The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-04-06
MAD GANDER SAVED
CHILD FROM DEATH
Caused an Automobile to Upset
as il Neared Baby in the
Roadway
The CROUCH REDEfMS ITSELF
Fowl. a Terror for Ten Years, lnadver-
tently Does One Good Act and Dies
Tale Of a csntankerous Bird with
An Evil Eye.

An Evil Eye.
Montville, n. IA bad tempered
old gander. known to everybody in he
village as THE Crouch" redeemed a
bad reputation OF ten years standing,
and at the same time lost it's life. in
saving Agnes Stilton, years old, from
death under the wheels OF an automo-
bile.
When the child was ready to go out
and have her usual romp in the little
freQuented road the hired man chased
the gander into the smoke house and
closed the door by means OF an old
fashioned wooden button. 1t was nee
essary to take this precaution mas
much az there was nothing The
Crouch" liked so much as to pursue
the little girl with tapping wings and
shlill squaws. In this way every time
1t had a chance it would frighten her
into the house, leaving it in undis-
turned possession OF the road.
Whether the smoke house door was
not buttoned tight or the gander
squeezed through a crack, or few out
a window, is not known, but at any
rate Agnes had not been playing long
when The Crouch" sailed into the
road, raising the dust, kissing and
Tapping its wings. and making for
her with all its might
Mammal" cried the child in ter, or,
shielding its face with it's outspread
hands.
Just then a touring car driven by
Harold Grant Of East Orange, rounded
the sharp turn in the road. The barn
stands at the turn. cutting off the
view in both directions. The road
rarely is used by automobiles, and
this is the reason why the Stilton
child was permitted to play there.
Grant was going fast on a level
stretch. and as he swept around the
turn the old white gander stood up so
Large in his startled vision he did not
see the fleeing girl beyond The gan
der's neck was stretched to its full ex-
tent and the wings were spread wide
apart
That was no time to stop, and
when, an instant after seeing the
goose. Grant spied the little girl ahead,
he let out a yell OF alarm that brought
all the folk out of the Stilton farm
house on the rush. The East Orange
man involuntarily closed his eyes to
avoid witnessing the tragedy he felt
as he said afterward, was sure to hap
pen.
But 1t didn't The automobile
struck the gander full tilt, but the i'm
pact swerved the front wheels out of
their course, and by the time The
Crouch" had come down, lifeless from
its skyrocket fight, the auto had dart
ed diagonally across the road and was
lying upside down in the ditch. Grant
had instinctively let go the steering
wheel at the psychological moment.
and he shot ovE the top OF post-and4
rail fence and stuck, feet up. in a
pile of fertilizing material He lost
no time in Withdrawing his head from
the mess, and then fell on his knees
and prayed-just why, he says, he
doesn't know.
AS for Agnes. all had happened so
quickly she hadn't had time to be
scared at anything but the mean old
gander. She whimpered a bit when
she saw how thoroughly and COM
pletely dead the gander was. Then
she stood and watched her father and
other persons right the automobile
and set it on its way. THE Crouch"
is to be stuffed and mounted.
The bird amt deserving Of It,"
said Stilton, but, it saved my
girls life, though it didn't mean
TO- and I'll do a good turn"
THE Crouch" which in its young
er days was called Peter" was for
more than a decade a terror, not only
to the other fowl in Farmer Abner
St.lton's barnyard, but also TO Mrs.
Stilton and all the children in the
neiShborhood It was cantankerous
bird with an evil eye. and when it got
after either dog or child there was
sure to be some tall running 10 get
out OF the way.
stllton's Muscovy duck, Sarah
Jane" was the only living thing with
wings that even put up a fight When
"The Crouch" and Sarah Jane" got
going everybody hocked to hear the
noise and see the feathers ny. Sew
eral years ago the gander chased a
tomcat up a hemlock tree by the well,
and kept It there until the eat WAS at
tackled and killed by large hawk.