Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-02
Members of the Ananias Club as
Champion Prevaricators.
STORIES WITHOUT MORALS
Some Wonderful Adventures and
Miraculous Escapes.
A REMARKABLE SYMPOSIUM

The Ananias Club held its regular weekly
meeting last right. 1t was called to order
| by the president who called upon Tom
| Western for the opening chapter of eXpe-
| riences for tie evening.
| with all due apologies to the MEMBERS
of the club he said, Il have utterly fail
| ed to think of any story that would an
| swer the purpose. l will therefore relate a
true experience of mine in the Yellowstone
| National Park, hoping that its being fact
| Will not debar me from future participation
| in the proceedings of this honorable body.
1t was on the occasion of my first visit to
| the Yellowstone Park, and I was wholly
unfamiliar with the habits and customs CT
geysers The guide told me that a certain
hole in the ground was a geyser, and look
| ed down the hole to see it operate. 1 did
| not have long to wait, for the next scene
was due at that moment, and the water
| came promptly on time. Before could get
away l was wtirled into the air. AT first l
expected to fall to the ground and be
drowned in the stream of water, but soon
saw that so long as it was coming up 1 was
safe. for the force was sufficient to hold me
Up. whirled around on top of the column
OF water for what seemed to me about an
hour, but not expecting to live to tell about
II, neglected to time it by my watch.
was seventy or eighty feet in the air, and
the sensation of resting gently upon the
top OF the water, while the grand panorama
or nature passed around me in circular
term, was so agreeable that l felt comfort
able, except for the reflection that the
geyser would soon get tired of the exercise
and go back in its hole, and when the pres
sure from below was removed l would fall
to the hard lava and be crushed Soon l
felt that the water was subsiding and l
would have given ninety nine thousand dol
lars for hundred thousand dollar insur-
m ifa
ctes. but slowly the water went lower and
lower, until finally it went into the hole
with farewell gurgle. leaving me on the
ground across the orifice without a bruisa
Gentlemen. l have tried almost everything
that moves, and the most pleasant thing
in the world to ride on is a geyser"
Story of the Hawk.
Sam Wallingford, who was next in turn,
heaved sigh and said: Mr. President, as
actual experiences are allowable, 1 will not
tell what intended. as l could not vouch
for its veracity. but will pay my respects
to the dearest pet 1 ever owned-a hawk
now dead and stuffed. Hawks are not usual
iy supposed to be blessed with great intelli
sence, nor do natural historians speak of
tfem as being very friendly to mankind
but l arise to defend the noble bird by
plain and truthful account of what one did
Tor me. AS you all know. ] used to be a
sailor and one day | picked up hawk
u. L
it back to health, and the bird was as
grateful as any living thing could be- We
FAD a rough passage when nearing the
Sandwich Islands, and some of tho SaiIors
attributed it to the hawk, so to make
long story short, the hawk and l We're cast
drift. We landed upon a small uninhabjt-
ed island. My food was exhausted. and
here Were no berries, nuts, or other eat
ahles where We We're. BIT there was
stream OF fresh water, and in it | could see
.ish; tried Tor two days to catch them
with my hands. but that was impossible,
and lay on the bank, to starve to death
The morning of the third day 1 saw the
nawk catch fish. Calling the bird to me
took the fish and divided it. In an hour
tne ndWK brought me another. 1 started
IRE by rubbing two pieces of wood together.
ana llFed Sumptuously for two weeks whey,
Il snip move to- coming to the island for
later as the stream from which my fish
anne seemed to be well known, and | was
taken aboard. They refused to allow me tn
nave the hawk, and the most shameful
,hihs ever did was to desert that bird
Let II followed me and roasted on TOP of
the mast, seeming to know that it was NOT
allowed to visit me. When we landed al
San Francisco, the hawk flew upon nv
shoulder and taking it with me to a res
.auraht, we had the best meal that a man
60 pHu ever enjoyed 1t died soon after
ward and l had it stuffed"
A Wonderful Broncbo Tale.
"Well,'' said Charlie Tunis,n "as tbis
seems to be truth and yeraci.y rneetinc
instead of session of the Ananias Club
VIII relate a story showing that not onlv
does morse possess intelligence but pro-
phetlc VISION. L was out west riding across
the plains of Dakota with a party of
trends. before that section was inhabited
Dy anyone except Indians, scouts and SOL
uers. rode the best pony 1 ever saw He
would go IN gallop all day and never tire
ard the only places he would stop would
be a gros shop, of which there were a few
IN the western wiids. He was especially
valuable because he knew the location Of
every such place within five hundred miles
l never knew him to balk or buck or display
any OF the idiosyncrases that render bron-
chos unpopular. One day we We're riding
across the plain, when my pony STONED
My companions rode on, supposing l would
catch them, but my broncho would not stir
foot l spurred him and beat him. but
he would not bulge. Finally he turned
around IN spite of all l could do and
started Oh run for the nearest tavern, ten
miles away l let him rest awhile, and
mounted again. but he would not leave the
barn yard. Early the next morning pony
that one of my companions had rode, gal
loped into the yard, and l knew something
was wrong. The landlord and 1 went for
ward, my broncho behaving well, and ten
miles beyond where he had ctoppad the day
before we found the scalped bodies of my
four friends. Now, the pony had not smell
ed those Indians ten miles. he simply had
gift of prophecy and was sensible enough
AAeAN
possessed of his genius in that line my
friends would not have been massacred."
The Horse and the Grizzly.
II believe your story about the horse,''
said Arthur Williamson. "A horse once
saved my life in the west, but in different
way. 1 was out hunting and became
sepa1 ated from my friends when suddenly
my blood turned cold as I saw large
grizzly bear standing on a rock not over
fifty yards from where was. 1 raised my
rifle and fired, the shot only serving to
make him aware of my presence and anger
him at the flesh wound my bullet inflicted
He turned and came at me with a rush
Just as he raised himself by the side of my
horse, which was too frightened to move,
jumped down to the ground with the horse
between me and the bear. Old Ephraim
with one blow knocked the horse down and
seized him. The poor animal in the agony
of his death throes in some way got his
front hoof into the bears mouth. A shoe
was loose on that foot, and the iron shoe
fastened itself in bruins throat in such a
way that he could not get the leg of the
horse out of his mouth. It had gone clear
down into his stomach and the animal had