The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-03-27
ALMOST.
A YOUNG MAN TAKES STOCK IN
A WATER EELOCIPEDE
AND GETS WET.
The Invention Is Tried and Nearly
Costs a Man His
Life.
DrOwned-Not Quite-But Almost
in Nearly Twenty Feet
Of Water.

1t is said that new things take well
or, as one old saw puts it, new
broom sweeps clean. But a novel; '
is not always safe thing to invest 10
for some times it gets man into baC
fix. There are many illustrations OF
this seen in every days observation
The time was when men chung with
great tenacity to whatever was ole
and looked with suspicion upon limo
vations, but that time has passed
Now a man is willing to surrender
the old for the new at any price
Some men even 60 so far on this mat.
ter in these days that they will gev rid
of an old wife for new one-but all
this is depressing. We have been led
to make these remarks on account OF
the adventure of a certain Mr.
Horne, young man who resides on
the south of the Colorado river not
far from this city. He is an
ADMIRER OF NOVELTIES
and his admiration came near costing
him his life. 1t brought him just
about as near the land OF pearly streets
and jasper side walks as man ever
gets and returns to this sinful world
again. The readers of the STATES
MAN will remember that the late Ma
jor Ben Thompson purchased an in
stitution called a water velocipede
and at great expense shipped 1t
to this city and launched it
on the raging Colorado. Ben was a
brave mamie was noted for his
courage. He could stand before an
adversary who had him covered with
a double barrel shotgun, and fight
just as coolly as he could take a
whisky straight with a friend in a
bar-room but Ben Thompson, with
all his courage, was not brave enough
to mount that water velocipede and
undertake to navigate the Colorado.
Here was a danger that even Ben
Thompson shrank FROM. This
wonderful machine has not been de-
scribed for the simple reason that
IT CANNOT BE
it must be seen to be appreciated, and
even then the man must look long
time before he can comprehend it in
all its parts. No sooner had Major
Ben imported this singular novelty
than an Englishman living in the vi
cinitY of Barton creek concluded to
build one himself. He was some
thing OF a carpenter, and
he thought he had genious, and car
penter with genious is about as near
perfection as humanity gets, if per-
hapS you except an editor and stone
mason. He went to work and taking
Ben's as his model he toiled faithfully
and long until the thing came from
his hand perfect CD water bicicle.
He said to himself he would navigate
Barton creek with it, and he did, but
as he usually had to wade
up the stream and pull the
thing after him the fun was slightly
diminished. He did not have the
courage to venture with his novelty
into the great river beyond. He had
spent deal of money and deal more
of genius, and all his
PRECIOUS TINE
in getting up the thing, and it
grieved him sorely to see it prove a
Failure. He did what several
other men have done under SINH
lar circumstances; rather than to
have it prove total failure, he would
sell it to some one. So this English
man sought out Mr.. Horne, or else
Mr.. Horne sought him, and knowing
the fondneSs of the young man for
novelties proposed to sell it to him
cheap. Some one had fooled Ben
Thompson that way and the English
man no doubt thought he could fool
Mr.. Horne-THE STATESMAN repre-
sentative, who investigated this case,
could not learn his first name.
One man suggested it was
hut hn
not certain about it, so he is called
Mr.. Horne. The result proves that he
not only fooled him, but he came
wonderfully near sending him to. the
kingdom come too. The trade was
concluded and Mr.. Horne was the
proud possessor of water veloci-
pede-the
SECOND ONE
that ever rolled up or down the Col
orado river. Two men were happy.
The Englishman because he disposed of
great work of genius, and the
young man because he was sole
owner of the strange machine. 1t is
surmiSed he felt about as Darius
Green did when his flying machine
was in readiness for trial. He now
feels something as Darius did after
trying it. Yesterday he started the
strange invention for trial trip. He
mounted it with difficulty and set the
paddles-strange paddles-in motion.
Out the mouth Of Barton
creek he came as proudly as an
English man-of-war hunting Arabs.
Then he proudly turned his course
down the Colorado and he got along
tolerably well until in front of Joe
Griffith's bath house, he turned his
head to look towards the shore; this
upset the equilibrium of the thing
and down she went-sunk in twenty
feet of water. Mr.. Horne could not
swim and he floundered and went
down. He was going down for the
last time when man from Joe's bath
house, w. Peterson, reached him in time
to catch him by the hair just as he
was sinking. He was taken to the
shore, the water allowed to run out of
him and he left for home wiser and
sadder man. His water machine is
tied at Joe Griffiths', where it can be
seen by the curious.