The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1916-11-30
Boyhood "reminiscences.
Liston P. Evans in the Piscataquis Observer
The Skunk Episode.

A lady wrote me after the publication
of my story of Garland in August that
she enjoyed it very much, but that l
omitted the skunk episode. l had for
gotten that episode in my life, and think
she must have been visiting across the
street from my home else she would not
have remembered it so long. 1t was
like this:
Eggs had been disappearing from the
barn for some time. one spring and set
steel trap in bay from which the hay
had been removed. One morning l found
skunk in the trap, and as l needed as
sistance in disposing of him | called in
two friends.
The chain was long enough to let the
animal crawl under the barn floor, so
one of US took pitchfork and inserting
tine in link of the chain drew the
trap and skunk out. We didn't dare
shoot him for fear of setting fire to the
chaff in the bay, so while one boy held
the trap out second one punched the
skunk with another fork. 1t was pain
full time Tor the skunk and very disagree
able for US, for while we were using our
good effect that my mother had to leave
later up tree trying to air themselves.
Another friend who wrote in relation
to my Garland story reminded me of the
hoy whom Lyndon Oak hired to stay
away from his store. The boy had hung
around so much that Mr.. Oak got tired
of him and said he would give him so
The boy agreed but was back the next
n,J-
81 thought you agreed to stay away for
a month"; II did," Ed replied, "but
haven't commenced to stay away vet"
In my Garland story l mentioned my
love of fishing, but the gun was a close
second, and thereby hangs a tale.
1t was my duty in the spring to saw
and split the family woodpile. ard | will
say in passing that the first good shot
gun | ever owned was paid for by saw
ing neighbours wood. In the spring in
question the wood was near field where
crows congregated, and spent so much
time trying to shoot them that the wood
was not sawed Thereupon my father
decided that if | couldn't work at home
better than that | must work for some
one else, and | went down to Deacon
Curtis, to work on his farm.
1t was an excellent place to work, but
| was only Is and was homesick at first,
for had never been away from home
before for any length of time.
made a mistake the first thing. The
Deacon kept three cows and as | was
used to milking | MIXED two of them
while he was milking one. | saw him
slip around and try cow to see if had
MIXED her dry and when he found that |
had, he let me milk the three oftener
than cared to.
A very pleasant memory of that sum-
mer is of the corn bread Mrs. Curtis
made for breakfast. 1t was not baked
in sheets, but cropped into the pan and
came cut crisp and so good that it re-
quired several cakes to satisfy my appe-
tite. | would like such cakes now, but
they wouldn't taste as they did then for
| haven't the growing boys appetite.
Of course the corn for the bread was
raised on the farm and one of my recrea-
lions was going to mill with a grist.
The Deacon also raised wheat and had it
ground into flour.
| worked for the Deacon four months,
for which | received $2S. That seemed
quite lot of money to me, but should
come out a little behind now if | at
tempted to live on that income.