St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-11-26

| friends, is the bedStead on wnlcu nc el0eP0.
1t is a massive structure nine feet long anu
six and u half feet wide, 1t was maze
especially for him and no expense was spareu
TO make it substantial as well as ornamental
1t is of mahogany and the solid head-Doara,
carved and panneed, stands seven feet ABOVE
the floor and is most interesting study 10
those interested in the art or wood-carvlng'
| The bedstead is set low, being hardly more
than foot above the floor and rests on lour
| great mahogany feet representing the ponuer-
GUS paws of lion. The castors OH whicn
| the bed is moved about are OF cast iron orna-
mented with brass and each one weighs
nearly pound. 1t looks like the resting
place of a modern Goliath.
~
The major very willingly tells the story OF
| how he came TO be so fieshy, which Is not an
uninteresting recitation. When born, accord
| ing to his own testimony, he was OF less tnan
ordinary size, weighing but little more than
six pounds, and he was not considered a
healthy child. Many predictions that he
would not live to be man were made by the
prophetic old women who were nelghoors 10
his parents. The major enlisted in the army,
entering the service as cavalryhan, ana
when he first took his seat astr1ue govern
ment horse he weighed only lis younds. Thls
was an exceedingly light weight for a man 20
years of age. but he seemed to be the owner
of constitution that would have Drought
credit to a boiler factory. He rode into the
war and fought molly. Ia was while sklr-
mshing in the South that an emergency pre-
scented itself, aud, by taking advantage OF It,
Maj. Edwards laid the foundation for the
building up OF the great load of ''too solid
flesh that he carries around with
him to-day. There had been several
days of hard marching and ftful
fighting, and the gallant cavalryman had
SAT in his saddle as unhnching as an old
time martyr. He had eaten but little. and
one night when the forces came to a halt, he
dismounted and began skirmishing for some
thing paatable. Victuals were rather short
in the camp, and the only thing the major
| could find was half box Of salt herring, and
to these he made ardent love, devouring eight
| of them before he was satisfied. An hour
| later he was attacked with burning thirst.
| and going TO a neighboring spring he drank
| immoderatey of the cool water, and, lying
| down on the rich grass near by. he soon fell
| asleep. He lay in slumber more than thirteen
| hours, he says, so overcome was he from long
! riding over q rough country. and when he
aWoke he found his stomach swollen to ire
mendous proportions. A physician was
| called, and after discovering what the major
| had been eating, informed him that
| it was nothing serious, probably, as
| the drinkinS of so much water after eating
| the dry herring had caused the latter to swell,
| and if there was sufficient elasticity in the
| majors skin, he would come out all right in
| a few days. He was moved to tent where
| he lay week before the swelling had sub
| sided and his body assumed its natural pro-
| portions. AS the swelling went down the
| major found that his skin had been so badly
| stretched that it hung in loose folds on him
! and like the museum freak, 'the man with
! the elastic skim he could take the cutane-
| GUS covering of his stomach and wipe his
| nose on it. For time this state of things
worried the major, but he soon found that
| he was filing out, and in less than six months
| he had grown to fit his skin, and become
/ so fat and ponderous that he was taken from
! cavalry service and placed in the commissary
department. When the major tells the story
| he invariably winds up with saying: "You
| see was hide-bound, and those herring and
that water stretched my skin and | grew till
| filed it, but it was mighty unpleasant
| feeling for time.
| Everyone acquainted with the early history
| of St. Paul and the men who came here from
| the east and laid the foundation for the en-
| terprising city that now attracts the atten-
| ton of the world, will remember Erastus S.
Edgerton, pioneer, remarkable for his droll
wit. 1t was one day years ago that number
of these men were seated in the office of H.
| s. Fairchild then located on bridge square,
| discussing the respective pugilistic qualih-
cations of Jim Mace and Joe Coburn, the two
| fstic kings who at that time were lioniZed by
men interested in the excitement of the ring.
The ability of these fighters was being ex-
citedly discussed by this party of old settlers
when Mr.. Edgerton, who sat near
by quietly listening, to the argu-
ments, spit on the floor and
closing his eyes and rubbing the point of the
index finger of his right hand along the
bridge of his nose, said in drawing tone:
gentlemen, l reckon know two men who
can knock both of them fellows out
The other members of the party were con-
siderably surprised to think that Edgerton
should be well enough acquainted with pugil-
istic matters to enable him to name two men
who could whip the champion fighters of the
| world. and they asked with not little curl
| osity who the men were.
SWELL" said Edgerton. 81 reckon 1 know
what I'm talking about. I know two men
who can whip both of your men, and I'll bet
money on it"
The other members of the party smiled. but
Edgerton kept his eyes closed and slowly
cbafed the bridge of his nose with his finger
as he rocked back and forth on the rear legs
of his chair.
ssTell us who your men are" urged the gen.
tlemen, anxious to find out how much Edger-
| ton knew about ring matters.
s'Whisky and interest,"" slowly drawled Ed
gerton, without shifting his position. The
other members of his party agreed with him.
and they all went out to a saloon and
moistened themselves with about two fingers
of the former and great deal of the latter.
~
Small Boy (who is liable to die young on ac-
count of an abnormal development of the
head)-Ma, are street cars contagious?
Ma-Contagious? Nc, my child; what
makes you ask that?'
Small Boy-Why, you told me the other day
that folks could catch anything that was con-
tagious, and heard pa say this morning that
he caught a street car last night
Ma-UPOor hOv''