Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1883-07-28
SATURDAY. JULY 2S, 1883.
Peck's Bad Boys Pa Takes in the Comet

"But, look-a here" says the grocery
man, as be gave the boy a little dried
up lemon, about a. big as a prune, and
told him he was a terror, what is the
matter with your eye winkers and your
hair? They seem to be burned Off"
20, thunder, didn't Pa tell you about
the comet exploding and burning us all?
That was The worst thing since the food,
when Noar run the excursion boat from
Kalamazoo to Mount Ararat. You see
we have been reading about the comet,
which is visible at four o'clock in the
morning, and I heard Pa tell the bired
girl TO wake hin, and Ma up wiici, size
got up to set the pancakes and go TO
early mass SO they could see the comet,
The hired girl is a Cathlick, and she
don't make no fuss about it, but she has
got more good, square ~relidgin than a
dozen like Pa. 1t makes a good deal of
difference how rel.dgin affects different
people, don't it? Now, Pas re!idgin
makes him wild, and he wants to kick
my pants, and pull my hair, but the
hired girls relidgin makes her want to
hug me, if am alarmed, >and she put
anarchy on my bruises, and gives me
pie. Pa wouldn't get up at four o'clock
in the morning to 60 to early mass, un-
less he could take a fish pole along and
some angle worms. The hired girl
prays when no n sees her but God,
but Pa wants to get a church full of
sistern', and pray loud, as though he
was an a%utioneer selling tin razors. Say,
it beats all what a difference liver medi-
cine has IN two people, too. Now, that
hickory nut day, when me and my churn
got full of Pas liver medicine, l felt so
good natured / gave my hickory nuts
away to the children, and wanted to
give my coat and pants to a tramp, but
my chum, who amt bigger'n me, got on
his ear and wanted to kick the socks off
q little girl who was coming home from
school. It's queer, amt it? Well, about
the comet. When / heard Pa tell the
hired girl to wake him and Ma up, / told
her to wake mt up about a half an hour
before she walked Pa up, and then l got
my chum to stay with me, and We made
a comet to play on Pa. You see my
room is right over Pas room, and | got
two lengths Of stove pipe and covered
them all over with phosphorus, so they
looked just as bright as a comet. Then
We got two Roman candles and a big
sky rocket, and We were going to touch
off the Roman candles and the skv
rocket just as Pa and Ma got to looking
at the comet. | didn't know that a sky
rocket would kick back, did you? Well,
you'd q dide to see that comet. We tied
a piece Of white rubber garden hose TO
the stove pipe for q tail and went to bed,
and when the girl woke US up we laid
for Pa and Ma. Pretty 0 we heard
Pas window open, / looked out. They
had their night shirts on and looked
just like the pictures of Milierites wait
ing for the world to come to the end.
Pa looked up and seen the stove pine
and said:
Hammer, for Gods sake, look up
there. That is the damnest comet
ever see. 1t is bright as day. See the
tail of it. Now that is worth getting M
to see."
Just then my chum lit the two Roman
candles and l touched off the rocket,
and that's where my eye winkers went.
The rocket busted the joints Of the stove
pipe, and they fell down on Pa, and Ma
her head inside before the comet
struck, and wasn't hurt, but one length
OF the stove pipe struck Pa endways on
the neck and almost cut a biscuit out of
him. and the fire and sparks just poured
down in his hair, and burned his night /,
SHIRT. Pa was scarf. He thought the {
world was coming to an end, and the
window came down on his back
and ne began to sing, Earth is but a
desert dear, Heaven is my home" / (
rec ne WAS caught in the window, and I
went down stairs to put ont tho fire on ]
nis night shirt, and put up the window ]