Year: 1872

SOUhC0 Ny q N~s


heard of young lady the other day
up in middle Tennessee, who, as river men
saw. has taken another chute. The story
told about her did my soul good, and for
the comfort of other half-starved dyspep-
tics like myself, whose tardy sustenatiOn
is effected by means of fried chicken, sog-
gy biscuits, greasy hash and sole-leather
fritters, I'll relate it, For years past, as
a mere matter of form-something handed
down from remote antiquity-the officers
of of the he { county fair held in the neighbor-
hood where this young lady lived have
been in the habit of offering premium to
the lady (unmarried) cooking the best din
ner 1t was a dead letter Nobody had
contested for the premium within the
memory of the oldest inhabitant. This
year, however, the young lady of whom |
am speaking determined to compete for
the prize Her name-1 wish could i'm
mortalize twas Kate Janaway. The
fair men set up stove for her, stretched
a canvas to shield her from the sun, and
about II o'clock of the last day she went
to work.


The matter had been talked about by
every one in the neighborhood, and curl
osity was on tip-toe. A crowd collected
around the place where the stove was set
up, early in the morning, and kept in
creasing; but when Miss Kate herself-a
buxom, handsome girl of nineteen, daugh-
ter of the ex-Mayor of the town-ap-
peared on the ground. and putting on
white apron and rolling up her sleeves,
commenced operations, all other attrac-
tions were nothing. Every one was eager
to see so novel sight. There was tree
near by which soon became black with
spectators, who had climbed up to get a
better view. The branches were finally
so burdened that one by one they broke,
precipitating those upon them to the
ground, until only one man was left in the
tree. He sat in lofty fork, with eyes
riveted on the scene below. No amount
of persuasion by those beneath, envious
of his better view, could induce him to
come down. Even bribe of ten dollars
failed. He said he WAS bound to see or die


-MoonwhiIo tho Iin,,or prararati inna .-"nt
on apace. The: savorY smell Of the cook
ing food seemed to intoxicate the crowd,
which pressed nearer and nearer. 1t took
all the police force on the grounds to keep
order. The time arrived for the trotting
match, announced as the sport OF the day,
but the amphitheatre was empty. The
Judges with the exception of one grabbed
old widower), the timers, all were missing,
and so nothing could be done. At haH-
past two the dinner was announced ready
and the judges, happy men, seated them
selves at the table-the crowd regarding
them with ill-disguised envy. A roast OF
beef, delicately done, was put steaning hot
upon the table, then followed corn pud-.
ding, whose delicate aroma fell upon the
olfactories of the excited crowd "like bree-
zes of Araby the blest )" a profusion Of
vegetables, cooked to perfection, followed
next. The Judges ate and ate, praising
the flavor of the food and the skill of the
cook at every mouthul, But when, at
last, desert of piping hot apple dump
lings made its appearance the forbearance
of She crowd was at an end. They broke
through the ropes into the ring with one
accord, and the dumplings disappeared in
trice. One old fellow, proprietor Of
store and owner Of big saw-mill, pro-
posed to the young lady on the spot, but
he was quickly collared and led of the
grounds by two younger aspirants, who
made common cause against the aged suit
or, saw-mill and all. That young lady
was the centre of attraction in her town
after the cooking feat the first week, and
her fame spread through all the country
round. An old bachelor fellow down in
Grundy county, with farm so big that it
takes him all day to ride around it, and
cattle on a hundred hills, heard of her,
and made pilgrimage all the way to that
town to learn the truth. He got the girl,
TOO, although some Of the young men of
the place sued out writ Of habeas corpus
to prevent her being carried out Of the
county They were too late,


This is, l am aware, a rather sad ending
for so good story. but devotion to the
truth compels me to give nothing but the
simple unvarnished reality.


She ought to have married that fellow


who set up there in the crotch of the tree
so long and at such fearful discomfort. He


wanted. her, and he was poorbilious dys.
peptic whom splendid cooking would have
soon restored to- usefulness and society,
| bnt he was poor. Ali