The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1880-04-21
The True story OF Morgan.
Burlington Havkeye.l

burlington Hswkeye.l
Batavia, my Friends" said the fat passen.
ger, is the home of the late lamented Mr..
Morgan. Mr.. Morgan, in his day, was q
goat rider of considerable celebrity. But he
went back on the goat. Here is the office Of
the Advocate, one of the weekly papers Of
Batavia. In this print shop in the days Of
the Advocates ancestor, Mr.. Morgan printed
a book. and told all about the bad abits the
decetful tricks and the bad ways of the goat.
He gave the frolicsome animal of the lodge
away bad. He described his amusements;
he told how he did it and what he called it.
He just told all about it, and literally took
the goat by the horns, which, Mr.. Morgan
averred, were. not the only kind of horns
taken in the lodge.
THE detected animal brooded over his
wrongs. He felt that Mr.. Morgan's offense
was rank. 1t couldn't have been much
ranker than the goat, but the goat didn't
think of that. He only thought of revenge.
He had his revenge. One summer night the
goat backed out of his closet, got out of
window in the lodge room, slid noiselessly
down the lightning-rod 1--WE can see The same
lightning-rod few blocks further on.) That
very night the doomed and recreant brother
Morgan was out taking walk in the star.
light. The great exposer strayed carelessly
down one street and another, his hands
clasped behind bis back and his head bent in
thought. As he walked with an uneven
gait, his back swayed to and fro with what
an ordinary goat might consider q chsl-
longing gesture. He did not look
around and SO he did not see Q
terrible figure that followed him. A
gloomy, threatening, fearful shapes part Of
the night, but not OF it. Now and then as IL
came close to Mr.. Morgan it would raise itself
up in the air with its head bent down, a.
though in mockery of its victims attitude,
and for q brief second it would retain this
attitude, looking in the gloom like shsdowy
letter with legs. Then it would let down
and pause to eat a circus poster, and after
having finished this frugal lunch it would
hasten on after the doomed Morgan.
by and by the traitor stood on the bridge
over the Towanda. He folded his arms,
crossed his legs and leaned easily upon the
parapet. At that instant the goat ran up to
short range, unlimbered, and went into bat
terry, action rear. He Strengthened himself
up like lightning rod, then he curved him.
sell into an interrogation poiLt, then he shot
himself out straight horizontally, and came
down in one time and two motions.
HE butted Mr.. Morgan. He only butted
1t was immense success. The doors
weren't open ten minutes before the house
was crowded. standing room all gone, and
the last man that came in had to leave his cane
outside. The goats neck cracked like tor
nado with the conclusion, and il is on the re-
cords of the lodge that he wore porous
plaster on his back tor the next two weeks.
Nothing like it had ever happened in his
| family since his great grandfather hired
himself out to Augustus Cesar for q Roman
catapult
"As for Mr.. Morgan, he was amazed, and
panied and disappointed. Disappointed be-
cause he could not die right away and be
| done with it. He was at a loss to know just
! what had happened, and was surprised that
no one else felt the shock of the earthquake.
| When he landed against the side of mount
ain, about four miles the other side of the
creek, he began to realize the terrible truth.
| He was seized with an intense sickening
] fear of all goats and no wonder. The next
| day, when be was standing at the mantel-
piece eating his dinner, he laid bis hand on
his heart, which had been knocked clear up
into the back OF his neck, and took solemn
oath that he would go where be never again
could see, hear. feel OF smell a goat especial
~ feel. Mr.. Morgan seems to have been
man who didn't have any too much regard
| for the sancitIty of an oath, but circum-
stances assisted him in keeping his VOW. He
started to escape from the presence Of goats
| the next day.
Naturally, when he hid himself from the
nod of the headstrong and erratic goat, ne
| disappeared from the eyes of men. He
couldn't help it. Wherever he found men,
there were goats. If he slept in stable, the
eroot thara hraathinu swat narfum0
| from his cashmere locks. He found them on
the dreary mountain side, fattening on the
dried moss of centuries. If he went to the
! crowded cities the goat. while he solemnly
chewed bits of Irvine and tomato can labels,
looked at Mr.. Morgan convivially, as who
should say, Brother Morgan, you has my
| eye.' If he went out into the painless desert,
the goat met him and Hospitality invited him
| to have cactus And so he fed, speeding
with wings of fear, and bones of aching
| memories to spur him on, far, far from the
haunts of men and goats And he never
was seen again, and he never came back.
| This is the true story of Morgan's disappear
| ance, for are we not here in the very village
where he lived2 Are we not standing on
the very ground where it all occurred7 Do
we not know since we are hereP 1t has
been said that Morgan's fate was an awful
one; that may not he told. 1t has been said
that the Freeland Expected Masons ate him
up; that they run him through straw cut
ter; that they bought his boy tin horn;
that they told his wife his gun wasn't loaded,
and then buried him at lonely spot in the
dark forest, where two crossroads meet,
with an ash stake driven through his heart.
Many are the wild and unreal stories told Of
his disappearance, but"
The sad passenger paused impressively.
"But?" the fat passenger said intsrrogs-
lively.