St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-08-04
TIE CALIFORNIAN.
kiIyrd him IN iScJ-DcfeRSe.


ouolIy hit of than by Il Philadelphia
newspaper gentleman, who, in the follow
ina heart -rcnding manner, describes what
nearly every healthy American citizen
has had the misfortune TO experience
Ills name was benjamin l.. Gum.
lie came around TO my office fourteen
times in one morning to see if he could
not persuade he To take out Il litc-insur-
ance policy in lis company. lie used
TO waylay me in the streets. ut church,
in my own house, and bore me about
that policy. Ii went 10 the opera,
and lit there the whole cvrnIn,, talking
about sudden death and the advantages
Of the tcr-ycar plan. II | got INT" Il
street ear, Gum would come rushing III
at the next corner, and SIT by my Sil',
and ,lra" ont a Lot Of mortality tables,
and l,cgin to explain how could beat
hi company "ut OF Il fortune. II sat
down to dinner III Il restaurant, up would
come Gum, and, Selling the chair next
I" ne, Ec would tell Il cheering ancciotc
about Il man who insured in his compa
ny for $50, 900 only last week, and was
barred yesterday. II attended tine flu
neral Of departed friend, and wept as
they threw the earth upon his coffin,
would hear whisper, and turning
around, there would be- the im'"mitable
benjamin T. Gum, hursiim" 10 say
Poor Smith knew HIM we'll Insured
tur ten Thousand IN our company. Nd-
nw left in comfortable circumstances.
et me take your name Shall | ;" lie
followed me everywhere: until got 50
sick of Gunn's prosecutions that | LETT
town suddenly one evening", and Ind my
self in Il secluded country VILLAGE, hoping
+" get riI If him. At the end of two
weeks returned, rrachin" home ut one
IA the morning. had hardly got into
bed before there WAS Il rim" at the door
bell | locked out, and there WAS Gum,
with another person. lc asked if Max
Adclcr was at home. said was the
nan Mr.. Gum then observed that lac
cNprct,d my return, and thought he
would call around about that insurance
.uliry. lIc sad Ic had the doctor with
HIM. and IT | wnu!d come down lac would
take my name, and have nIc examined
Immediately. | was Ia Indignant To re
Ily. shut the window with Il slam,
and went To bc.l a"tn. After breakfast
in tine morniu" | opened the door and
there was Gum sitting on the steps,
with his doctor, waiting for me- lie
lad been there all NIGHT. A. | came
uut, they seized me and tried Ia unirCS-
me there on the pavement IN order To cN-
anime me. | retrcatcd, and locked my
self up iii the garrct, with orders To- al
mt nobody 10 the house until came
down stairs. But Gum was not 10 be
bafllcd. lie rented The house next door,
and stationed himself in the gIrret adj
jOiminm mine. When he cot fixed lie
spent his time poundin" on the partition,
and crying, "lIalIo, AdeIer, Adelcr,
say! How about that policy! Want
10 take her out now - And then he
would tell me some anecdotes about men
who were cut oil Immediately after pay
IN" the iirst premium. But paid no
attention 10 him, and nude no noise
Ihcn lac was silent for while Sudden
", one morning, the trap-donr of my
garrct was wrcnchcd OH and, upon
lookin" up, | saw Gum, with the doc
tor, and cruw-Lar, and lot of death
rates. coming down the ladder at me
He'd from the house to the Presbyterian
church close by and paid the sexton
twenty dollars To lc: me climb up TO the
point of the stecplr, and sit astridc of the
bail. promised him twenty more il he
would exclude every body from that stcc.
pie for Il week. Once safely on the ball
three hundred feet from the earth, mad,
myself comfortable with the thought thai
had Gnm 1T DISADVANTAGES, and dc
tcrmincd TO beat him finally if had t,
stay there Il month. About an hour al
tcrward, while | was looking at the su
rcrb view TO the west, | heard Il rustln.
on the other side Of the stceplr look
ed around, and there was Bcnlamin i
Gum creepn" up the side of that spir
in balloon, III which was the doctor
nith the tabular estimates of the lose
81 his company from the Tuntinc system
A. soon rs Gum reached the ball Ii
threw his "rappIin"-iron into the shn"lc
ol the slCcplr, and asked me ut what II"
my father died, and IT amy of my aunt
had consumption or liver complaint
Without replying, slid down the stcr
pie TO the Ground, and took the first tran
Tor the Mississippi Valley. In two week
was in Mexico. determined TO 90 f
tie interior, and seek some wild spot, i
some elevated rcgion, where no Gum
would ever dare To- come. | cot on
mule, and pad Il guide Ia lead me to Ill
summit Of Popocatapetl. We arrived a
the foot OF the mountain ut noon w
toilcd upward for about four hours Jus
before reaching the top heard the SCUM
of voices, and upon roundin" point {
rocks, who should | see but benjamin
Gum, seated on the very cd4c of th
crater, explaining the endowment plan t
his Guide, and Supplying him with
mortality table, while the doctor had Tia
other guide Il few yards oil eNaminin
him 10 see il he was healthy Nh
Gum arose and sud he was clad to Sc
me, because now we could talk over tina
business about the policy without fear {
interruption. In Il paroxysm Of rare
pushed him backward into the crater
and he fell "a thousand feet below with
heavy thud. As he struck tie bottol
| heard a voice screaming out somethin
about "non-foriciture :" but there was
sudden CONFUSION Of the mountain,
cloud OF smoke, and heard no more.
know IT was wrong. know | had n
night TO kill Gum in that manner; bl
he forced me to din n in snIE I.t,.nSo . an