Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1883-09-13
The Plug Hat Fever.


tleman the other evening, and, without
waiting for q reply, went on to relate
his own experience, and to tell the re-
suit OF his own observations. Il never
knew OF a young man who, when he
reached an age between eighteen and
twenty-five, but what he had the plug
hat fever to a greater or less severity.
he will suffer great deal, too, before
it fairly breaks out. And he gets q
shiny tile on his head. Then he suffers
several days after he gets the hat, and
he is conceited enough to believe the
eyes of the whole world are upon him.
de will wish for the first day or two he
hadn't got it, and then again he'll pick
up grit enough to wear it in spite of
everything. Next to the moustache
ambition, the plug hat fever strikes to
the very vitals. The first symptoms of
the fever makes its presence known by
the victims visiting some hat store,
and trying on half dozen silk hats,
and looking admiringly at himself in n
mirror. He will put it on square, then
cock it over to the right side, then
hang it on his left ear, and smiles with
satisfaction at the image of himself un-
der the hat in the mirror. A young
calf under new she'd could not feel
prouder of itself, than the young man
with goose down on his upper lip,
when he first beholds his manly brow
in the looking-glass, supporting II
shiny silken hat. It's too overcoming
for anything, and in a great many in
stances it is more overcoming than be-
coming. But then they must have 'em
no matter about the expense. Finally
the hat is purchased, put in a hat-box
and conveyed to the young man S room
with the greatest of care and fond ex-
pectations of the manliness it will give
the wearer in the near future. For a
week, maybe, he will exercise the hat
by wearing it in his room for few
hours every evening. Finally he gets
his courage to the proper pitch, and
on an auspicuous Sunday evening starts
for church with the hat nicely setting
on the top of his head. He knew he
would attract attention and the first
street urchin he meets calls attention
to it by shouting shoot the hat Now
how did that young heather come to
notice anything new or novel in the
hat' 1t is easily explained. When a
man wears a plug hat on the street for
the first time he gives himself away by
his Tm-on-dress-parade air. He will
walk as carefully as though trying to
balance a pail of water on his head
and expecting every moment that it
will tip off and douse him. 1t don't
squeak like new shoe to attract at
tention, but it stitfenS up the spine in
an unusual and unnatural degree. 1t
takes several public appearances in the
new plug to again timber up the spine
to its normal condition. Arriving at
church the young man hesitates for an
instant about going in, but remember
ing an appointment to see a young lady
home, he braces up, stithy holds the
determined-tO-attr silk hat
over his right fore arm, he mentally
swearS vengeance on the usher who
prances him up to the front pew in the
center of the church for no other pur-
pose than to call attention, in his mind,
to the new plug. Eight out of ten
first-time'I-wore- a-plug-hat young men
will become SO agitated that instead OF
putting the hat on the floor out of the
way, will place ii on the seat and TOR
get to remove it when the usher shows
some one else in for the sole purpose
in his mind, of having them sit on il
and wreck it. It's a good thing &c
have the first plug wrecked in this
way, because the first hat has got to be
wrecked, but it is generally done by
some kind friend who sneaks up be.
hind, jams it down over your ears anC
is away before you fairly understand
a brick block hasn't tumbled onto you
A plug hat is probably the most dressy
hat, but heavens! how q man suffers