The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1867-03-26
Darius Green and his Flying-Machine

An aspiring genius was y. Green:
/ The son Of tarmer-age fourteen;
| His body was long and lank and lean,-
just right for flying, as will be seen;
He had two eyes as bright as bean,
And a freckled nose that grew between,
A little awry,--for | must mention
That he bad rlvited his attention
Upon his wonderful invention,
Twisting his tongue as he twisted bis strings,
And working his face as he worked his wings
And with every turn of gimlet and screw
Turning and screwng his mouth round too,
TIL his nose seemed bent
To catch the scent,
Around some corner, of w-baked pies,
And his wrinkled cheeks and his squirting eyes
Grew puckered into queer grmace,
That made him look very drou in the face,
And also very wise.
And, wise ne must have been to do more
Than ever gcnuS did before.
Excepting Dedalus Of yore
And his son Icarus who wore
Upon their backs
Those wings of wax
He had read of in the old almanacks.
Darius was clearly of the opinion,
That the air is also mans dominion,
And that, with paddle or fin or pinion,
We soon or late
Shall navigate
The azure as now we sail the sea.
The thing looks simple enough to me
And if you doubt it.
Hear how rarius reasoned about it.
"The birds can fly,
An why can't
Must we give in,"
Saws he with a grin,
That the bluebrd and phebe
Are smarter IN we be-
Jest fold our hands an see the swaller
An' blEckbird am catbird beat us holler?
Docs the little chattern', sassy wren,
No bigger IN MY thumb, know more than men?
Jest show me that
Or prove 1.-THE bat
Hez got more brains than IS in nay hat,
AM I'll back down, au' not till then p'
lie argued further "Nur I can't see
What's tn use o. wings to a bumble-bee,
Fur to git livin' with, more N to me -
Amt my business
Important 5 his'n is 2
That Icarus
Made pretty muss,-
Him an his daddy nndalus.
They might "a knowed wings made % wax
Would MT stand sun-heat an hard whacks,
| I'll make mine % luther,
Ur suthin' ur other.''
And he said to himself,as be tinkered and plan'd:
=" But | amt goin' to show nv hand
To nummies that never can understand
The fusJ idee that's big am grand"
So he kept his secret from all the rest,
Safely buttoned within his vest;
And in The loft above the shed
Himself he locks, with thimblc and thread
A nd v-ay- a,J 4
And all such things as geniuses use =
Two bats for patterns, curious fellows
charcoal-p"t and pair of bellows;
Some wire, and several old umbrellas
A carriage-cover for tail and wings
a piece of harness and straps aud strings
And big strong box,
In which he locks
These and a hundred other things
His grinning brothers, Reuben and Burke
And Nathan and Jotham and Solomon, lurk
Around the corner to see him work.
Sitting cross legged, like a Turk,
Drawing the waxed-end through with Jerk,
And boring the holes with a cumicaI quirk
OF his wise old head, ard a knowing smirk
But vainly they mounted each others backs.
And Eoked thro' knot-holes and pried through
cracks; stacks
With wood from the pile and straw from the
He plugged the knot-hole~ and calk'd the cracks,
And dlpper of water, which one would think
he had brought up into the loft to drink
When he chanced to be dry,
Stood always nigh,
For Darius was slvl
And whenever at work he happened to spy
At chink or crevice a blinking eve.
lie let the dipper of water fly.
axe that an ef ever We git a peep,
Guess We III ketch a weasel aSleepl"
And he siugs as he locks
His big strong box -
SONG.