Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1891-07-11
SET up BY cnosrlY FINGERS.
A Typesctter's story Of News Getting
that Beat the Teisgrsph.


.In the summer OF 1881" said q
compositor. IL was running paper In
n little backwoods town in P:nnsyl-
vania. The paper was not SO metro
poitan in its makeup but that was
able to do all the work myself with the
exception Of the printing. Publication
DAYS called ia The services of half
witted fellow. who. under my instriic-
lion. had developed into m expert
roller. | was the only man within
radius OF twenty miles who knew how
10 set type and If had fallen sick the
paper would not have come ont until
was well again. Naturally am not
superstitious nIau. but an Incident
occurred while hal charge OF lha
paper which | cannot explain. aud,
until it Is explained, ! shall believe
that anything Is possible in the way OF
ghosts, spooks. wraiths. etc.
lit was the morning OF Jane lO.
had locked up my furnIs the night be-
fore so that I could begin printing
early in the morning. was pulling
the old lever promotly at z. aud ut y
the local list was In the post oiiice.
Soon after the delivery had begun one
| of the merchants Of the hamlet--a very
| intimate friend-camc into the oiiicc.
"'Iiow did YOU come To hear OF the
death of your brother so s0on? said
he. (Therc was no telegraph station
within fifteen miics).
"What do you mean" said |.
"Mcan?' said he. You ought to
know what IS in your own paper.
Have yon forgotten that you heard this
morning that your brother Is dead?
Have you forgotten that you set up a
notice of it an hour or two agop
"'Arc YOU crazy? said I. 4 swear
that do not know what you arc driy.
ing at
"At this juncture he opened the
damp sheet that | had SO recently
printed and folded. and pointed me Il
the following item ut the bottom OF the
third column OF the local page:
John Jones. brother Of William
Jones, was killed ut Peoria, H., ut
o'clock this morning.
My breath was fairly taken away
from me. The merchant was right
There was the notice Of nv brothers
death In my own paper, and l had no
set it up nor heard ~ IL.
You are right. said I, but this il
the first that have known of it. /
there ever was a mystery this is it,
Il went over TO the form Thert
was the thrcc-linc item. The momen
saw tho type / vas more amaze'
than ever. 1t was the type-setiing o
nv brother, who. like me. had beer
bred TO the printers trade. | coul'
tell his work from that of n thousand
He was marvcllously even space
and he carried his taste so far that h
always put less space aftcr.a comma.
"But how were the lines put into th
locked form? No item had been takel
out. 4 examined the form cl0.ely
Yes, there was some more Of m
brothers work. To gain the spac
leads had been taken from here an
there Just rs he used To take them. III
was n great stickler for good looks i
J a page. and was very fastidious rs {
where he pulled his leads. 1t struc
me right away that the notice OF til
: death would not have been so shor
would have gone into details moro
} but for the fact that my brother di
not wish to remove any of my matte
nor any lead which could not i
spared rs well as not.
Though utterly skeptical abor
supernatural visitaiions. from that IN,
, ment | believed that my brothers di,
embodied soul had made its way hun
dreds of miles. had entered my oific
: in the early dawu. had set up til
notice of his death and put it in th
: form
Late that afternoon despaic
. came To the effect that William Jon'
r was killed mt Peoria, H., Mt o'eloc
that morning. ~ C.ereLnna lROr.d