Smyrna times., 1890-09-24
WHOLE NO. 1.842.
John Smith, of Dodge Centre.

There are so many John Smiths in
the world that they must of necessity
differ widely. Thus the FIVE John
Smiths who are in the prison at Sing
Sing do not reflect in any way upon
upon the five John Smiths who are
teaching Sunday-school in Buffalo.
There are, in short, John Smiths and
John Smiths. There is an enterprising
John Smith in Dodge Centre, Ind, of
whom we desire to say word.
John Smith has lived in the town.
ship of Dodge Centre for Eve wears.
and during this time more chickens.
turkeys, geese and other edible poul-
try have disappeared than for the
twenty years previous to his coming.
And we are panied to say that the
amount of feathers in Mr.. Smiths back
yard during the last five years has
been something frightful. 1t has been
the talk of Dodge Centre. Mrs. Jim
Wodbeck Owent down one afternoon
while Smith and his family was gone
to the circus and gathered up enough
prime feathers to stuff two pillows.
And the worst of it is that John Smith
has never kept fowl. He has had
six or seven dogs a few cats and a tame
coon, but not the first live thing that
wore feathers He might have burned
the feathers, too, but he seems to have
preferred the back yard. He was sim
pie as child and never tried to CON-
ceal the smallest thing. Nose Steph-
ems lost turkey one night and there
were fresh turkey feathers in Smiths
back yard the next morning; another
night, two of Abe Sackett's ducks dis
appeared, and in the morning there
was light top dressing of duck feath-
ers all over the yard still another
time an even half dozen of Deacon
Greenley,s best speckled chickens
dropped out of sight, and the next day
at O'Clock in the forenoon Mrs. Smith
was seen to come boldly out of the
back door of her house and empty a
large dishpan full of speckled chicken
feathers by the wood-pile.
About year after the Dodge Centre
white caps began to turn their atten-
ton to their esteemed fellow-towns-
man John Smith. They nailed red,
blood-curdling notices on his door.
warning him to leave the country, but
Smith only took the notices in and
framed them and hung them up on the
wall along with a "God Bless Our
Home" motto, and a "Simply to the
Cross Cling" picture. Smith was the
coolest man in Indiana when the White
Caps tried to visit him on foot one
night, the intention being to ride him
out OF the neighborhood On a rail, but
Smith jumped out at them from be-
hind stump with a sheet raped
around him, and the White Caps mis-
taking him for a ghost, dropped ev-
erything and ran for their lives. Smith
gathered up three shot guns, one rife
and the rail and took them home. No
one ever called for the weapons and
smith fixed up the rail in the parlor
for curtain pole. Smith was not a
man who ever got excited. Then a
party of mounted White Caps called on
him, but he fred at them so vigorously
with the guns he had captured be-
fore that they had retreated, and some
OF the horses became heightened and
threw their riders and Smith went
out and captured two of the best ami
mails and the rope with which they in
tended to lynch him. Nobody called
tor the horses, though one of them
looked greatly like Deacon Greenley's
sOrrel; so Smith sold them at the vii.
lage for $l25 apiece; and he took the
rope and fixed it up in the kitchen for
Mrs. Smith to hang clothes on when
she ironed. Smith was a man who
never lost his head.
About a week ago the White Caps
determined on final effort. We for
got to say that Smiths table was we'll
supplied with the choicest turkey all
this while. The White Caps realized
that they had been beaten every time
SO far. They decided to turn out in
great force and tar and feather Mr..
Smith. They could not see how he
could contrive to escape 81. In point
OF fact, he didn't escape it. They cap
tured him just as he was getting homo
at midnight with one of Deacon Green
ley's chickens in each hand. They re-
moved his clothing under cover of the
darkness, and gave him a liberal coat
ing of good tar. Then they rolled
him in his own back yard. They did
a thorough job, and when they got
through there was at least four inches
of feathers on every part of Smiths
body, with the exception of his face
and the palms of his hands. They
then warned him to leave the country.
80 w SoAU DOAOAOy CuulIu kWdS COOL
man, ready for any emergency. He
walked to the nearest railway station.
took the train for Chicago, and to-day
he is exhibiting himself with his feath-
ers on in dime museum, and drawing
$50 week. The Dodge Centre White
Caps are the most disgusted lot of citi-
zens in the State of Indiana.
As we said in the first place, the
John Smith family is large one, and
the career of this John Smith argues
nothing one way or the other for the
John Smith in the next township, who
is Methodist preacher. But what
this simple story of John Smith should
teach is the great value of always be-
ing cool and collected, and ready to
make the best of everything.-Nev
York Tribune.