A POACHER'S JOKE.

Thames Star, Volume IX, Issue 3079, 30 December 1878, Page 1

A POACHER'S JOKE.

In a certain Ayrshire village not far I from the borders of Wigtownshire, there I exists several bands of notorious poachers who are too dangerous to secure close attention from the^ game keepers. In their tastes they are" not at all fastidious, air being fish that comes to their net, and they will bap anything from a partridge to a deer. One of these gangs met recsntly in order to ply their illegal calling, arid after a good deal of weary trudging i thosy were returning home lightly laden and somewhat disconsolate. On the roadside- they discovered a village " worthy, who had been worshipping faithfully at the sbrine of Bacchus, and was sleeping off the effects of his potations. A bright idea struck one of the party, and the sleeping inebriate was at once transferred to the large bag which the party carried. In a short time the bag and its contents were transferred to the back shop of an Elicit dealer, who was in the habit of buyin a the proceeds of the poachers' nocturnal ri e , >redations. Hurriedly throwing down the L"*»K an(* *ts c°ntents the bearer detnandtxl 10s on account of the consignment a^das the dealer supposed he had excellent value in venison he at pnee complied with" the demand. The cash sent the gang i'o a convenient public house, and it is needles* to say it did not last long. When the dealer found a little leisure he proceeded to the back shop to inspect what he considered his excellent bargain, and was a little surprised to find the animal moving. Believing that the poachers had only injured the game, he procured a ponderous bludgeon in order to complete the work and administered a heavy blow to <he bag and its contents which had the effect of extracting a yell ot pain that made the dealer start. Cautiously opening the bag, he found a human head, and knew that he had been " done." For various reasons the dealer was never heard to make loud complaints about the " sell." but many of the villagers got hold of the story, and it is not uncommon to hear a mischievous urchin making pointed reference to it in the street when the dealer is at a safe distance. •