The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1879-07-10
BILL ARP.
His First Interview with Josh Bill
ings and His Story.

store, under the Fifth Avenue.
Josh was a settin' there about half
asleep. l thought he was q Metho-
dist ex'orter. Mr.. Carlton, says he
to me: "Arp-Major Arp-allow me
to introduce You to Col. Billings
Josh Billings. Col. Billings, Major
Arp, from Georgy."
Seating myself, 1 looked at Josh
and Josh looked at me. He never
said nothin' and L never said no.
thin, still took him for an ex'or-
ter. After a good long minute he
said:
"Say something"
"Something?" said 1, for 1 had
just spotted him and was looking as
solemn as possible.
"When you fled from the foul in
vader you had a steer with a knot
in his TAIL" said he.
EYES," said 1.
''Is he well?" said he.
GAS well as could be expected,
considering said 1.
"Considerin' what?' said he.
"He is dead" said 1.
Billings sighed, and wiping his
eyes, said, with much feeling.
Silence these steers"
just then Mr.. Carlton called us
to the door to see a balloon sailing
away with a balloonatic in it. We
looked at it as long as we could see
it. After awhile it drifted clear out
of sight and we sat down to rumi-
nate. Billings sighed again and the
corners of his mouth dropped very
low. Said he:
''The like of that makes me very
sad. Thirty years ago l embarked
on lIfe's uncertain sea-not the wet
sea shore enuff but the dry land.
started West with 81 aud a good
carakter-which is to say there was
no indictments agin me; l wasn't
runnIn' away from nothin'. went
on an explorin' expedition like Co
lumbus and Sir John Franklin-an
survey of the face of
the earth. 1 travelled afoot-that
is good many feet-in fact, a few
hundred miles, and got out of
money and expedients about the
same time-way off at little town
in Indiana.
"My natural aversion to muscu-
lar exercise had about brought me
to the verge of bankruptcy when
spied a crowd moving round in the
There 1 found a little
dried up Italian going about with a
hat trying to make up ten dollars.
He said he could go up in his bal
loon for that sum and no less. The
crowd hesitated, and talked and
laughed and joked, but they didn'
The little fellow looked
sad and discouraged, and was about
to give it up when l suddenly dis
covered my opportunity. Rousing
myself as it were from despair, l |
to him and asked if he |
would give me all over the ten dol
lars l could get. Yes said he.
the hat L grew eloquent.
et fly my homely wit and goG every
body in good humor, and in about
i've minutes had raked in twenty
,wo dollars.
"The rotten old balloon was fred
lp in tWinkling. helped to fire
t, and filed it so full OF gas the old
uy-ropes could hardly hold it to
he ground. 1 saw that the little
elbow looked anxious, but l felt
rally and was bound to give him q
lively send off.
"Whea we cut the ropes he shot
Up. like a sky rocket; in less than a
minute he was about a mile up in
he blue ETHEREAL vault. 1t was a
alm, still day as you ever see, and
le went up so straight it almost
'roke our necks to look at him. Up ,
nd up and up he went until the
'allOon was bare speck in the sky =,
and higher and higher it went
!ntil the specK was gone, and not
ven a sky glass could find it.
"My friends, from that day to
his nobody has ever seen or heard
f that little Italian, and somehow
+ somehow else 1 have always felt :
for him. My only hope
, that he went dead straight to
Teaven. May the LORD have mer-
y on us all"
Billings choked up and sobbed
tile as he remarked: "I've got his ;
art of the twenty two dollars, but
he's ever heard of I'll pay il to
I'm and three per cent interest-I
ill 'pon honor-Arp, let's step
,al1p' 60 cod - =