The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1883-08-09
The Trouble Bill Brace Made.

The Old Settler saw the Sheriff look
ing at one of the circus pictures and
laughing as if he would burst. The
picture was that of an elephant and
camel walking side by side, and man
N horseback following them
Said the Sheriff: '.That picture put
me in mind of the time that Jim Stark
went down to take care of young Bill
Brace when Bill had a spell of the jim
jams. That was the funniest thing that
ever happened to Pike County, but l
hadn't thought of it in ten years, and l
had to howl.
'Maybe it's twenty years ago, and
maybe it's more, but anyhow, young
Bill Brace, after turning good farm
and three or four of the best horses
there was in the county into Jersey rum
and absorbing the most of it himself,
somehow or other got the jim-jams.
They took him home to his old mans.
The old gentleman kept tavern along
the river road, and never let anything
bother his head much, and no more did
the old lady. They took young Bills
little indisposition as a matter of course,
and got along with him well enough for
a day or two; but when he got to in
sisting that the old man was a snake
which it was his bounden duty to club
to death, and that the old lady was
surperfuous kitten that must be
drowned, and forthwith proceeded to
perform his duty with a singleness and
tenacity of purpose that nearly tri-
umphed, they concluded that he had
better be handed over to more vigorous
and persuasive methods of treatment,
and they called in the hired man and
the neighbors.
"Jim Stark, who lived all over the
county, happened to be in that locality
about that time, and he volunteered to
go and sit up with young Bill at least
one night. Jim was little given, once
in while, to taking drop too much
himself. Believing that he wouldn't
have very pleasant or quiet evening
with his patient, he thought he would
take small vial of nerve-fortifier
along, and he did.
''They had young Bill in a front bed
room of the tavern, on the ground floor.
The house was built close to the edge of
the road. 1t was a warm summers
night, and the front window was raised
to its full hight. ALI the folks in the
house went to bed and left Jim alone
with young Bill. The patientwas COM
paratively quiet, and Jim began to
think he was to have pleasant watch.
''Ten o'clock had passed, and, with
the exception of an occasional howl,
and the emphatic expression of the be-
lief that the room was full of fighting
cats, young Bill had given Jim no un-
easiness. About II O'clock young Bill
gave yell that would have scared
panther into fits. Jim was laying back
in chair, in the act of strengthening
his nerves once more. He turned round
and saw Bill sitting up in bed, staring
wild at the window. Jim looked in that
direction himself. If Bills yell would
have thrown a panther into fits, the
one that Jim gave would have killed it
showed through the open window, and
with its trunk waving slowly to and fro,
and its ears Topping, was an elephant,
and at its side stood camel. In less
than a second Jim was in under the
bed, yelling murder at the top of his
voice. The hired man slept over head,
and hearing the noise, rushed down.
The first thing that met his gaze was
the elephant and the camel. Then he
thought he had the jams, and with a
terrible howl he went out of a back
window and made for the barn. The
uproar awoke the old man and woman,
and they came tearing into the room.
The elephant and camel were the first
things they saw They tumbled over
one another in their haste to get out,
oIInI fha;, boy, 11 IN P;11fo T;,,,f,
and the hired mans The old lady got
out of the house and ran mile up the
road to Granny Cusword's. She
aroused the people there and yelled:
'Don't come out or you'll git 'em.
I've got 'em, the ole mans got 'en1,
Jim Stark's got 'em and the hired
mans got'em! We all got 'em o Bill!
Who under the blessed canopy'd o
thunk they. was ketchinP Don't come
out, an / Ii kinder hide in the wood
shedr
"Well, in the midst of the excite
ment at the tavern, a man on horse.
back rode up. He soon Strengthened
things. You see there had been cir
Gus down to Stroudsburgh, and it had
pulled up at night to come on to Milford.
The elephant and camel had been
chained together, and the keeper rode
along on horseback. He got tired and
sleepy, and just before he reached
Braces had fallen asleep in his saddle.
His horse had turned into Braces barn
yard and stopped, and the elephant and
the camel went on. Seeing the light
in the window, the elephant went to in.
vestigating matters and gave the whole
house the jim-jams. Ed. Mott TN N