Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-30
A GOOSE FOUR-IN-AAND.
And Went Over the Falls of the Ohio
In Il Tub.

From the Indianapolis News
Jack Harper was an odd man. He came
to Ohio Falls from New Castle. Eng, ard
was employed by the j., NJ. and ]. Railroad
Company in its shops, which were at that
time located in this city; a good mechanic
and fond of fun. II was in the summer
of 1870, and there was to be grand Fourth
of July celebration at Old Camp 10 Holt,
in which not only the shop men. but hun
dreds of others were to take part. The
managers of the affair were verv anxious
10, make it a grand success, and for that
purpose racked their brains for novelties.
but when Jack Harper proposed to tame a
team Of geese and attach them 10 a wash
tub, in which he proposed to sail down over
the rapids of the Ohio and land just below
the picnic grounds, they We're paralyz ed,
pecially when he insisted that it could easily
be done. and to prove his assertion began
forthwith to train his proposed team of four
geese.
Many of the persons who took interest
one way or another III the picnic are still
alive, and some of them reside at Indian
apolis These will remember that Harper
began to train his odd team on the Guiet
waters of the Ohio above the falls. He pat
queer, three-cornered yokeS upon the necks
of the birds, and by means of these, at
tached them to his frail craft. He guided
them by means of reins attached to their
bills and long. straight switch. 1t took
him nearly three months and much patience
before he had his birds in trim, but the
geese showed themselves much more in
telliSent and teachabIe than they generally
get credit for, and the people of Jefferson
willie had the satisfaction of knowing that in
their city was the only four-goose team in
the world
Long before the Fourth of July the queer
outfit was the talk of the three falls cities
and when the great day arrived there was
concourss of thousands at the picnic grounds
waiting to see the novel Lohengrin descend
the river 1t was near noon when he launch
ed his unwiedly bark from the Indiana
shore at the government dam. and began
his descent, the geese swimming proudly
ahead and drawing the teetery vessel in
which Harper was balancing himself. The
falls of the Ohio are not safe for good
well-manned boat, unless the crew under
stands the currents and knows the rocks so
1t can be better imagined than told what a
risk Harper ran in his washtub But he
bravely went on, keeping his geese who
swerved occasionally from the channel in
the way they should go by means of his
switch. He managed his team admirably
in spite of his uncomfortable and delicate
position in the tub and the crowd cheered
him as he safely passed one danger point
after the other, but as he swung around the
bend to the deep and swift waters of the big
eddy the wind rose to almost a gale and
water began to dash over him and into his
tub and to make matters worse the geese
became unruly and would not obey his guild
ance
He must have been cool-headed man
not to have lost his head, but he did not
and with a great effort and mucn coaxing
and whipping he managed to turn his 1e-
fractory team in shore and reached land
safely amid the huZzahs of the crowd. He
was completely drenched and worn out
Since then no one has attempted to descend
the falls of the Ohio in a tub drawn by
team of geese.