The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1877-05-26
OTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN
Sam Wagner Exposes Some Fiagrant
Plagiarisms by Noted American
Humarfsts.

Chronicle reporter, walking near
Sam Wagner's bootblacking emporium
this morning, observed a sadder express
sion than ever upon the face of that
meditative philosopher, and stopped to
inquire the reason. 1t was promptly
given. Sam has been devoting his num-
erous spare moments of late to the study
of Oriental literature. He has littls
Jest book, witten by a sort of Mopgolian
Mark Twain, who fourished some de-
cades of centuries ago, while our ances-
ters were yet unborn-ere the walls of
Rome had been traced, or Grecian civil
ization had begun to dawn, Sam paused
and took breath after this astounding
eruption, and then went on to say that
it made him feel bad to find SO many
jokes in this old Chinese jest book-aud
in another written by quaint Turk
some years later-which had in moderu
times been palmed off as original by
American humorists. Here is one of
the jokes of the side-spli.ting Saracen:
"Hodjs sent his pupil into a VOLTS
hole 10 capture the young, while he re-
mained on the outside to guard against
the mother. Presently the wolf rushed
up, and Hodja caught it by the tail, pre-
venting it from going in.
"Whence comes this darkness in the
hole?' cried the pupil.
"'You will know il the beasts tail
breaks, quoth Hodja."
MODERN PARALLEL.
Mr.. Wagner contended that this hu-
morous narration was obviously the
foundation for the Southern plantation
story about the old darkey and his son,
who went out to hunt and found a cave
with two bear cubs inside. The sable
youth entered to capture the cubs, while
the dusky sire sat outside to watch
| Suddenly approaches in furious haste
the old she bear and plunges into the
hole. The old man grasps the stubby
tail and holds on stoutly.
The boy inside, alarmed. cries: "Wha'
dark de hole dare what dark dat hole /?
Responds the old man: "Golly!
reckon you'll fine out what darks de hole
of dishyer tail pulls out!'
The similarity of the incidents, pos
teriori, was so striking that the reporter
concurred at once in the judgment tina
the modern story was a clean steal
Thereupon Mr.. Wagner called attention
to another old Turkish joke:
"Hassa Oil one day called up th'
Sultan, and was continually reminded b,
His Majesty that he (the SULTAN wal
the supreme ruler of everything. Pres
emily Hasa, who had drank too much
began to vonit, and while doing SO re
marked: Your Highness will at leas
allow that am experimenting this dis
play"
This is where Nasby got the story o
the man who was suffering from an over
loaded stomach when a passerby said
"Put your finger down your throat,
which called forth retort I'm boss
ing this puke."
Mark Twsin's famous yarn about Smi
ley and the jumping frog of Calaveris
comes curously enough from an oil
Chinese anecdote. In the reign of NOM
Ki pig racing was the popular amuse
ment, and two mRndarins had their Ell
tire fortune staked on the result of a rae
between two porkers. The night befor
the race man stepped into the var
, where one of the pigs were kept an
threw it Jumps of sweet dough, in wbc
6ne pieces of lead had been concealed
The pig ate a quantity of the dough, an
+ was so heavily weighted next day that b
lost the race. Filled with sorrow an
amazement at this proof OF Mark Twain
plagiarism, the reporter departed.