The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-01-24
"PUDD'NHEAD WILSON,"
How Queer Genius Came to be Know
by That Name.

| How . Queer Genius Came to be knowE
| BY That Name.
He was a homely, freckled. sandy
haired young fellow, with an intelli-
| gent blue eye that had frankness and
comradeship in it, and covert twinkle
OF pleasant sort. But for an unfor-
tunate remark of his, he would nc
doubt have entered at once upon a sue.
cessful career at Dawson's Landing.
But he made his fatal remark the first
day he spent in the village, and il
gagged" him. He had just made the
| acquaintance of a group of citizens
when an invisible dog began to yelp
and snarl and howl, and make himself
very comprehensively disagreeable,
whereupon young Wilson said, much
as one who is thinking aloud:
Il wish owned half of that dog"
''Why?" somebody asked.
Because would kill my half
The group searched his face with
curiosity, with anxiety even, but
found no light there, no expression
that they could read. They fell away
from him as from something uncanny,
and went into privacy to discuss him.
One said:
Pears to be fool"
"Pears?' said another. SIS, I
reckon you better say
Said he wished he owned halt of the
dog, the idiot" said third. what
did he reckon would become Of the
other half if he killed his half? Do
you reckon he thought it would live?"
why, he must have thought it UNI
less he is the downrightest fool in the
world; because if he hadn't thought it,
he would have wanted to own the
whole dog, knowing that if he killed
his half and the other half died, he
would be responsible for that half just
the same as if he had killed that half
instead of his own. Don't it look that
way to you, gents?''
Eyes, it does, if he owned one-half
of the general dog, it would be so: if
he owned one end of the dog and an
other person owned the other end, it
would be SO, just the same; particu-
larly in the first case, because if you
kill one-half of a general dog there
amt any man that can tell whose half
it was, but if he owned one end of the
dog, maybe he could kill his end of it
Rnd-'
mo, he couldn't either; he couldn't
and not be responsible if the other end
died, which it would. In my opinion
the man amt in his right mind
in my opinion he hain't got any
mind"
No. said: "Well,a he's q lummox,
anyway"
That's what he is, said No. 4; she's
labrick-just Simon-pure labrick, if
ever there was one"
"Yes, sir, he's dam fool, that's the
way put him up" said No. 5. Any
body can think different that wants
to. but those are my sentiments"
I'm with you, gentlemen" said No.
6. Perfect jackass-yes, and it amt
going too far to say he is pudd' nhead.
II he amt pudd'nhsad, I ANT no
Judge, that's all" =
Mr.. Wilson stood elected. The incl
dent was told all over the town. and
gravely discussed by everybody. With
in week he had lost his first name;
Pudd'nhead took its place. In time he
came to be liked. and we'll liked, too;
but by that time the nickname had got
we'll stuck on, and it stayed That
first days verdict made him fool,
and he was not able to get 1t set aside,
Or even modified The nickname soon
ceased to carry any harsh or unfriend-
" feeling With it. but it held its place.
md was to continue TO hold it's place |
for twenty long years.-Mark Twain,
In Century