The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1873-11-20
THENEWSPAPER REPORTER
A Brief Summary of the Seasons
Work.

1t is interesting to watch the struggles Of
the reporto1ial fraternity in their endeavors
to furnish forth sufficient quantity Of their
startling and sustaining items. The vast
material for wonder-i.ems and unlimited re-
sources Of the metropolitan are constantly
goading thorn in the side Of the rural editor.
That daily harvest OF horrors that liz gar
nered from the Ialrlieus, the slums and by
ways of great city, and that never-failing
source, the police court, sometimes drives
the country rival to desperation. Cut of
from these urban sources Of supply in this
department, he is thrown back upon himself,
and is forced to rely upon the vividness OF
his Imagination. Once or twice a month,
according to the amount of strain his gangli-
onic functions will endure and the scarcity
of items, he re,irea, big with some idea in
the way Of the wonderful, into his inner con-
seriousness, and at length reappears, weak
and weary, but flushed and triumphant,
bearing tsnderly the fruits of his labors-one
of those items about sheeted ghost, three
legged hen, or q seven-hundred pound
pumpkin, that are 80 cheering and comfort
ing.
An Elstern exchange thus sums up the
result for the past seven or eight month";:
"rhe Last season in this particular has
been an active and exhaustive one, for the
rural reporters especially. Fresh material
has been hard to procure. Washington's
nurses and body servants have become drug
in the market. The Brazilian yarn abont
a man pa years old knocked the sluffing out
of all the old-peOple stories. Big turnips
and belts, three-feet cucumbers, fruit trees
blossoming the fourth and fifth time, and
vegetable eccentricilies generally, have not
seemed TO take very we'll. In spite of these
draw backs the necessities of the emergency
have 81 stinulated the inventive facu ties
that the sesson has been brilliant success
Let US look on the field lif''e. - :"
the season the Selma Ala !iD:.s ,ai.ei oil
lameIy with q s.eet potato siA leet and two
inches long. The Murfreesboro' Tenn.
Monitor met this with an sold mare" who
ate chickens and ducks and bacon, etc. Then
q Virginia City New } editor, o! imagination
all contract, produced domesticated wood
chuck who got drunk and cheated at poker;
and the San Bernardino Gal. Guardian went
him tSo better with q two headed snake.
These successes excited tremendous rivalry,
and the scene nov became exciting, 80 much
20 "a to carry away several city papers
that Joined in the fray. Tie Evansville
Ind Journal, the Bowling Green KY
Democrat, the Troy IN. " Times, the
Rutland, WI Herald, the Philadelphia
telegraph, and the 81. Paul Mimi Press,
went back to first principles and engaged in
a mad rivalry in the ghost lice. The
Brooklyn Eagle worked up the very sale
story Of the girl who lives ten years without
eating. The Lexington Mo Caucasian
struck in charac.eristIcally with . child born
with tail. A Waverly Tenn. paper sang
of an Egg within an egg, laid BY an &C.
centric hen of that place. The Fort Wayne
lind Sentinel troited cut . by who pulled
an eiRh,een-iuch snake from his stomach.
The Weston IVA Democrat struck q new
lead with new-blby, whose mother was S.
wears old and whose father was a. The
Louisville Courier Journal did not make a
very great sensation with story OF q cat that
gave birth TO three squirrels. This gave the
Turf. Field and Farm courage to tell about
colt which ciimned 10 .ne IasePoies OF
barns and beamed pleasantly upon passers-
by. and after that the Leavensonh Tunes
tells about three heavy fchooimaIms calmly
seating themselves on one poor niue IN
offensive by. Made desperate oy TINS. Inc
Naverly Tenn man came BACK Win oi1
oPeworms made one sneeP, ano ~, rsyet.e-
VILE Tenn remonsfaIed VIII IN, u e,
With three dPPrec'dote legs. Ane Nfev~iaha
fadindedier brought OUT ne mouse ~ncn
chewed up sSoO In Rreenoack.; ano me Ls-
ansvllie Courier came up s"l,ing WIN rne
boy VINO eSalio"e1 go'o aoilsr. Inc
b.:tueoo!o VI heoola s.poon H uuI.,
which rjureo 'aHy ~ J'1 ,h s'I K. ana,ng
upon nsr neso. ana Ss .Ie t M.n:.. SM
Tunes followed VT. Th. F Sts''e p eaT'' n WIN