Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1895-03-23
APape From Unwritten History,

A Page From Unwritten History,
In last Sundays Journal was an ac-
count of an agent for patent chemi-
cal fire extinguisher who was deeply
chagrined because a test which he
made was dismal failure. This re-
minded us of an experiment of SINH
lar nature which was attempted in
Wa-Keeney, during our boom period,
by one J. Will Lawrence, who will be
remembered by most of our old
timers.
Will had accepted position as
agent for the most perfect fire eXtin-
guisher ever known, and thereby con-
ferred very great favor upon the in
ventor and proprietor thereof. This
was a long time before our city be-
came the owner of our fine chemical
engine, and Will was convinced that
carload or two of his wonderful car
bon eXterminatOr.
! The first step was the distribution
of flaming posters announcing grand,
free exhibition on the following day
of his ''trueley' wonderful chemical
apparatus" This announcement was
signed, "Prof. j. Will Lawrence" and
by this appellatiOn he will be referred
to as we chronicle subsequent events.
He then proceeded to erect small
frame building which he filled with
shayings and all sorts Of inf1ammable
material, on the top of which were
placed goods boxes and barrels, and
the whole thoroughly saturated with
kerosene.
When the day and hour set for the
performance to begin had arrived, the
professor mounted barrel and eXpa-
tiated with much elOquence and at
considerable length to the assembled
multitude-and we were all there,
business having been suspended by
common cOnSent-upOn the virtues of
the greatest invention Of the age.
His faith seemed almost sublime and
his audience, though trifle nervous,
seemed inspired with much of his
confidence. Concluding with brill
lat and most dramatic peroration, he
announced that ''the torch will now be
applied" 1t was applied and the
shavings and other combuStible mat
ter responded cheerfully. The red
flames cracked in fiendiSh glee, APP
parently, and mounted up higher and
still higher while the professor stood
unmoved and perfectly calm awaiting
the hour of his final triumph.
1t came at last. Amid breathless
silence he removed the covering from
his classic brow and then, with the
air of one who knew exactly what he
was doing, he applied one bottle of
his wonderful compound to the fierce
and fiery flames. Was it only imagi-
nation? Or did the confiagration ac-
tually intensity with the application?
One thing was sure, the fire was still
there and burning with greater zeal
than before. The professor arose to
the occasion and hurled bottle after
bottle of the mysterious fluid upon
the consuming elements and, as each
succeeding bottle was applied, the fire
| buckled down to it's work with renew
ed earnestness.
But all things must have an end,
and the fms of this little entertain
ment, accelerated by the mysterious
compound in the professors blue bot
ties, needed no formal announcement.
Nothing but few smoking embers of
blackened charcoal remained as the
professor mOpped the perspiration
from his face and YEARLY slipped
down the alley to avoid the applause,
which his modest and shrinking ma
ture did not crave at that particular
time.
1t has been nearly ten years since
this event occurred. The professor
and most of his audience are to-day
wanderers and scattered to the four
winds, and we believe that we violate
no confidence when we say that Char
ley Benedict and Jim Miller had ex-
tracted the chemicals from the extin-
guishers and refi1led them with kerO-
sene, of which proceeding the profess
sor, of course, was in ignorance at the
time he gave his exhibition.