The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-11
THE HOOsIER POET.
An Amusing Chapter in the Early Life of
James Whitcomb Riley.

An Amusing Chapter In the Early Life OF
James Whitcomb Riley.
Pittsburg Dispatch.
A little party sat around the crate in the Sew
enth-avenue lobby yesterday afternoon. A trav-
cling man from Boston, with slight literary
turn, presumably absorbed from his native Bos-
tonian atmosphere, had just laid down small
volume of poems by James Whitcomb Riley the
Hoosier poet, and was descanting on the quaint
beauties of his dialectic work to Dispatch rep
resentative. Riley has immortalized the Hooser
In charming verse, and embalmed his manner
isms and provincialisms, much as was done by
James Russell Lowell for the New England
farmer in the '.Bigelow Papers, and Will Garlic
ton for the Western farmer in his Farm Bal
lads" The travelling man waxed Justly enthusi-
astic as the circle enlarged.
you are speaking of Jim Riley" broke liz o
gentleman with the freedom of fellowship which
exists among genteel vagabonds, whose business
keeps them on the road and renders them indif-
ferent to formaities, especially that of intro
duction. Il knew him well. In fact, feel q
sort of proprietary interest in his work. l don't
like to claim the honor of discovering him, for a
man OF his genius and talents is bound to come
to the front in any event"
The expression of interest on the faces of the
Little circle encouraged him to continue:
II was running weekly paper in a small
northern Indiana town at the time | met him.
You know how the inhabitants of small places
60 wild over anything of freakish nature, and
the raging sensation just then was the work of a
blind sign painter party of advertising fakrs
had just struck the village who decorated the
walls and fences in the most gaudy way imagin
able, the finishing and artistic touches being
done by member of the party who was known
as the Only Blind Sign Painter on Earth ,
Business with them WAS rushing, every merchant
in town came around and wanting work done,
for, when the blind sign painter, who was none
other than Riley, felt his way up a ladder and
dashed off an artistic sign half the inhabitants
OF the place turned out to witness the feat
The scheme of the fakirs which was an
original one and calculated to catch the multi
tude all depended on the histronic ability of the
Hoosier Poet He had large, frank, grey eyes
and the vision of an eagle. When the surface
was selected he was brought out and led to the
foot of the ladder. A part of his business
was to go up step, carefully feeling
his way, then turning stare into va
cancy in an aimless, mooney sort of
STYLE and bring to bear on the crowd face full of
pain and pathos. This rarely failed TO draw ex-
pressions of sympathy, and what was more to
the point. additional advertising contracts.
Slowly climbing the ladder he fingered the
surface, measuring carefully with his hands the
dimensions of the letters, and then suddenly
Selling the brush, the sign was reeled off much
more rapidly than the average painter could
do it.
Another catching bit of business was to
stumble on coming down when one of the party
gave him a showing below, with an mprecation
and brutal order to be more careful.
Shame, shame! Some one ought to take
the poor man away from the crowd on such oc-
casions. One day when he was up the ladder
caught his eye Ny suspicious had been aroused
and he saw it in my face Slowly and deliber-
ately, with owlsh solemnity, he winked that
great. gray eye of his in q way which spoke
whole libraries.
After that was taken in his confidence and
finding that he gold mine of talent in
duced him to leave the painters and go to work
in my office, task which was not dificnlt for
he only regarded the Blind Painter dodge as
boyish lark, and was getting tired of the fun
That was the beginning of his newspaper career.
He went to Indianapolis and has been doing ex-
cellent work on the press of that city ever
since. q understand his book is netting him
quite handsomely, and is a success every way"