Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-01-06


hopper with great success.
Il had a tame trout in spring near
our house. 1t had been in the spring
year I caught ii one day on Passa-
danlSy grasshopper and as the hook
hadn't hurt it much, / put in in pail or
water and got it home alive and active.
/ turned IL into the spring and IL lived
and thrived.
F, ~ funny thing was that the sarss-
hopper caught the trout with wasnt
killed by the trout nor the hook. ] was
through fishing and / took the grass
hopper off the hook and tossed it on the
ground. II moved away and / saw 1t
minus one leg. Its eyes were just as
bright as ever though and as l remember
the circumstances now the grasshopper
kind o shook its head and looked vol
umes as ii limped away headed straight
for our place.
! Il never know where that crippled
grasshopper wintered but when warm
weather came next year | give you my
word that grasshopper was the first
! saw anywhere on the place. 1t was
perched on a sawhorse in our back yard
and / recognized it at once, and it
seemed to recognize me, for it shook Its
head anu had a queer look in its eyes as
| IT limped along the sawhorse tumbled
off and stumped away.
/ AS long as we've got place said
/ l. admiring the forttude and gameness
of that grasshopper, that grasshopper
has claim on IL. and any one that hurts
that grasshopper will have to see me-
well, sir, the grasshopper hung
around the place and hobbled about in
a melancholy sort of way. but always
with that queer look i'm its eyes. Every
time it and | CHANGED to meet it would
stop, shake its head, and then stump
ON its way. | know now that it had
, vengeance on its mind and was merely
hiding its time. This was the season [
got the artificial grasshopper. I FREE
Iquently saw the crippled grasshopper sit
ting on the flagstone over the spring
where my pet trout was, shaking its
head me while in threatening manner.
There was no doubt about it, not IN my
mind. The grasshopper remembered that
this was the trout that had crippled it
and it went to the spring to glare at the
trout and show how 1t hated II.
81 used to tremble for the poor grass
hopper for my trout Just dotted on grass
hoppers and I was fearful lest this al
most helpless crippled hopper Snght lose
thus give up the rest of itself %t1a the !;
hated foe that had bereft it of it8s1eg. y
lone day l had been out fishinA WITH
my artificial grasshopper When / eI11t1a
in | took the leader off my line witlivxHs1
imitation insect on it and laid 1t on tho
back stoop. being called away by souse
thing or other. When l returned to- &t7
the leader 10 or Is minutes later. it 81
90 I had mic yayf
up and put it away.
Some time afterwards | started to the
spring to get a pail of water and as I3
drew near l saw the crippled grass
hopper dragging itself up on the hAtz]
stone that half covered the sprluNn
stopped and then saw that the
hopper was dragSipg something ~
with it. When | saw that the sonetn
was my missing iea16r. I gi& yostS
word it startled ne My fifXf ira1
was to go and recover my pf9Qs IL
/ didn't go. S
This unfortunate grassho
some purpose in view in its a
ing that leader I reasoned.
see what II may be. IS ID Is e.
Soon l saw Growing Af<t iN
stone over the%spring was 81 curl
bush. With great deliberas.pji M
hopper took one end of my LEI m
mouth and hobbled round am
bush winding as could X
about it. The arti9oSal tgr&
been hauled up d t)les q oI y
there in full viewss }se N ss2 q
A.Having taks1f a &F3A Is & ~ U VIII
leader about the stem, psss]
Ivengeful crippled r. aslS6 4
counterfeit Iresefifj2 81 Jfa1 4fse