The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-12
SKEERD
That's What Enoch Weathersby
Was, 6 if He Hadn't Of Been
So Absent Minded He Wouldn't
of Been so Skeered-Full Par
ticuIars as per Below

AS editor and prop. of the Bugle we
persoom that Enoch Weathersby, broth
er to Hen Weathersby, prop. of our
general store, is one of the most absent
rindedest persons in Bingville, or for
many miles around, for that matter,
and some of the things Enoch does at
times nearly borders on the ridiculous,
as you might say.
AS everybody knows, Enoch has a
farm a mile west of Bingville, and as
soon as the frost was out of the ground
last spring he plowed parcel of ground
and planted corn in it, but he hadn't
no more than got the corn planted in it
until the tarnashion crows come along
and rooted most of it up and ct it, so
Enoch he had to plant it all over. At
ter he had planted il the second time
he set by the edge of the woods with
a loaded shot gun all day long, from
sunrise to sunset, day after day, having
his wife bring out something for him
to eat at noon. and in all that time he
didn't see solitary crow and begin to
conclude that they had left the coun-
try. However, he noticed that his corn
didn't come up as it orter, SO he in
vestigated and found that most of it
had been dug up second time. Enoch
as he had been there by the corn patch
he slept ali day and went out to the
edge of the woods at dark, and you
can believe it or not, but Enoch says
that about 2 o'clock in the morning.
when he was powerful weary with his
will, blamed if those crows didn't come
soaring over the corn field in crowd
without making a squawk and each
crow had a tightening bug or glow
worm in his bill and they lit on the
corn patch and walked around and the
glow worms and lightnin bugs shed
enough light for them to locate the
corn hills with, so as they could see to
dig up what corn they was left. Enoch
concluded that he would haft to git up
pretty early in the morning to beat out
them crows, but he planted the patch
again and fixed up at the edge of the
woods what was probably one of the
most horibelest looking skeer crows
that person or a crow ever looked at.
Enoch took a old pillow and painted
eyes ana nose and mouth with ugly
teeth on it. and this was the head-on
the head he put old black hat. then
he stuffed one of his old coats with
straw and also a pair of his pants
which was so wore out in the seat that
they wasn't no further use to him and
fixed the whole thing onto a steak druv
into the ground on a cross piece near
the top so that the arms of the coat
stuck out and from the end of one arm
he hung a wooden gun and from the
other a old powder horn. Then he left
it there, thinking it would skeer any
crow into histericks that ever come near
that corn patch agin.
After that for few days Enoch didn't
see sign of the crows and as the corn
hadn't been disturbed he calkilated he
had at last discovered a preventive to
the crows stealing his corn and forgot
all about it. A few evenings after that
Enoch walked to Bingville to see if
there wasn't any mail for him. There
was nothing in his P. o. box but a
copy of the Hardscrabble Banner, which
Enoch has been subscriber to for the
last nine years, and being as he has
only paid s. and owes $40. he decided