The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1872-11-22

from the center arch Of Westmin.
lister Bridge, and land at Lambeth
together. He leaped from the
bridge and the dog followed suit;
but taking it into his head that
his master was in danger OF
drowning, the faithful fellow drag
| ged him, willy .nilly, to the shore,
and by his well blum
der lost the waterman mis- wager.
| Mike Fink, the notorious Ohio
river fiatboatman, won hundreds
of dollars by his extraordinary
skill with the rife. His favorite
wager was to bet fifty dollars to
five that at the distance of fifty
yards he could shoot = pint cup
from the head of. tie tallest man
among the spectators.
When the false news came to
England that Sebastopol had faI.
len three days after the battle OF
the Alma, q party of Sussex men
drank to the health Of the victors
at 8 certain inn; but one incredu-
lous man would not believe the
| glad tidfhgs,and offered to give the
landlord sovereign upon condi-
ton of receiving : shilling q day
as long IS the Russians held. their
own. The offer was accepted and
for many q Saturday night did the
Russian" look for his seven shil-
1ings, the tinl1cky believer In the
proWess Of the allies eventually
paying some eighteen pounds for
his single sovereign.
Once In Washington City, as
the result OF bet made in favor
Of the election of Gen. Scott, a
noted local politician was required
to clothe himself in the garments
of beggar and, walk the Long
Bridge for q whole November
day, asking aims at the hands OF
every male pedestrian he met.
Some thirty dollars were thus OBJ
tanned, which he gave to benevo,
lent society.
Two painters at work on . lake
steamer under repair appropriated
some Of the white lead provided
for their use, by tying in their
overalls at the ankles, and filling
the space between trousers and
overalls with white lead. To reach
the shore from the vessel they had
to cross a plank. In doing this
one stumbled and fell into the
lake, sinking like milestone. His
friend stood on shore bewailine
his fate, and crying, ooh dear! oh
dearl what will become of his poor
wife and children What are
you numbering about|' said a by
stander, "don't you see they are
getting ready to haul him out.
He's got to rise three times, you
know SCOT to rise three times!"
exclaimed the painter, pulling out
his purse. "I'll bet you he does
not come up oncer'
| When q wall chalker offered to
chalk "Warren's Backing" on
every wall around London for IF
ty pounds, the backing maker
exclaimed, "Tll bet you two humid
red pounds to one that it cannot
be done in a month" Warren
lost the bet, but got the best and
cheapest advertisement he ever
had.
During the campaign of 1850
two local politicians in Utica,
New York, George Dorsheimer
and Alfred Young, made bet on
the result. The conditions. were
these: The loser was to pay the
winner pair of boots, and then
be kicked by the wearer of the
boots from the Genesee street ca
nal bridge to the Central railroad
depot. The Saturday following
the day of election was chosen for
this unique ceremony. A few
minutes before four o'clock p. m,
Young, who had bet on Lineoln's
election, appeared on the Genesse
street bridge, wearing pair OF
new boots which were SO tight
that he could just barely hobble
along. A few moments afterward
Dorsheimer appeared and station
ed himself conveniently in front
of Young. At precisely four
O'clock the signal was given and
the performance commenced. An
immense crowd filed the street
/ from the bridge to the depot, leav.
ing an avenue open in the middle
of the street. The kicking was
gracefully and handsomely done
amid the widest excitement o.
the crowd, but owing to the ex
cruciatingly close fit of the boots
the kicker suffered infinitely great
er agony than the kicked.
In 1856, during the Fremont
Buchanan campaign, two young
lawyers in Binghamton, New
York, made a bet On the result il
tthat state, the conditions of which
were that the loser should, on thu
Sunday morning following thu
election, station himself in tn
ofice-room of the Lewis House,
: principal hotel, and black boots a
twenty-five cents q shine, the pro
ceeds to be donated to some char
liable object. Fremont carried
, the state, and on the followin!
3 Sunday morning, at 9 o'clock, tn,
Democratic lawyer was at his pos
:. armed with q bran new kit Of pol
ishing utensils and went to work
e He had NO lack of customers. ]
! was a sunshiny morning ant
I everybody wanted a shine. Th
: competition was intense, an& tn
: price soon rose from twenty-fiv
cents to half a dollar then to
e dollar and finally as the end O
q the performace drew near as higl
a as i've dollars was Offered for
!; chance The total receipts 70
q the three hours work nearly fift
}, dollars, the performance closing q
e noon with ten-dollar polish 70
q the winner of the wager, and
= general treat all round by the pre-
: prietor of the hotel who was n
: joicing in q five-dollar shine so
= the ample surface of his numbe
u mines. The hilarity was immenst
, and the loser of the wager enjoy
; ed for three hours the highef
3 popularity ever achieved in th
2 boot-blacking line.
= Twenty columns might be nlle
i with such details, but these 81
= enough to exhibit poor huma
nature in one of its most ludicrou
Q and grotesque lights
r THE CENSUS COMPLETE.
is Gen. Francis A. Walker has I
y nally completed the work Of tai
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