Brookings County sentinel. (Brookings, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1890, 1882-04-27
AN ECCENTRIC CLOCK.
Description Of Town Clock that Puzsiss The
"0idsst Inhsbitanf'--.its Eeesatrieitiss.
Max Adeler In Our Continentl

Description Of Q Town Clock thst Pu1sIss ths
"oidsst Inhsbitant' '-..lts Eeesntrieitiss.
CMax Adeler In Our Contnent.J
The Tulpehocken town clock is inter.
esting to study as piece Of phenomenal
machinery. One of lis characteristics ID
its variety. 1t has four faces, face up.
on each side Of the tower, and persons
not satisfied with the alleged record oi
time upon one face can obtain another
and wholly different record by looking
at another face. The four sets of hands
never, excepting by accident, tell the
same story. 1t will be quarter past 2 on
the north dial when it is twenty minutes
OF 8 on the south dial, and at the same
moment the east and west dials will range
from half-past 6 to five minutes to IL.
This would be perplexing to stranger
who wished to catch train at the sta.
ton; but the town folks are used to it.
Generally they regard the clock simply
as an original kind Of curiosity, not de.
pending upon it in any manner for &C.
curacy; but it has been discovered that q
reasonable approximation to the correct
time may be obtained usually by add
ing together the records Of the four dials
and striking a general average.
The clock has what may be called
idiosyncrasies. On the south side the
dial every now and then changes off with
the hour hand, and each performs for q
time the functions Of the other, with the
effect to fill with complete bewildermeni
the mind Of the Oldest inhabitant who
has made practice of looking at that
dial alone. The east dial works differ.
entity. Now and then the hands will
come to a complete stop, say at eight
minutes past twelve. After few mo-
ments of repose, apparently to gather
strength for forward movement. both
hands will suddenly whizz around and
will slow up and begin regularly again
at quarter to four. One who looks at the
east dial Just before and immediately
after the operation gains an impressive
notion that of the rapidity of tue flight
| OF time. Now and then the hands on
the north dial become interlOcked, and
for a day or two they revolye together,
SO that the meaning of their record il
not very distinct, and it is difficult To
make fair average of the four dials.
The hands on the west dial went back
ward every day for three weeks last sum-
mer, adding much to the interest with
which the clock is regarded, and sug.
gesting entertaining reflections as to
possibility of machine which might
take up the spent moments and wind us
gradually back into the eighteenth cen.
tury.
The clock has striking apparatus,
but like the rest of the machinery it il
peculiar. 1t has rarely been known tc
strike the hour when any of the minute
hands touched the twelve spot. Thus
far no one has been able to detect any
exact system Ill the striking, but some
careful observers hold that when twelve
is struck it is fair to presume that one ol
the other of the dials marks ten minutes
after two. This, however, is not YET
verified. Occasionally the clock will no,
strike at all for a few days, and then il
will suddenly start up and strike two
hundred and thirty. seven with such
rspidity that the strokes can hardly bt
counted. The proposition is that it geti
in at one time or another the proper
number of strokes for each year, so that
nothing is really lost. II is held by some
that 1t would be better to have the clocl
begin on the first of January and strike
up ahead for the whole ensuing year, sc
as to get that much work out of the way
but the clock will never be prevailed
upon to do anything so systematic ant
regular as that.
The name of the maker is not known
1t is thought he is dead, and there ar,
those who urged that he overstrainei
| and killed himself nyepting and putting
together such an extraordinary piece o
mechanism. l often feel when / heal
his clock strike thirty-four at quarter
to seven that l should like to have known
that man; l should like to have compe
tent phrenologist examine bis crauial de-
velopment.