WHISKY FOR ONE.

Western Star, Issue 1389, 14 September 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

WHISKY FOR ONE.

There’s a story from the old times when the prohibition idea was not so strong in the rural districts near f e‘e as it is to-day, says the Pittsburg Dispatch. At a certain farm in Moon cownship there lived a good man who had the misfortune to be linked to an intemperate wife. She would drink, so the veracious chroniclers of Moon township inform me, any two mm under the table. At harvest time in those days it was considered indispensable to have a barrel of good old Monongahela whisky for the farm help. It happened one year that when the harvest came around the old farmer’s wife had been celebrating rather heavily, and yet her nesire for ardent spirits was still unappeased. The question which agitated the old farmer’s mind was how to keep the barrel of whisky for the harvesters out of reach. He was afraid that if she and the whisky were left alone in the house together there would not only be no whisky, but also no dinner for the harvesters. He took counsel, an i the result was that the barrel ®f whisky was slung up to the centre beam of the bam and lashed firmly in

such a place that it could only be reached and lowered to the ground by a man who could climb out to it. Toen he and the help went into the field with the comfortable assurance that the barrel of whisky was beyond the old lady’s reach. But she had seen the barrel rolled out to the barn, and as soon, as tie men were away from the. house she wont out to reconnoitre. She was somewhat irate wheli she saw the barrel hung up out-of her reach.It took .her 10 minutes to decide on a course of action. Then she returned to the house and picked out a clean washtub. Witb| th.s tub and her husband’s rifle she returned to the barn. She , placed the tub directly under the barrel. Raising the rifle to her shoulder she ..fired at >the barrel, sending a ball clean into the centre of the barrel. Down came a stream of the golden juice of the rye, playing a tune on the tub, winch made the old woman smile sweetly. There is. ■no need to go into details. When the harvesters came in from the field they found the old woman asleep beside the tub. Some whisky was left, but t,he d.nner was not cooked.