin's. spottAd
calf was solved ,.t.
The stranger paused to take OF he
hat and disolosed bald head that seemed
to load Pa Hook up with remorss that he
sought information from person who
In spite of such palpable encroachmeqt
OF time upon him was 90 ready and Will
Ing TO give It..
.Not since Miles Judkin lost his spotted
CALI resumed the stranger. had there
been . more mysterious disappearanpe
than this Of Caleb slatterly's hock of
ninety-seven sheep. 1t threatened TO
be big wipe on Caleb too. for ninety.
ssven big fat sheep amt made Of willow
and don't come up in o night, oan tell
you. even In our fertile district. When
his grass got ready to out Caleb went
at II. and he hadn't o,it swath twsnty
yards from his house whom he hcefa
the feeble bleat Of sheep. Lookiug
down he discovered sheep, very thin,
and just able to wiggle his tail, end that
was all. Caleb secuted around In the
field and found the whole caboodle Of
them ninety:seven lost sheep. sll Of 'sm
In the last stages Of starvation.
1T was plain enough to Caleb then.
The sheep had got out Of their pasture
somehow and into the meadow. The
Frass was 90 high and thick in the woods
that they got Lost In 1t.
yea. Why didn't they eat the grass;
1t vas we'll worth the while Of them sheep
getting lost. wearing 40 It was on tlsslf
constitution, the interesting and Inn
portant point In nature learned from h.
why didn't the sheep est that srssss
%Ah, said Caleb. You don't 4kt6@
sheep. Sheep won't eat q thing wh9n
being made. that way. that hock ef
ninety seven sheep roafned aim!eNew
about Ia the midst Of such great abundince
and pined away to shadows, hidden nom
sight q effectively 10 II they had been IN
the depths Of q forest, CAieb tells me. -
had nature lavishsd itpoH
on .y sh.s asid @ Of timothy; no,,'y,. vond.r X.
what wen have more hay around our way
this season than some folks has rnonsy.
but I'll tell you one thing. said the
stranger in a tone 90 confidential that u
seemed he would give the tmpreseion that
he hadn't told anything yet and dio1t
care 70 have this one thing 80 fart .k
"I'll tell you one thing, said he. Move
and bigger and older blAcksnakes have
Joined With VI In the haying this eeaecn
than we've known for ever 30 long. That's
Ssying q good deal, TOO, for II thertf
another spot betwixt down our way eAd
any other spot, north, south, east o. veee,
where blacksnakes grow p numerous,
% big and 90 old, none OF W hAs 49,
4 amt going to tell you Why 4, a t11t
6lsSsspsss' sToT g % Ola ana h,,, 70 70 nS aSci ~
y .Sss RsS.Si: y: bsesus. sSns sas" 1s dons bSss
much. We lst 'en alone.
Zone that I killed this hayins. thou3A,
was, GuesS, the oldest and hgS2<t
ever seen among VI. didn y ~ ~
either; not directly. / was blasting ~
some Old stumps ia lot adjoinin6 ene ~
CAlsh 6lsttsry's 3 meadows. don't knSY
why II was that the biacksnake ohtsoeed
TO them stumps being blasted out but Is
seems that ~ did obJect. and eeelne ut
fAs blasting kept hight On hs da.hsA 1t
msybe, t % and GidSsd Z iuse / "a pdt'}S
and began % draw II out Of the stu4A.
For q snake % old - he wAs ~ Q04S
eecm to have much sense. The light -
the fuse had got to the blast and baAs
sThs make lashsd around In tbs ~
and made the dirt and stones ~ % u
wasn't eais TO ct within twenty. ysydo
q him. but It was all up with the old cho9.
The top Of his head was blown 81, ~
even a big and old . snake - be N1e
couldn't sst along without bad. Ineg2