The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-10-14
HYENA AND HERMAPHRODITE
Governor Johnson Stirs the
Friends Up.
To the Editor of THE HERALD.

AS you are aware, few days since
1 took part in the proceedings of mass
meeting of Democrats in Salt Lake
City, and having been appointed chair
man of the committee on resolutions
and platform, it became my duty to re-
port the platform which was unan;-
mously adopted Dy the convention.
In commenting on the proceedings of
that meeting, the Salt Lake Tribune
(Which paper, by the way, did not have
the enterprise nor the manliness to
print the platforn) in speaking of the
persons composing the membership of
the convention, called them Sage
brush Democrats by way of derision.
l presume the writer did not know, Or
did not stop to reflect, that our wild
sagebrush EisE very valuable
medicine when properly prepared
not therefore fit object Of ridicuie !;
vermifuge, it is probable that a strong
dscoc5ion of it duly administered to the
scribes of the Tribune might prove very
beuifcial to them or to some of them,
who it is reasonable to suppose are
troubled with either ascarls lumbri-
codes, ascaris Vernicularis, tricoce-
phatus dispar or the toeni9, or her
ma phrodite, those disgusting pests
which so often invade the human in
| testineS.
The Tribune critic, not being content
with his assault upon the Democrats
composing the convention, could not
allow the opportunity to pass without
II personal fling at me in the shape Of
an attempt at wit by calling me "a
political hermaphrodite."
Webster defines a hermaphrodite to
be an animal or plant uniting both
sexes. The term hermapbrodite is so
called from Hermaphroditus, son of
Hermes or Mercury and Aphrodite or
Venus, who, when bathing, grew
together with Salmaces, the nymph of
fountain Of Caria. into one person.
Nov. if am "a political hermaphro-
dite," l must possess the parts of politi-
cal generation both of male and fe-
male, and am therefore capable of pro-
ducing, in connection with my col
leagues, political platform, and of
stand on 1T, which we did do, and that
is what ais the Tribune.
In the Tribune OF Sunday last l
noticed an editorial containing what
might be considered malignant attack
upon the reputation of a dead man,
whose name stands high on the roll of
fame, upon which l fear no name con-
nected with your morning contemporary
will ever appear-the name of George
B. Mcclellan.
No truly brave man ever attacks the
dead. who common deceDcy demands
should be permitted to repose in peace.
1 was not aware until l read the
article just referred to, that the Tribune
had upon its staff person competent
to criticse the military life of so great a
general as Mcclellan; indeed, if any
one connected with that paper has &C
quired suCn military fame or knowledge
as would entitle him to act as sucn
critic, Fave not yet heard his name
pronounced.
[ have read in our books OF an animal
called the. hyena, which is said origin
ally to have been sou but usually q
Lybian wild beast. and probably the
modern hyena. an animal with a
bristly name like hog. a carnivei Gus
mammal allied to the dog.
ats habits are nocturnal, and it gen.
crafty 1S5h5 u pOH S1l4iOd' 10 1OuAu
in Africa and a sia. It has an odor."
Having AN odor," it is possible that
the hyena may be first cousin ID our
American skunk. which is one OF the
most unclean aud filthy beasts we have
among US, and whose odor is most dis
gushing to all respectable nostrlls which
lnhale it.
The hyena, not only being scevan-
ger, living upon carrion which it picks
up in its nocturnal wanderings, but 1t
is also robber OF the graves Of the
dead, devouring their contents.
Judging from the attack upon Gen
eral McClelland, to which l allude, in
connection with its notice of the Dem
ocratic meeting, would it be unreason-
able, Mr. Editor, to suppose that the
ghosts of hyena and skunk may have
visited the ssnctum of the Tribune and
inspired the editorials to which have