Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1882-01-12
ABOUT PRACTICAL JOKES.
Some Recent Humorous and Heartless
Occurrences, and the Law Con-
corning Them.

~0 ~>>S~'
Not the least curious thing about
the attractive subject of practical
joking is that whenever, through the
stupidity or brutality of humorous
ruffian, person Is killed of disfg-
ured for life, the newspapers chroni-
Gle the occurrence under the heading: !:
"A Warning 10 Practical Jokers."
II the wag had been manned or slain,
or if the neighbors had fogged him
or lynched him, then there would
have been excuse for the headline.
The practical joker's doings take a
wide range, and are performed at
the expense of all classes of the COM
munity.
In January last Mr.. W. T. Tim
mons, of South Carolina, having been
rejected by his sensible sweetheart,
undertook to move her heart by writ
ing letter to the press in another
persons name, announcing that his
lifeless body been found at Adams
run. The only person seriously af-
fected was his brother, who instantly
bought q coffin at Charleston. and
travelled to the spot to discover the
hoax.
At Jefferson City, Mo. a stranger
put up at the Monroe House and sold
the proprietor pair of boots for
three dollars. The landlords inti-
mate and waggish friend induced a
humorous shoemaker, named Joseph
Flick, to go and claim the boots, as
having been stolen from him, and
the hotel-keeper gave them up, and
when subsequently he encountered
his guest, had him arrested and sum-
moped Mr.. Flick as a witness. Then
the joke came out, and Mr.. Flick had
to pay twelve dollars costs, while the
guest has an action for damages for
false imprisonment
In New York City, on election
night, jOvial politician desirous of
amusing himself st the expense of a
saloon-keeper who claims to rival any
bank cashier in the detection of
counterfeits, undertook, for the de-
lectation of party of friends, to
''ring in'' bad V on the busy Bon
iface, and was Mortified when, ere
the bill touched the counter, the bar
keeper caught it up, saying he
''wanted change for ten,' and paid
it out to fourth party. The pre-
else liability in this case offers an
interesting theme for discussion.
August 19, 1880, a number of New
Yorkers were hoaxed by communi-
cation to morning paper announcing
the writer's intention of shooting
himself at three p. m. on the rock in
the lake in Central Park opposite the
Mall. Unfortunately he failed to keep
faith with the public.
Mr.. Fairfax Williamson, whose
prosecutions of the Rev. Morgan Dix
will be remembered, and the un-
known man who sent r. P. Brooks,
ticket agent Of the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad in this city, wagon after
wagon loaded with meat, fruit and
vegetables, c. 0. D., we're common.
place imitators of Theodore Hook
and much less able than the facetious
and witty young lady of Philadelphia
who several years ago issued hun
dred or more invitations to dinner in
the name of one of Mr.. Child's near
neighbors-skillfully arranging the
list of invitations so as to include fifty
assorted pairs Of mortal enemies
and then kindly ordered a magnif-
cent dinner from a restaurant for the
occasion.
A decidedly sensational practical
joke was perpetrated in Brazil on the
occasion of the introduction Of a ne "
safety brake, Dom Pedro, who was
on the tram, being an accomplice.
At one part of the line, where il
passes through cutting bounded by
rocks, a gigantic construction of lath
and canvas, painted to represent a
mass Of fallen rock, was placed on
the rails SO that the driver would
catch sight Of it as he rounded a
curve. He did, and stopped the train
in hurry, so that both the joke and
the trial were successful. But sup
pose he had jumped off.
When the steamer Potosi left Ply
mouth recently for Australia a prac-
tical joker cried out: "Man over.
board" A life-boat was lowered,
but the falls became entangled and
five men were plunged into the water
and two were drowned.
At Linthwaite, England. John Dis.
kin, a boy Of sixteen, thought il
would be great fun to scare bis mate
a lad Of fifteen, by throwing a rope
around his neck and putting the end
Of it round the machine shaft.
At Chicago, Mr.. NJ. B. Gould, {
prominent business man, resolved tt
to scare the janitor by oyerturnlns
things in his room and hiding in th,
closet. While he was chuckllng will
a companion over the success of thei
stratagem, the janitor, having vainly
summoned the alleged burglar to sur
render, fired through the door ant
killed him.
There died at the Iudiantown IN
b. Asylum, last winter, Miss CLAIR
BagnalI, a young lady upon whom
, a waggish caller pounced one evenin!
arrayed zen diable." She tell in
fit and became a raving maniac.
AT Dennison. Ohio, an America
humorlst gave little girl two rail
road torpedoes. telling her they wer
candy packages to be opened with
hammer. She lost both eyes in ope L
ing them.
At Bombay, in October, a schoo
, boy came behind young companion
put his hands to his friends eyes an
bade him ''guess who it was." Th
boy struggled 10 escape, the joke
f tightened his grasp, and the victim ws
fairly ''gouged," the crystalline len
being broken.
In Brooklyn, E. D., the favorit
joke is stretching line across th
street to catch passers In the evenin
under the chin. After a girl ha
, been thrown down and had suffere
, a fracture of the skull the authorize
, took action and the next offender ws
fined five dollars.