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Show THE RATS WON THE DAY. Why a I'ond la llalne Waa Jiamvd after aa Old Settler. The question is frequently nsked. Whence the name of Thompson pond, a sheet of water in western Maine extending through four towns nnd lying partly in three counties? Tradition Tra-dition says it was named from the first settler, Joo Thompson. During his sojourn he was seriously troubled by rats. He first provided himself with a stout loalhor bag of tho capacity of four bushels. Ho then placed an empty hogshead in his log hovel, leaving tho bunghole open, through which he dropped a small quantity of meat scraps and crumbs of bread. Bag in hand he retired outside to watch proceedings, peeking through a small crevice between tho logs. Pros- ently ho espied an old gray veteran approaching the bunghole. He takes a peep, then sniffs, looks cautiously about and then enters. He soon emerges from the hogshead and quickly disappears. In a trice he returns, followed by a drove amounting amount-ing to hundreds, which, one by one, disappear through the bunghole. "Now," chuckled Joe, "is my fun," as he skipped nimbly through the door and adjusted the open mouth of the bag to the small aperture, at the same time rapping the hogshead with tho too of his boot, which produced a loud ringing sound. With loud squeals and fierce struggles the frightened rats began to scramble through tho bunghole, all landing in the bottom of the bag. His first thought was to drown them by sinking the bag in the pond, but being in a rather gamesome mood, as was often the case, he concluded to put the bag in his boat and after rowing row-ing to a good distance from the shore then roleaso them, and with his ox-goad ox-goad have a good time knocking thorn in the head. Kowing out sevural rods from the ehoro and being in high glee at tho thought of wreaking vongoance on tho "varmints" which had given so much trouble, ho, without hesitation, untied the bag, expecting to see tho fright-roned fright-roned creatures at once leap into the watacv but he quickly found himself mistaken. Instead of fleolug, or even retreating; retreat-ing; the rats charged in a body, and with teeth and claws so severely lacerated lac-erated his face, neck, and hands as to cause him to leap from the boat and swim for the shore," leaving the craft in the possession it his one-time victims. |