Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-07-27
1E SCATTERED THE CROWD.
a Commercial Traveller Relates q Bit of
Personal Experience.

A Commercial Traveller Relates q Bit OF
Personal Experience.
For pure cussedness and deviltry /
think the young Texan, born, raised
and living in some frontier town, takes
the cake What he doesn't know and
DO In devilment is not his fault; it is
born and bred in him, and will be there
until ne dies Last winter l happened
to be in the little town of B.. out in
west Texas, and had done a good DAYS
business in my line. / was not quite
through with one merchant when night
came, and told him would call around
AFTER supper and finish. He remarked
that he might not be back but that l
could arrange it with his clerk After
supper L went to the store and
found that the old man had not
returned, SO 1 settled the balance
OF the business with the clerk.
Inc store was built in the usual
style OF those in the little towns. hav-
ing a front door, half glass and half
wood, and fixed up in the center of the
building was the usual stove, wood be-
ing the fuel. 1t was extremely cold
weather, and there was a good fire
burning in the stove, and the clerk and
1 sat by it, talking. A little later on
there dropped III a couple Of brother
travellers, who happened in B.; also
two or three young men, clerks in some
of the stores We were all sitting
around the stove, having good time,
smoking and talking, when there came
into the store and Joined us a Young
man. the son of the minister living in
IL IL
while not really bad and vicious, he
was wild and reckless. and drank to a
considerable extent, and once in awhile
got on a spree. Well, he came to the
stove, stood there, SAYING but little.
AT last one of the boys looked up and
said:
"'Charley, what is the mailer with
you? Are you sick?'
u looked at him closely and saw that
he had been drinking. but was not
drunk then. l also noticed that he had
a rather large bag of something under
his arm.
No he said, I'm not sick, but
feel very badly. every way. 1 have
been on another spree, and am just get
ting over it. 1t seems like / can't quit
it. / know it is worrying my father
and mother very much. and l feel as if
it would be better for us all if / were
dead,
Some of the boys tried to cheer him
up. but he was evidently in a 6espond-
ent sta tie of mind. and we all felt sorry
for him. While we We're talking he
would occasionally put his fingers
into the mouth of the bag he had I'M
der his arm, and. taking pinch
of something, drop it on the stove.
when instantly it would flare up as
gunpowder will do Noticing this. one
of the boys asked him what he had in
the bag. 'Gunpowder." he replied.
and holding the mouth of the bag.
which was open, towards us, we could
see the black, shining grains. At once
several of us spoke and told him it was
very dangerous to have that amount of
powder 50 near the stove. BY this time
he had walked around to the front of
the stove. the door of which was open,
and said in reply:
LIT don't make any difference if
kill myself: viii be better off; l feel
desperate enough to do anything
I'VE all became little alarmed at
this, when he continued:
Boys, ] am a curse to my family
and myself, and now is as good time
as any to CO. and with that. before any
of US could prevent him, he stopped
down and threw the bag into the stove.
Good Lord. how frightened we We're.
Instantly there was a Scatteration.
Some fell backward over their chairs.
One poor fellow tainted. The remain
der OF us broke for the front door. One
poor fellow who had wooden leg, with
a kn,sb on the end of it, got the knob
fastened in a crack in the floor. He
had no time to wait. but left the leg
there, jerking loose the fastenings from
the knee, and hobbled desperately after
us. When we reached the door it
was locked, and no key in it. We had
no time to waste. Out we went.
through the glass into the street. and
kept running. In about couple of
hundred yards we pulled up. From
some cause. no explosion had occurred
SO far which we. of course. had en-
pected any moment. Finally we all
went back to the store, and cautiously
went in. There sat the would-be sui
eide, quietly smoking.
Charley, how came it that you,
stove and all did not blow up?'
Oh, he replied, grinning. there
was no chance for the stove or any
thing else to blow up. That was only
a tag of black sand. except a very
small qaantity of powder on top. You
bows seem to have left very suddenly.
We'll, we were angry enough to kill
him foe. the glass cuts and fright that
he had caused us. but had to let it go. -
Detroit Free Press.