The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1886-05-21
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Bm Nye IadulEos In "Reminiscences Oh
Chndhood's Happy Hours.
Dear reader. do you remember the
bow in your school who did the heavy
falling through the ice, and was always
about to break his neck. but managed
to live through it all? Do You call to
mind the youth who never allowed any
body else to fan out of a tree and break
his collar bone when he could attend TO
it himself?
Every school has to secure the
services of such boy before it can sue
coed, and so cur school had one. When
| entered the school saw at q glance
that the board had neglected to provide
itself with q boy whose duty it was to
nearly kill himself every few days in
order to keep up the interest, so ap-
piled for the position l secured it
without any trouble wha.sver. The
board understood at once from my
bearing that l would succeed. And
did not betray the trust they had ne
posed in me.
Before the first term was over l had
tried to climb two trees ut once and
been carried home on stretcher; been
pulled ont of the river with my lungs
full of water and artificial respiration
resorted to; been jerked around over
the north half of the county by frac-
tious horse whose halter l had tied to
my leg. and which leg is now three
Inches longer than the other, together
with various other little eccentricities
which can not at this moment call to
| mind. My parents at last get so that
along about two o'clock p. m. they
would look anxiously out of the win
dow and say: "Isn't it about time fol
the boys to get hero with Williams re
mainse They generally get hero before
two o'clock.
One day five or six OF us were play.
ing II spy around our barn. Every.
body knows how to play II spy" One
shuts his eyes and counts one hundred.
for instance, while the others hide.
Then he must find tho rest and say 81
spy" so-a,d-so and touch the ..goal''
before they do. II anybody beats him
10 the goal the victim has to blind
j over again.
Well. knew the ground pretty well,
and could drop twenty feet out OF the
barn window and strike on q pile OF
straw so as to land near the gosl. touch
il, and let the crowd in free without
getting found out / did this several
times and got the binder. James Bang,
pretty mad. After boy has counted
five hundred or six hundred, and
worked hard to gather in the crowd.
oaly to get jeered and laughed ut BY
the boys, he loses his temper. 1t WAS
50 with James Cicero Bang. knew
that he almost hated me. and vet went
on. Finally. in the fifth ballot saw .
good chance to slide down and let the
crowd in again rs had done on former
occasions Islippcd ont of the window
and down the side of the barn about
Two feet when MAS detained UNI
asosiahly. There WAS s'battenr On
the barn that was loose at the upper
end / think I was wearing my fathers
vest on that day, as he was away from
home and frequently wore his clothes
whom ho was absent Anyhow tho vest
Was too large. and when slid down
that loose board ran up between tho
rest and my person IN such way q to
suspend me about eighteen feet from
the ground in prominent. but very un-
comfortable. position
/ remember it yet quite distinctly.
James c. Bang came around where he
could see me. He said: Il spy Bill Nyc
and touch the goal befoee him." No
one came to remove the barn. No one
seemed to sympathize with me In my
great sorrow and isolation Every little
while James c. Bang WOULD come
around the corner and say: 80 see va.
You needn't think you're out of sight
up there can SOC you read plain.
You better como down and blind !
can see ye up therer'
tried to intuition my vest and get
down there and lick James, but il was
Of no use.
It was very trying time. can re-
member how / tried to kick myself
loose. but failed. Sometimes would
kick the barn and sometimes would
kick large hole In the horizon. Fl
naaly was rescued BY . neighbor who
said he didn't want TO zee . good barn
Kicked into chaos Just to save long,
legged boy that wasn't worth over III
bits.
It affords me great pleasure to add
that while | am looked up to and mad
" loved by every one that does not
know me. james C. Bang is the brevet
President of fractured bank, taking q
lonely bridal tour By himself in Europe
and waiting for the depositors to die Of
old ago.
The mills Of the gods grind slowly.
but they most generally get there with
both feet. adapted from the French by
permission. )-Dctroit Free Arcss.
And That. Too.