The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1874-07-30
ASA BRAsHEAR's BROKEN LEG.
The Full and Exact Particulars of that
Remarkable Accident.
[FrOm the Courier-JOurnal.l

From the Courier-JournaI.]
It was Asa Brashear himself who
told the story. Asa, as everybody in
Louisville knows, is not unacquainted
| with cards. 1t is possible that he is
better acquainted with the Queen oil
] Clubs than he is with the Queen oi
Sheba. 1t is probable that the blue
/ and gold of the King of Diamonds is
a more familiar costume than the Pic
ture of Solomon arrayed i'll all his
glory. In point of fact, it is highly
probable that Asa is much better up
in the history of Praraoh than of all
the Kings OF Israel put together. IL
is also highly probable that Asa is
fond of a social glass or two; at least
we have his own word 10 that effect,
and nobody dare dispute what Asa
Brashear says, ,sand expect to come
out of the fight with sound head
But this is how he came to tell the
story: Asa is lame of one leg, and we
asked him one day what was the mat
ter with the defective limb.
"How did l happen TO break my
leg, did you say? Well, it was a Gu.
rious thing and I'll tell you about it.
You see | had been drinking pretty
hard for week or so, aud thought I'd
lay off and get over ii. | live up in
the third story, thirty feet or so from
the ground, and my window comes
almost down to the floor. It's mighty
easy to fall out of that window, and
there's brick pavement down below
which amt as soft as q feather-bed
So you see a fellow that'd fall down
there would be mighty apt to hurt
himself. / fell down there once, and
know how it is myself.
s'It was nearly dark when | went to
my room that evening and [ thought
I'd sleep awhile and see if the trouble
in my head wouldn't stop. It was a
whizzing sort o. feeling, and I didn't
feel exactly right about what l saw.
In fact the last drink took that day
there was a fly in it. At least 1
thought SO. But Jimmy, who was
behind the bar, looked sort o. funny
when asked him to take it out. How
soeVer, fell asleep and slept [ don't
know how long but woke up rather
suddenly and heard a strange kind of
noise outside the door. 1t was awful
dark and the noise on the steps sound
ed like thousand men, with felt slip
pers on, striking a thousand rattan
canes on the steps, and all in military
line. All at once, music struck up,
but it was faint-like, as if the band
was ever so faI away. / told you it
was dark as pitch, but the door sud-
denly opened aHd blaze of light
came in that blinded nae SO that
couldn't see any more than when the
door was shut. When / got over the
daze l looked down on the floor and
there was long file of little soldiers,
not one of 'em higher'n my finger, ali
marchin' into the room, headed by
band of music and with kurneI, who
wasn't bigger'n any O. them, mounted
on horse correspondent.
'Well, they marched into the room
and formed in files in front of nv bed.
and | was loOkin' at 'em all the time.
When they had all got fixed in proper
ranks, the fellow on the horse got
down, and the band stopped PLAYING.
After he touched the floor the kurnel
to grow, and before he
growing he was as much as
eight feet tall. l kept lookin' at him
all the time, and he then got up on
the bed and took a screw from his |
pocket and screwed it into the ceiling. |
Then he stepped down again and |
caught one o. them little soldiers by |
the nape of the neck and tied q string /
around his neck and stepped up on |
the bed. And / was looking at him |
all the time. Then he tied the other |
end of the string short up to the screw
and let go o. the little soldier. The
poor little teller kicked around for a /
while and grew black in the face, and
died, L s'pose at least he didn't make
any more fuss that night. When the
kurnel saw he was dead he got down
agaid, aud as soon as he touched the
floor he began to grow smaller and
until he was no bigger'n he
was at first. Then he got on his horse
and the band began to play, and he
shouted forward, march, and the lit
lie soldiers commenced marching out
Of the room.
snow, there was one little soldier
hat seemed 10 be watching me all the
line, and when the rest of 'em COM
nenced marching out he slipped back
rom one file to another and so on till
ne had got TO the rear rank. When
he last but him had got out of the
loor, this little chap he came running
pack to the bed and says:
"Asa. put down your leg"
"Well, put down my leg and the |
title cuss climbed straddle my foot
"'Now, Asa, says he pull your leg {
lp in the bed.'
81 put my leg up on the bed again,
nd the little fellow ran up to the side i
# my pillow. {
"Asa,' said he, did you see the
nrnel hang that little soldier?'
eyes," says l, i was lookin' at {
i'm all the time.'
"'Well, Asa says he, he's a-comln'
ack to do the same thing to you in a
ninute.'
si,(Iood Cod. savs 7. swhat must I