Devils Lake weekly world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1911-1914, 1913-06-27
A Strong AIMED
Widow
BY M. QUAD
By M. QUAD
Copyright, 1918, by Associated Lit
erary Press.

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slow town. All outsiders said so, and
its citizens readily admitted it.
There was never any need for haste
In Grahamsville. Folks died there now
and then. but there was always lots OF
time for holding the funeral.
When this slow and conservative
state of affairs had continued for many
years the Widow Cameron struck the
town. and struck it hard.
The Widow Cameron was forty years
old and tall and rawboned. She had
q decisive, commanding way with her.
She was business. She might have
come from Australia or town only
twenty miles away.
Just what the Widow Cameron was
going to do was soon public property.
She had an acre of ground with the
house. and she put $50 chickens at
work scratching up the soil and two
incubators working overtime. She built
her own coops and wire fences.
A roar went up.
There had been time in the history
of Grahanlsvile when every house
holder had his chickens and his bar
vest of eggs. but the growing Of roost-
ahead of time. and by common consent
all fowls had been banished. No crows
nor clucks nor cackles for the past ten
years. and here was the Widow Cam
eron breeding thousands of them!
Something must be done.
Squire Johnson must wait on her
and tell her she can't keep chickens.
"Of course she can't" said the squire
as he started for the widows house to
lay down the rules to her.
"Oh, l can't, eh?'' she replied to his
oratory.
mo, madam. We are very strict on
that point"
"You and the rest of the folks can
60 to grass"
One of the ministers called to wres-
tie with her. She held the door against
him while he said:
Madam, our good people are very
much exercised over the fact. the
fact
THAT am raising chickens" she
finished. well, you tell your good
people that If they say much more
will sell my fowls and 60 to raising
skunks for their fur and ilev'
Not another objection came from q
citizen. No one was hankering to ex-
change chickens for skunks.
If they kept no hens in Grahams-
vile they did keep hogs and cows.
The animals could run at large and
feed themselves. The Widow Gamer
on gave public notice through the
county paper that the owner Of any
hog or COW that trespassed upon her
property would hear something drop.
"She can't mean it," men said to
each other why. our animals have
always run at large"
/" Mr.. Schermerhokn's COW broke her
way in one night, and at daylight she
heard something drop. 1t was one Of
her horns. The owner wanted dam
ages, but was told to go to.
Mr.. Todd's big spotted hog rooted
his way in and got broken back fof
his pains. His owner was just foolish
enough to call on the widow and try
to collect So In cash. and it was. over
the Fence for him.
Solomon Price was widower who
wanted second wife. Why not cap
ture the Widow Cameron and her
chickens and real estate and the mon.
ey she must have in the bank? Good
thing, except that Solomon had had no
experience counting widows Some one
had told him that the first move to be
made was to chuck the poor thing IN.
der the chin. He began that way. In
return he received right hand swing
that fractured his jaw. and he went
out Of the house followed BY a No. 6
calfskin shoe.
A tin peddier came along and sold the
Widow Cameron some leaky utensils
and got away before she discovered the
cheat. A week later he returned t.
the village and was waylaid by bis
.Y1ctim and had both eyes put in mourn
ing.
There was a great jangling Of three
church bells on Sunday forenoons. II
was to warn the people that Saturday
had passed and Sunday bad come ani
such Of the population as cared to couli
hear a sermon at one Of the thret
churches. No guarantee as to wheth
er the sermon would be good, bad o,
Indifferent. The widow didn't like tn,
5angling, and she got out an injunction
md had the bells silenced.
There were dogs in Grahamsville-
many dogs. They had come to realiz,
that they must not disturb the peac,
by lighting. They could growl ant
hrist'e as they passed by, but Their,
must be no conflicts to determin,
which was the better dog. The Widow
Cameron went about encouraging dog
e every breed to stand up for thei
rights and to fight at the drop Of tn
hat. 1t got SO there was a scrap ever
half hour
What the Widow Cameron didn't d
to the town Of Grahamsville could nc
be told in columns She woke it VI
She bossed it. She terrorized It. sh
made It over into rapid town. Whe
Il + was realized that trade was increas
laf9 Emo afnonOorS oorof,r In o-l &koA