The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1890-07-02
A DoubIe-BarreIIed Joke.

The other evening, round at McGov-
ern's saloon, the boys were putting up
an elaborate practical joke on somebody,
and they asked old Capt. Skiddy, who
had happened in, to take hand.
"No, gentlemen" said that estimable
old citizen decisively, "you don't catch
me taking part in any practical jokes 1
went out of that business for good over
ten years ago."
"How was that?" asked the group of
beer exterminators.
"Well, it was in the winter of fls7o-
maybe 1871. | was living at Davenport,
Iowa, and man came there giving bal
loon ascensions. One day it was adver-
tised that the mayor of the town was
going up with him. Now, the mayor
was big, fat man, who always wore q
light suit OF clothes and q white hat. This
put me tn the notion of working off
joke on the people. l got acquainted
with the aeronaut, and he agreed to as
sist in the scheme. We then got an old
suit of light clothes, and fixed up dunn
my, which we flled with sand, so that it
weighed about two hundred pounds, and
would therefore drop straight and heavy
like man. The day of the ascension
there was over 10000 people present, and
the excitement was very great, as there
was high wind blowing at the time.
After the balloon got up about a mile,
and maybe that far south of the town,
they dropped the dummy over"
"Big sensation, eh ?"
"Well, should say so. But that's Just
where lost my grip. While the crowd
was shouting and going wild with horror,
| just laid down on the ground, rolled
over, and laughed until was Just sick"
SHOULD think the crowd would have
taken tumble, too" suggested the
audience.
"But just wait OF course the crowd
made break out of town to scrape up
the remains, and | rushed home to get
my fishing tackle, for it struck me that
the most healthy thing l could do would
be to go fishing for a day or two, Before
! left the house, however, | was arrested
for murder"
''For murder?"
Exactly. a lot of the boys accom-
panied by the sheriff rushed in and col
Jared me. They claimed that the dunn
my had fallen on a farmer and driven
his skull clear into the heels ofhis boots.
They said that the balloontic had turned
States evidence, and the chances were
that | would be hung before night
''Thst was rough"
"Well, so l thought. was lust scared
plum to death, and begged the boys to
stand back and protect me. l ponied up
$50 for legal expenses they hid me in
the garret of a neighbor's house. They
kept me there ten blessed days and there
wasn't day but they struck me for a |
twenty or two for contingencies. One
night the whole gang came around full |
of beer-on my money mind you-and |
said that they had concluded, as addi-
tional precaution, to hide me in the hol-
low of a tree about three miles out in the !
woods. | saw through the whole bust
ness then, and drove them out with a |
club. 1t was good, square case of the
bitter bit, l know, but they never let up
calling me Dummy Skiddy' after that,
until they actually run me out of town,
and had to emigrate to this jumping
off place of creation and the Captain
shook his head with disgusted look as
be paid for his hot Scotch and walked
lut. .-.Srn Fc11cisco Pod