The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-06-15
A BOUNCING BOWLDER.
The Astonishing Caper Of q Ten
Ton Rock.
How a Connecticut Couple Were Surprised
by the Landing of the Mammoth Stone
ON Their Premises Without
Previous Warning.

Mr.. and Mrs Daniel Arnold, of East
Haddan. in the Connecticut valley,
were lat home" one day recently, but
hardly prepared 10 receive the stran-
ger that suddenly appeared on their
premises with big racket and consid-
cradle style. says the New York Sun.
Mr.. and Mrs Arnold, who were chatting
in their kitchen. of sudden heard a
roaring, splitting, crealing and then
soughing, rum bling noise. and, dash
ing out OF their abode into the front
yard, were just in time to receive
their guest there, which had come
through the yard fence, taking the
fence along with il. Thereupon it dug
a hole in the middle OF the yard and
planted itself therein, setting itself
easily in it's socket Mrs Arnold threw
up her hands in almost speechless as
constituent, and presently said: ''Oh.
Lordr' Her husband. like the door
yard, which is a small one and still al
most altogether occupied by the visit
ing leviathan. was too full for utter
ance. The big guest is a ten-ton
bowlder, and it had come two or three
hundred feet from its seat on dizzy
shelf at the summit of mountain at
the rear OF the Arnold habitatiorr just
to make call, apparently. on the Ar
holds. 1t came very quietly, traFers-
ing the distance noted IN about six
seconds, and in its track 1t ground up
rail and stone fences, knocked down
underbrush and trees, and plowed
deep, ragged furrow in the wet and
spongy soil between the base of the
hill and the. yard. 1t Numbered across
the open lots with frightful and ire
sistible fury. 1t flew into the yard by
a slightly circuitous path, barely
missed slicing off a gable of the dwell
ing. and crushed two lengths of hand
some white latticed fence into kin
ding. Now Mr.. Arnold would like 20
have some one tell him how to speed
the parting guest of his plantation.
for it is 10 easy task, safely, to blast
ten-ton bowlder under the caves of q
mans house and haul away the frag-
ments of it, and there is not enough OK
or horse power in Haddam hamlet TO
haul it away bodily.
For several years the great bowlder.
perched in its mountain eyrie, had
been threatening 10 tumble off that
perch, but the fact that it never had
done so encouraged the Arnold family
to hope that it always would maintain
its unstable and tottering balance. It
is a spherical monster, that was set up
like pear on its little end. and when
the tremendous and long-continual
downpours this spring had loosened a
part of its gravel support on the side
OF the declivitv there was no longer a
substantial reason why the big fellow
should stay up there alone on the
precipice. II fell about thirty feet
vertically, and then dived down an in
clined plane through seeond-growth
forest with the roar of a cyclone. Il
ripped UP not less than dozen good
sized trees by their roots, while its
laundering onset nearly frightened all
the people in Haddam4 who feared that
a hurricane was upon them. ont OF
their wits Mrs. Arnold was so badly
scared and unnerved that size left the
dinner dishes unwashed until after
supper.
The Haddam bowlder is the biggest
one that ever attacked a Conaecticut
household, but its extraordinary carer
is bv no means unparalleled il the
state. Not many -ears ago huge erag,
weighing three tons, fell of the shag-
g. hilltop at the rear OF pretty cot
tage on Laurel hill, in the heart OF
Norwich. ran down the steep hillside
and jumped into the house by the way
OF the roof. It went through the roof
and second story without difficulty or
delay. and hoped into the middle OF I
handsome large bed IN the guess
chamber. The bedstead was unable 20
hold the stranger AID kept itself in
tact. and the great rock Just wrapped
the whole eainG. bedstead. ticks,
sheets, comforta bles. pillows and pill
Iow-shans. about Itself and went
down into the cellar together with
the floor. CARPET and bedroom fu-ui-
ture- When the nan % the house a.
rived home FROM his WORK az supper
tine his wife led him into the cellar
and showed him the bedroom still IntEe
company q the bowlder- II was biCe
granite bowlder % the kind rzost con-
mon u Connecticut hard q 8ius.
seamless and cross-graIues1- j. took
the family. with the help e two hired
men. more than a week ID g. al q
the intruder out or their home and
cost them ore hundred and i.fty dol
lars 70 repair the nsutil=ted angle q:
the hcuSe- Connecticut people have
way 81 hanging their houses urder i-1-
pending cliffs IL this craggy. up1i4l
laid sometimes ard 50 when The crack
OF doom finally does come they ara
more OF less resigned TO IL