The Press., 1888-02-16
[Fred. Carruth in the Chicago Tribune3
 NOT THE EDITOR FOR DAKOTA.

"HaVe you newspaper here ?" l asked of man who came over to where we were camped on the edge of little Dakota town.
 "Yes, got one did have two, but the other fellar pulled out last week."
 "Didn't 1t pay ?'
 "Naw, he wasn't no good-got out the weakest paper you ever seen.
 "What was the trouble with'it ?"
 "No news, or at least none to mount to anything. Course, if something big hap pencd that he couldn't help seein' he'd get it in, but ev'ry week there'd be lot O sp!cy thing that he keep stills a mouse trade, or protection, or mebby sometimes the tariff. But the other man want that style-no blowin' pieces in his'n, but all the spicy an interestin' news that happen ed"
 "So you froze the long editorial man out ?"
 'sHad to do it, I tell you-he didn't know enough to pound sand. Wy, femme tell you little case Couple O months ago I built me new chicken-coop-not a very big 'un, cause I only got six hens an a l hghtin' rooster-but made 1t very keer- full an put in two round roosts an white wished 'em, an three nests. figure on on half the hens restin' and scratchin' while the other shift was layin', and nailed some slats over box in one corner to shut up the setters in an make 'em quit their mon- key bus ness, an fixed her up ill style gen. erally. Pretty soon old Cooper, this man that's gone come along, an I called him in, an says I: Jes' git onto the new her. house been a-building'.' That looks first rate,' says he. 'Wiggle it, says I. He wiggled it. It pears solid,' says he. claim it's the best hen-house in the city, says I. Wouldn't wonder, says he. Then he walked of with his head down think in, reckoned, what he should say bout 1t. Somehow didn't manage to see the other feller to tell him bout it, but Lordy, how do you think it come out? ?" "Haven't any idea How did it ?" "W'y, sir, went over to Hank Georges and borrowed his copy of Cooper's paper soon's it come out-Hank hadn't got look at it yet himself an took it home an waded through it, but not a line bout my hen-coop Not line Not a word !! Didn't say nothing bout it-my name wasn't in the paper! I went SO fur as to even read clear through long piece on Our School System, thinking mebby that he stuck in something bout my henhouse somewberes, but he hadn't. Well, I was mad, an think had right to be. throwed the paper down an didn't even take it back to Hank. But next mornin' when I seen one of the other feller's pa- pers down in the store my eyes stuck out 50 you could hung your hat on 'em. There it was in his paper bout my hen coop big's Mexican dollar It read like this We hear that Uncle Abner Doty has jes' completed large an convenient hen-house for his fine flock of Shanghis, Bramys, Plymouth Rocks, an so forth, to- gether with his famous fghtin' rooster. Ben Butler. We have not yet had the pleasure of samplin' any of the eggs laid in this new hen-house, but we know that Uucle Abner is not the man to long forget ye editor That's the very way he had it, word for word, name and all. Jes' soon'A I read it I went right out an told ev'ry- body we couldt afford to support Old Cooper no longer, cause he was hurtin the town by not ment1onin' the improve ments, an jes' kep' mp the talk till what little business he did have dropped off an nobody wouldn't have nothin' to do with him, an he's left. You can see yourself that we couldn't very we'll do anything else after the way he used me on that hen hOnse."