The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1883-02-16
His Pa is "Nishiated. d."

SAY, are you a Mason or a nodfellow-
or a~nythingY' asked the bad boy Of the
negro grOceryman, as he went to the
cinnamon box ON the shelf and took
out a long stick Of cinnamon bark to
chew.
"Why. yes. of course | am, bnt what
set YOU to thinking of that?7 asked the
grocery nan as be went 10 the desk and
charged the boys father with half a
pound Of cinnamon.
well, do the goats butt when you
nishiate a fresh candidate?"
mo. Of course not. The goats are
cheap ones and have no life, and We
muzzle them. and put pillows over
their heads, SO they can't hurt any
body said the grocery man. as he
winked at a brother Odd Fellow who
was seated on a sugar barrel. looking
mysterious.-"But why do you ask?'
-, luthun.' only l wish me and my
chum had mu2zled our goat with a pill
low. Pa would have enjoyed becom-
coming a member of our lodge better.
You see Pa had been telling US how
much good the NaeSns and o d Eel
lows did, and said We ought to try and
grow up good SO we could join the
lodges when we got big, and | asked Pa
if il would do any hurt for us to have
a play lodge in my room, and purtend
to nishiate, and pa said 1t wouldn't
do any hurt. lie said it would improve
our minds and learn US to be men. So
me and my chum borrowed a goat that
lived in a livery stable so the horses
won't get sick? They get used to the
smell of a goat and after that nothing
can make them sick but a glue factory.
/ wish my girl boarded in a livery
stable. Then she would get used to
the smell. | went home with her from
church on Sunday night, and the smell
of the goat on my clothes made her sick
to her stummick, and she acted Just
like an excursion on a lake, and said if
/ didn't go and bury myself and take
the smell out of me she wouldn't never
go with Inc again. She was just as
pale as a ghost and the Precipitation on
her lip was just zf she had been hit by
q street sprinkler. You see my chum
and me had to carry the goat up to my
room when pa and ma was out riding.
and he blatted so that we had to tie a
handkerchief around his nose, and his
feet made such a noise on the floor that
we put some baby socks on his feet,
Gosh, how IRONY "a goat smells, don't
it? should think you MasOns mus.
have strong stummix's. Why don't
you have a skunk or a mule for a trade
mark Take a mule and annoint it with
limberger cheese and you could nishi.
ate and make a candidate smell just as
bad as with a gosh darned mildeWed
goat. Well, Sir, my chum and me prac-
tlced with that goat until he could butt
a picture of another goat every time
We borried a buck beer sign from a
Baloon man, and hung it on the back of
aohair. and the goat would hit it every
time. That night pa wanted to know
what we were going to do up in OuI
room, and told him we were playing
lodge, and improving Il minds, and
pa said that was right, there was moth
ing that did boys of our age half 50
much good as to initiate men, and store
by useful knowledge. Then my chum
asked pa If he didn't want to come up
ard take the grand bumper degree, and
he laffed and sand lie didn't care if he
adjust to encourage us boys in innocent
past time, that it Was 50 improving to
our intellex. We had shut the goat up
In a closet in my room, and he had got
over blatting, so we took off the hand.
kerchief, and he was eating some of
my paper collars and skate straps. We
went up stairs and told pa to come Vi
pretty soon and give three distinct
raps, and when we asked him who
comes there, he must say "a pilgarliC
who wants to JOIN your ancient order
and ride the goat" Ma wanted to come
too, but we told her if she came up it
would break up the lodge, cause IA wo.
nan can't keep a secret, aud we didn't
have any side saddle for the goat. Say
If you never tried il, the hext time you
plshiate a man in your MasOn's lodge
you sprinkle a little kyan pepper OF the
goats beard just before you turn him
loose. You can get three times as
much fun to the square inch out of a
goat. You wouldn't think it was the
same goat. Well, we got all fixed and
pa raped, and we let him in and told
him he must be ~blindfoIded. aud he got
on his knees lafing, and ] tied a towel
around his eyes, and then his back was
right toward the closet door, and l put
the buck beer sign right against pas
clothes. He was lafing all the time,
and said we boys were full of fun as
they made EN-, and we told him it was
a solemn occasion, and we wouldn't
permit any levity, andi if he did not STOP
latin we couldn't give him the grand
bumper degree. Then everything was
ready, and my chum had his hand on
the closet door, and some kyan peppe