The Globe-republican., 1891-08-05
A Rain.WiZard.
From the Hutchinson News.

white haired astronomer whose bushes:
it was to keep the various portions of The
earth supplied with water. Day and
night. winter and summer. year in and
duties never tagging. never firing. and
scarcely sleeping lest some part of the
earth should be neglected and droutil
ensue. With the death of DIR, johnson
character it had been supposed the race
of rain-prOducers had becOm extinct.
But such is not the case, if the Canton
correspondent of the Denver Ne.us is to
be relied upon. In'Sunday's issue of that
enterprisihg journal appears lengthy
account of an invention, or machine. BY
means of which one Frank Melbourne
has been giving Canton and vicinity a
complete wetting down every Sunday
evening.
When Melbourne, some seven or eight
weeks ago. as nOunced that he would pro-
duce rain Or.the following Sabbath the
good people Of Canton thought his boast
but the effeesescence of distorted brain.
And when the cain producer offered to
back his ability cvith his ducats he found
plenty of takers. Sunday came and with
it aeluge that asn down the streets in
rivers; flooded the cellars, and. sad to
relate ruined several thousand dollars
worth of liquors that had been stored in
the Easements Of sene of the saloons.
This rain the betting fraternity of Can
ton considered mere piece of luck for
Melbourne, and doubled their bets for
the following Sunday Again they lost
their money, for surely It did rain. A
third time the stakes xesp put mp. aud
third time Melbourne t'4.k in the jack
pot. Such run Of lack had never before
been known in Canton. A fourth time
the sports bet against another mans
trick and lost. Six times Melbourne has
plucked the guileless gaanblers Of Cam
odds Of a thousand to one without TAX
ers. while the Canton sxiOOnkeepers
have all moved their wine cellars into
the second and third stories Of their She
bangs.
The weather service ut Canton is so
under the control of Mel
bourne that he can. it is said. bring rain
ut a given hour. and being fond Of out
door sperts he has so adjusted his ma
chine that all the Sunday rains come
late in the afternoon. after the base hall
games and horse races for the day are
over.
Melbourne says his machine is so
simple that were its character known to
the public every man would soon own
one and bring rain whenever he felt like
it. At first glance such machine
might be considered boon to the deni-
zens of the Great American Desert
where erstwhile the ..hot Winds were
want to blow. and the withered cactus
to bite the alkali dast. 4 little investi- |
cation. however. will reveal some Spri-
Gus ooJect'ohs' anu oreaA tue magic
>peil OF this Ot"p'ah drea'h. IL the
FARMERS wo"d use their ram machines
only when the a"a''a needed soaking.
well anu Soo". but every farmer knows
that profits depend upon good crops for
himself and bad crops for his ncighbors |
Therefore when Farmer n should per- |
'eive that Farmer Is hat MS crop OF nay
cut ana spread out Z" the sunshine. The
temptation 10 &c. up Il little shower on
lhe size wouid DE irrcSiSt'o'e. ana event
nally all the nay "t tue wh"ie community
WOULD oe ruined oy the wei weather.
The man who lived on hill would have
It rain all the time ana drown ont his
heighbor IN Tue valley. There could
never DE a poiitical barbecue without All
he ram machines "i the opposition be
ng set IN motion. The Intidei> would
spoil all the campmeetin@s aud the