, 1884-07-02
BILL NYE.
Colonel Will Visscher Dissects the
Wyoming Writer
In a Lecture Which He Has lust
Prepared.
Personal Traits and Peculiarities
of the Humorist.


low grounds of sorrow, and most contigu-
ous to my heart, is Edgar Willis Nye,
known to fame and fun and others as Bill
Nye. l have some warmer friends, it is
true, but they are just now engaged in
proving the fallacy of Bob Ingersoll's
theories. Nye wis born in Maine about
thirty-three years ago, but didn't like the
place, so in company with his father and
other members of the family, emigrated
to Wisconsin at the very green age Of 2
years. He studied law and vent to Lara
ME City, Wyo., to practice, but in those
days there were too many lawyers there.
A young and aspiring attorney
couldn't much mort than get a client
into his Office, and begin to tell him
all about the merits of his case betoIe
a great mob of lawyers would come in
with masks on and take the client and tn,
law into their own hands and suspend the
case and the client and leave the young
attorney feeless. Such things made IL
necessary for Nye to do something else OF
live on air, and the air in that section is 81
thin and rarifed that it is altogether too
light for a constant diet for a healthy
man, and Nye was a healthy man then
so he went to writing for the Sentinel. He
was with that pillow-case-or sheet
about a year, and speaking of that time
Nye says THE Sentinel was a morning
paper. We printed it before shutdown
and distributed it before breakfast. Thus
1t had the appearance of extreme fresh
ness and dampness. Old Jim Hayford
was the manager Of the paper. l do not
know whether he got into the penitentiary
or the Greenback party. All l know
about it is that he was sentenced to a life
of solitary confinement. The boys used
to call him Deacon Hayford to be sarcas-
tic; he was the wickedest man in
Wyoming. Still he was warm-hearted
and generous to a fault. He was more
generous to a fault than he ever was to
anybody else. Especially his W faults.
"He gave me So a week to edit the
paper-local, telegraph, selections, re-
ligious, sporting, fashion, political and
obituary. He said Sl2 was too much,
but, if would jerk the press occasionally
and take care of his children, he would
try to stand it. Perhaps l might have
been there yet if l hadn't had a red-hot
political campaign and measles among the
children at the same time. You can't
mix measles and politics. So l said one
day l would have to draw tho line at
measles.
Il drew my princely salary and quit,
having acquired a style of fearless and
Independent journalism which l still re-
tain. l can write up things that never
occurred with a mastery and graphic
hand. Then, if they occur a~fterward, 1
am grateful; if not, l bow to the newt
able and smother my chagrin."
After leaving the Sentinel, Nye was
elected Police Judge of Laramie City,
and, as United States Commissioner, no.
tary public, postmaster, superintend-
ent of schools, member of the city
council, editor of The Boomerang. and
one thing or another, got along
~ Icy e" y SN Ut seven years
"I'' many sp'na' meningitis LOOK hln'
d ~. ,iEfI'eS LOOK ms paper, and he
van ~ !" U!u Nome' HUDSON Wisconsin
where he is living happily with his wife
and two baby daughters in a cosy cattage,
NV WIS mater ior Tue new iork hH-
Guy 1 "I'' De.roi' TFee 1re&s' Denver
Ip1s'on' IoulSvlhe c0Ir4e'-0o"rna1 and
u "oiiu AZ idiRe' ~hicn Is calculated to
a:m ~ "e"it anu promote a hea',hy
NJ " Nn MS uomest'c me
~ :c = mt" awe. 'nS
p "ne ID his pest ADVISER IN all
~ m'''S' anu She enjoys MS
i WINCH !, perehn'nly spontaneous
e'en "ne" "h at
p o"e evening last winter
~ was 'i'i'"H 'he i"mly' Dts Nye
sumo "PoioEe''c rem"rk
~" 'uppe Ca 'n'meu ID
I " ~ "7eS Ge CUISINE
M Oe iO's at ,ne washluo uo-uay'
10 Ia N'nuiy oonSeh'eu 10
= NJ tn'' ocTaS On
10y '@ys 'u"y 'n.nss all the
~ ~ wiz Su.n al al oi seriousness,
L "ou'l nun nc was III earnest II
~ 'S'lus me once
- 'l Hs " matters III
eI "aeH n.S H''e Blk year Ola uau-
F. ul"N'' !" i"S'
mt hoi SiuDpy aIWs aIOunu my neck