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Show strike him with it. Then the Indian dropped the little girl, and she ran screaming back to the party. When five year old Richard saw what had happened, he asked Ada why she hadn't screamed. She cried as she told him the old Indian had clapped his hand over her mouth and held her so tightly to his belly under his smelly old blanket that she couldn't even breathe. Dick asked her why she didn't bite him. She said, "I did, but he pinched my cheek."118 A Practical Joke Then, as now, young boys in families delighted in playing practical jokes on their elders. One such escapade caused quite a sensation in the Valley in the late 1890s. John Gibby and his two wives, Ellen and Dorcas, had a large family of healthy, fun-loving boys and girls. John had an apple orchard which was his pride and joy. He sold bushels of bright red Astrachan apples to people in all parts of the state. In the fall, travelers came by team from all over to buy the Gibby apples. In those days it was often preached from the pulpit that days of calamity were near at hand and people should be prepared. The Gibby boys, George and Alma, listened and were impressed but not seriously frightened by the admonitions. As they went about their work, the idea of a joke began to take shape in their minds. They cut letters and numbers from an old calendar. Then they chose a big green apple growing in a high, sunny spot in the orchard. Carefully they pasted the letters and numbers on the apple, then slipped away quietly and left the apple to ripen. Some time later when the apples were ripe, the boys found their special apple, picked it and carefully washed off the letters and numbers they had pasted on the green apple. To their great delight, the apple had ripened just as they had hoped. It had turned a beautiful bright red color everywhere except where the paper had been pasted on it. There it had remained green and the message on it was easy to read: "Famine 1900." Full of glee, the boys took the apple to show their father. Father Gibby was very impressed and became quite excited. "It's a warning from heaven," he said. "It couldn't have gotten on the apple any other way!" The news spread fast. People talked about it and marveled at it all over the Valley. Some laughed and shook their heads, but most people agreed with Brother Gibby. How else could it be explained? Brother Gibby took the apple to priesthood meeting and it was thoroughly examined and discussed. The old stake patriarch, Richard R. Rawle, said, "Boys' tricks, boys' tricks," but when asked to explain, he couldn't. Brother Gibby pointed out as proof that it was a warning from heaven that it had been placed in the finest orchard in the Valley. Brother Gibby and a good many others were talking of storing food for the Day of Judgement! |