The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1894-03-10
"PUDD'NHEAp WILSON ("
Nv" queer Genius Came to be Knov,
by That Name.

sNt16S%O WILSON,
no" Queer Genius Came to be K,ov,
by That Name.
ne was homeiy, freckled. sandu.
haired young fellow, with an ;nteIi;.
gent blue eye that had frankness and
comradeship in it, and a covert txy;nL,.
peasant sort. But for an unfor-
.unate remark Of his, he would M
doubt have entered at once mon . s,,o,
RS gu career at Dawson's Landing.
nnt ne made his fatal remark the first
"ay ne 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 vein
ana snarl and howl, and make himself
very comprehensively disagreeable.
"nereupon young Wilson said mucb
vs. one who is thinking aloud:
.. - wish l owned half of that dog"
WY" somebody asked.
because would kill nv half.n
Inc group searched his face with
curiosity, with anxiety even. but
found no light there, no exnress;on
snat .hey could read. They fell awav
IRON him as from something uncannv.
ana went into privacy to discuss him.
One said: -''11'
Pears to be fool.
Pears?" said another. ia. III
reckon you better say''
oaid ne wished he owned ha,f of the
uog, the idiot" said third "Wb.t
u,u ne reckon would become of the
o'ner half If he killed his half? Do |
you reckon he thought it would liye?,,
why, he must have thought IL nm
less he isthe downrightest fool in the
worio' because II he hadn't thought it,
n1 would have wanted to own the
wnoie dog, knowing that if he killed
us naif and the other half died. he
would be responsible for that half inst
.ne same as IT he had killed that half
Instead OF his own. Don't it look that
way to You, gents?''
les, it does, if he owned one-baIf
OF the general dog, it would he So. -
He owned one end of the dog and an
o'ner person owned the other end II
wouid be SO, just the same; particu-
,ariy In the first case, because if Won
hiu one-half of general doc there
amt any man that can tell whose ho,t
~ , was put II he owned one end of the
and--''
NO. ne couldn't either; he couldn,t
,na not be responsible if the other end
i'ed' which it would. In nv oninior \
ne man amt in his right mind
mind" Wv any =
No said: swell, he's a lummox t
anyway" A' \
That's what he is, p" said No. 4. she's '
Ia orick-just Simon-pure labrick. II a
yer there was ones
YES sir, he's dam fool, that's the
ray put him up" said No. s. "Anv- Is
ody can think different that wants h
.: put those are my sentiments CT
I'm with you, gentlemen" said No ri
ferfect jackass-:yes, and it ain't cl
o,ng TOO far to say he is pudd nhead. II
ne amt a pudd' nhead, amt no m
idge, that's all . T
Mr.. Wilson stood elected. The Incl re
emit was told all over the town and p
raveiy discussed by everybody. With in
week he had lost his first NAME. tn
udd nhead took its place. In time ~ pi
me to be liked, and we'll liked To-: 81,
~ oy that time the nickname had cot sn
eli stuek on. and it stayed. That m
81 days verdict made him fool be
Ia ne was not able to get it set aside
even modified. The nickname SOON
ased TO carry any harsh or unfriend. III
ieeiing with it, but it.held its place !.
a was to continue to hold its nlaca
twenty long years-Mark Twain io1
Century. CO.