Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1885-01-23
a HOT DAY.
How n Baltimore Peddlcr Brought Sorrow
and Pan TO M<ny Hearts.
[Baitfrnore Amer,oan

long man In a battered has and coat
that looked as if!it had becomstired before
the Mexican war stool on the corner Of
Baltimore street and McClellan's alley
the other morning. and soon collected
quite a curious crowd about him by light
ing his pipe in singular and what was
apparently an uncanny manner. He
loaded it with unsavory tobacco, and then
spat in it. fame Immediately started
mp, and he puffed away complacently for
couple of minutes, and then knocking the
charge out by tapping the pipe on his
boot-heei, he repeated the operation.
Snow. them" said he, "shis 'ere little
magic alloomina,ur or mines the greatest
! invention of the age. II was produced
after years CT tact and investigation by
the most learned chemist and scientific
man OF the day. EIison's invenshuns is
nawthiiP to it. When this shall Gecome
gineraliy known, matches will feo howlin'
in.o the surphurous past, and the patent
safety, magical, incandescent alloom.
inatur will jest walk right forrard and
be biessin' to mank;nd.n~
He then exhibited some little sticks OF a
substance that looked like zinc, and snip
ping of little end OF one with knife
put it ON top of the tobacco in his pipe,
and expectorated emphaticaily upon it in
"phewit-soo" fashion. Tue pipe was lit.
People crowded around and bought the lii.
tie sticks ut ten cents each, receiving with
each the admouition to keep 1t in dry
pocket The fakir garnered about S., and
walked away to soms other corner.
Now, IL Just happened that these little
magical ailo ,mnAsors" were nothing
more nor less than little sticks OF metal of
sodium. which any chemist will recogniz.
as preparation that blazss up when
moistened. h
The people haven's gotten done consisa.
ing that fakir to the bad place yet. One
young clerk, who did not wish to be guilty
of such grossly unrefined act as splitting
in his pipe, tried touching the metal to his
tongue. lie is now taking milk toast
through quill, and hasn't oven got the
satisfaction OF being able to swear An
other investor Tu; the stuff in his vest
pocket, and then ran two Squares after a
'bus. When be caught it the pcrsp:ratiou
had gotten at the sodium, AMI he
had ''scratch pockes" burnt clear
through his coat, vest, shirt and
undershirt, and the alloomina-
"t-S ~ IVA ltA26 oOiikS tbuSAneSo-
like calculations on his hide. BE yelled
like wild Indian, but ths bu.iness end of
the magic alloomiDatur kept on chewing
him until it was all gone, and window
was let into his ribs. Another man thou yht
he would have some fun with his piece, SO
be cut it up In little chunks and stuck
them in the ends of cigarettes, which he
distributed among his friends. This man
left town on the 2:50 train yesterday. A
hardware clerk who was hunting for him
with Dail-grab. said that he never got
hold of a cigarette with torchlight pro-
cession in it before. A dry goods dealer
carelessly left his piece near the water.
cooler, and was quite surprised and
panied shortly afterward when about $50
worth of samples were destroyed. How
many got their fingers scorched or their
lips charred with tie magical alloominatur
could only be discovered by detectives.
Tnere was some talk of organizing q Wig
lance committee and going after the
street -vender, but this was aLandonsd,
and the injured ones relieve their feelings
now by throwing things at the men who
sell twelve collar buttons for five cents
and suspenders for fifteen cents, or when
a southerly wind and cloudy sky pro.
claim it hunting morning they take It
by turns to go out ana kick over the lame
apple woman's stand