Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-03-06
Gales aud Skftfhes.
The Leading American Hunorists.

write them well three hundred days out
of the year, has sure road to certain farne
and comparative wealth. There Is small
host Of American humorists OF this gene.-
alton whose savings not only nave the
prompt publicity that thousand dl1erent
publications give TO them in this country.
but are also popular in England, Ireland
and France. That the business is prohta-
BILE NAV in some degree be appreciated
hv the statement that Peck's bad Bay"
whose humor is coarse, and often extreme
liz vulgar. 10000 copies have been sold
since its publication. and the circulation
of Peaks Sun has reached nearly l0O,OOo-
| The author. George W. Peck, who was
once a newsboy. now owns real estate
a valuable newspaper. and is building one
I OF the most costly residences In the west
| Robert ]. Burdette, of the Burlington
Hawkeve. was born in Pennsylvania. but,
when four years old, moved with his pa
rents to Ohio, and for some years lived IN
( Cincinnati. About fifteen years ago ne
went To Peoria. H.. and entered journal
ism in that city. He also began the pup
I LEGATION of literary weekly, which proved
A failure. after which he went TO Burllng-
ton. Iowa He is said to be the most sue
ces-ful of funny men. In addition 10
/ handsome salary from the Hawkeye. ana
good pay for all the matter he furnishes
mapaZines. he receives from 800 TO SOU
a night for as many lectures as he Is Will
ing 10 deliver.
Alex. E. Sweet, the wit of the Texas
Siftings, was born in St. John, n. b., and
spent large part OF his school-days in
Germany. He returned to America IN
1862. and during the last year and a halt
was a soldier in the Confederate army.
After the war he studied law but soon
abandoned it for journalism. He was con-
nected with various Texas journals until
the spring of 1881, when, in conjunction
with j. Annoy Knox, he issued the first
number of the Siftings. 1t has become
very popular. and now has a circulation
of 900 copies.
Charles b. Lewis on. QUAD, of the De-
trCit Free Press, who. in his reports of
the meetings of the Limekiln Club, so eff
fecty takes off the moral obliquities of the
negro of anti bellum times, was a soldier
during the war, and has reputation as a
writer of intensely realistic war sketches,
a. well as a humorist.
For some time ..SpoOkendyke Sketch
es'' have been one of the features of the
DFoOhl VI TtOit. Iucif dtilHol IL pttuloN
Hnntley, who is about 80 wears old. He
first studied law. but, finding that his
tastes Law in another direction. he accepted
situation as reporter on the New ork
Tribune, and later on the Times. In 1879
he went TO Chicago and managed the Tele-
graph but its rapid decline caused him to
leave it and 90 to Bismarck, ID. T., where
he bought the Tribune. During that sum-
mer he had his memorable interview with
Sitting Ball. journalistic feat of daring
that eclipses most of those of the cele-
brated English correspondents,
The Chicago Tribune thought it could
produce a sensation by an interview with
| Sitting Bull who was then at war with the
government, and engaged Huntley for the
hazardous enterprise 1t was like hunting
| for needle in havstack, for no one
knew where the crafty Indian was, and
every effort of the troops to find him or
to have conference with him had failed
Huntlcy. with a friendly Indian for in
terpreter and guide. started out. and after
traversing the plains of Dakota and
Montana, enduring Unreasonable hard
ships and eluding warlike Indians. finally
found the object of his search. The
Indians at once suspected him of being a
spy, and seized and tried him as such but
he was finally able to convince them that
all he wanted to learn was their chiefs
view of the situation. in order that he
might tell it to the white people. Sitting
Bull softened, and Huntley was awarded
for his trouble with ten thousand word
interview. He Immediately hurried across
the plain to Wood Mountain, and then To
the Missouri River. down which he rowed
to Fort Buford. the nearest telegraph sta
ton, and the next morning the Tribune
came out with page of Sitting Bulls
talk This brilliant effort broke Hunt
ley down, and he has not been in good
health since. He now lives at Hacken.
sack, N. J.
Lately one of the popular features OF
the Chicago Tribune has been its Lake.
side Musings" and of these the most
widely quoted have been romances. The
author of these sketchesis Henry Ten Eyck
White. a young man on the sunny side of
30. who. after graduating at the North
western University, Evanstone, IN.
entered journalism in 1873. In 1873 he
accepted position offered by the Chica
go Tribune. and year after he began
those numerous sketches which have made
the Lakeside Musings" one of the most
entertaining features of the paper. Mr.
White makes no pretension as humorist.
though he rarely if ever, writes ANYTHING
that is not relieved by frequent flashes OF
wit. His salary is about 500 week
The humorist of the New York Times
W. l.. Alden. is the son of clergyman
He is highly educated. being graduate
of an eastern college. and his articles. al
ways published in the sixth column of the
| Daily Times. are written in mock scien.
, titic vein. and some of them have dis
, played n very profound knowledge of cur
! rent scientific thories. Mr. Alden's writ
ings in the Times are wholly humorous
but that he does sometimes take a serious
view of matters and things is manifested
by his little book on canoeing. The Canoe
and the FLYING Proa." IN the pursuit o
!, which sport he is an enthusiast. and by
the popular Juveniles he has written.
The Atlanta CONSTITUTIONS has produced
two humorists of more than average ex
, cellence-"Uncle Remus'' (Joel Chandler
Harris whose sketches are noteworthy
on account of their graphic use of the ne
. gro dialect. and their representation of the
easy, good-natured humor of the negro
character and s.Old ST. (Samuel w