Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1885-01-03
SATURDAY. JANUARY 3. 1885.
A Deadly Camera.

A breach Of promise case is now
pending at Marysv;ile which exhibits
some peculiar features, says the San
Francisco Post. 1t seems the defendant,
n Young man named Augustus Scud-
berry. is a member of that rapidly IN
cress.rg class o: persons known a. anna
teur instantaneous photograph cranks
This individual had become so enthnsed
over the achievements of European
photographers in obtaining negatives OF
birds flying, horses running away, tigers
scizing their prev, etc. that he made
himself q holy nuisance prowling round
after people with his portable camera,
electric slides and things. One day he
would be found ambushed beside the
railway track and filing up the switch
tenders with beer, in the happy antici.
patton of catching a good expression of
a first-class smashup; the next, he was
trying to bride some dying mans family
to allow him to take Il snap shot at the
patient Just as the death rattle sets in.
In fact, it is stated that once, when
some miners were having q terrible
quarrel in a barrooin, Scudberry sudden
iy appeared i'm the doorway with his
instrument over his head and exclaimed
~excitedly
.'Wait until / put on a dry plate before
you shoot, gentlemen Get your pistols
ready and fire together when | say
three | want to get in all the flashes"
Well, as We were going to say, this
same Scudbefry Was engaged to a girl
named Piifev, and somehow had got
the idea into his head that Amelia-her
name was Amelia, and she wore a mum
Der four shoe, which is mighty good foi
Marysviile girl-was untrue to him; in
fact. that she was still encouraging the
attentions Of a dry goods clerk named
Boggs.
So Scudberry, having just received al
automatic clock work attachment to his
apparatus, carried mis- machine over t.
his fancee's house on pretence Of taking
the pictures of the family. He TOOK
Amclia's mother in the act of spanking
the baby; took the baby in the act o
swallowing pin took the cat In th'
act Of catching a mouse, took dinner ant
then took his leave. Scudberry ex
planned that he was going to be out o
town that evening, and asked that hi
camera be allowed to stand in a corner
Of the parlor until his return the mex
day.
That night ,ggs, the alleged rival
called on Amelia, and it is natural t.
suppose that they were both unawar'
that the Photographic apparatus in th'
corner--the lens of which Was adjusted
70 as 10 rake the sofa for and aft, so t.
speak W automatically adjusted I,
take an instantaneous negative a
precisely 1880 p. m-that being tht
hour when the jealous Scudberry sup
posed the festivities would commence /
at all. At all events. the couple were
startled at about that period by a pc
culiar click from S~cudberry's machine
and which they understood better the
next day, when that gentleman indig-
nantly broke his engagement, and ex
h;h;ted 3 picture which he sarcastically
labelled, "No. 461, Graco-Roman Hug
ging Match"
Miss Plifev Immediately brought sui
for breach Of promise, Boggs testifying
that he was only rehearsing a com,em-
plated tableau with the plaintiff. Mean
while ~Scudberry has filed the photo
graph as evidence, and the whole town
is waiting anxiously for the verdict. As
soon as it is rendered, the whole story
will be dramatized for the Baldwin, as
one of the most thrilling episodes of life
in the far west.