The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-09-09
THE ARIZONA KICKER.
The Western Editor Also has His
Troubles.

We extract the following from the last
issue of the Arizona Kicker:
THEY Cor LEFT.-FeeliDg the need Of a
few days rest from brain work, we hied
ourself to Jim's Peak last week, to re
main about ten days. Soon after supper
a stranger approached US and gave US a
hint hat the boys were planning a ser
made, and that we had better have a
speech ready.
In this Western country some words
have a double meaning. A "serenade"
may mean sweet, soft music by the band,
wi h a call from a ut of Jolly good fell
lows. or it may mean a visit from the gang
who are provided with a rope but no
music. In order to be on the safe side we
took up a temporary home in a thicket,
and from thence discovered that this was
to be a O o ~serenade. Some of the boys
from Johnson's ranch had determined to
lynch US as a great moral warning, but
while thy were hunting for US around
the hotel we were ~meandering through
the j~ack-pines and midnight darkness to
safer quarters.
In one sense, we don't blame the boys
so much. An occasional hanging adds
zest and gusto to this Western life, and it
is very rare hat the victims friends can
claim that any mistake was made. In
another sense, the boys are to be blamed
for their lack of taste. We have it on
good authority that they meant to hang
us with an old m~ule-chain. There were
thirty of them in the crowd. We make
no boasts, but let our readers watch for
developments. Wen have sheriffs and
and detectives here after at least thirty
one of them, before the week is out, and
then we shall borrow a shotgun and go
on a hunt after the odd n
Sold AGAIN-Our esteemed contem-
porary has made another dismal failure.
On Monday he came out in a double
loaded two column article on the Whar-
ton shooting case and tried his best to
prove that we had an active hand in it
and were responsible for Judge Johnson's
death. At the ~coroner's inquest, held on
that same afternoon, Major Bliss t-stified:
II was sitting at a table in the Red
Cross saloon with the editor of the Kicker
| We were there to talk over the Mckinley
bill and to take the initiatory steps to-
ward establishing another Sunday-schooL.
Judge Johnson came in. He was pretty
drunk. He saw Bob Wharton at a table
beyond us AID pulled his gun. The
editor of the Kicker kindly asked hi n to
put it up, and offered him a years sub
scription to the paper to go home and
take a nap. The Judge refused and pressed
forward to get q shot. Next moment
Wharton dropped him.
This was the truth and the whole truth,
anG yet our jealous-pated contemporary,
hoping he had a hold on us, tried his
hardest to make out that but for US there
would have been no shooting. We used
to refer to him as toothless, knock kneed,
bow-legged, lop cared, hump-backed,
white livered, cross-eyed, ana so on. We
have a mortgage on his whole outfit, and
we used to threaten to foreclose on it.
| We used to meet him on the street and
scare him into kneeling down and begging
own way. Some day we will bury him
in our private graveyard-some day when
he has tired US completely out.
THEY ARE WRoNG.-Those of our citi-
zens who are asserting that u late
trouble with the postmaster was caused
by jealousy of his position on our part are
doing US a grave injustice. True, we
were a candidate for postmaster, and true,
a'so, we are a mighty sight better man for
the place than the present incumbent, but
we are not jealous. Wanamaker refused
to appoint us, and we refuse to wear
Wanamaker's clothing. It's an even
thing thus far.
The trouble began as soon as this man
| entered the p~ostofice. He held back our
mail and made US weary in many other
ways. We pounded him half to death