The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-01
TWO AMERICAN HUMoRIsTs.
Conclusions Respecting the Late
Bill Nye.


years ago while passing through Lara
mie. Wy. Mr.. Nye was then practicing
law and making his first reputation as a
humorist through editorials and para
graphs in his weekly Boomerang. These
editorials were irresistibly quaint Ev-
cry one was reading his newspaper and
every one loved the genial writer. He
never had but one enemy. and that was
the editor of the democratic newspaper
across the way. This man saw nothing
funny in Nye He wasted columns week
~ in calling Nye, to his great amuse-
ment, IAN idiot and crack-bralned rat
tlesnake editor from Moosenead Lake
BIZ Nye was then, as ever afterward,
delicate and retiring man. W hen asked
MIN why the rival editor called MN such
names he said:
well. ne is a democratic editor and
has TO be precise in his statements. / was
born on Moosehead lake, in Maine, and
grew up among the Indians and rattle
snakes of the west
Il see you are a lawyer as well as an
editor" / said.
yes, practiced law about a year, but"
he added. without changing a muscle,
nobody knew much about il here; kept
IL very quiet. l have been justice of
the peace in Laramie for six years"
Did you ever marry any oneY'
"oh, yes, / married my wife, and after
that l used to marry others and then try
them for other offenses."
Noticing that the humorst had very
white teeth, ! remarked upon their reg
ularity and whiteness, and asked him
what kept them so white.
20, that's natural" he said. "All teeth
remain white if they are properly taken
care Of OF course. l never drink hot
drinks, always brush my teeth every
morning and evening, avoid all acids,
and, although l am 50 years old, my teeth
are as good as ever
And this is a.. you do to keep your
well. yes-that is. barring the fact
thatI put them in glass of soft water
nights"
The attention OF the public was first
called TO the humorists writings on ac-
count of his vigorous English. His Ian
guage was of the wild west order. For
ogy of Boulder College wrote to the
boomerang and asked the editor the
question, What is literature?"
What is literature2" exclaimed Bill,
pointing half contemptuously at the col
umns Of the Boomerang. What is litera-
ture? Cast you eye over these logtc-im-
bued columns, you sun-dried savant from
the remote precincts. Drink at the never
failing Boomerang springs of forgotten
lore, you dropsical wart of a false and
erroneous civilization. Read our 'Ad-
dress to Sitting Bull or our ode to the
Busted Snoot of a Shattered Venus de
Milo if you want to MI up your thirsty
soul with high-priced literature. Don't
go around hungering for literary pie
while your eyes are closed and your capa~
cious ears are filled with bales Of hay.
Years after Bret Harte's Truthful
James" poem was written, Edgar w. Nye
commenced signing his articles "Bili
Nye." Mr.. Nye always considered the
best joke ever perpetrated by an English
newspaper was when the London News
came out with a serious editorial saying
that bib Nye' was a real character.
Then Mr.. Nye got out his scrap book and
read this serious editorial from the Lon
don News:
If ever celebrity were attained unex-
pectedly, most assuredly it was that
thrust upon Bill Nye by Truthful James -
1t is just possible, however, that the in
uafsN.l a -.
Heather Chinee" may have imagined
Bill Nye and All Sin to be purely myth
cal personages. So far as the former is
concerned, any such conclusion now APP
pears to have been erroneous. Bill Nye
is no more a phantom than any other
journalist, although the name of the or
ton that of fact. But there is no doubt
about the matter, for the Washington cor
respondent of the New York Tribune tele-
graphed on the 29th inst. that Bill Nye
had accepted a post under the govern
ment He has lately been domicied in
Laramie City, Wyoming territory, and is
editor of the Daily Boomerang In refer
ence of Acting Postmaster General Hat
tons appointment of him as a postmaster
at Laramie City, the opponent of All Sin
writes an extremely humorous letter Eek
tending" his thanks. and advising his
chief of his opinion that his appoint
ment is a triumph of eternal truth of over
one of the epochs, may say, in the ma
TONS onward march toward political pu-
1 have noticed any stride in the affairs
of state which has so thoroughly Impress
ed me with its wisdom" In this quiet
strain of banter Bill Nye continues to the
end of his letter. which suggests the opin-
ion that whatever the official qualifica-
tions of the new postmaster may be, the
inhabitants of Laramie City must have a
very readable newspaper in the Daily
Boomerang.
During the preparation of my book.
Kings of Platform and Pulpit" Mr.. Nye
sent me copy of his lecture, which APP
pears in the book with eighty other lee
lures by Artemus Ward, Eugene Filed.
Mark Twain, Nasty Burdette, Josh Bill
ings, etc.
On one occasion Mr. Nye sent me the
following note, which gives a true history
Dear Eli: You ask me how came to
adopt the nom de plume of Bill Nye and
can truthfully reply that 1 did not do so
at all.
My first work was done on a territorial
| paper i'm the Rocky Mountains some twelve
years ago. and was not signed. The style,
! or rather, the lack of it, provoked some
/ comment and two or three personal en-
| counters. Other papers began to wonder
! who was responsible, and various names
| were assigned to them as the proper one,
among them Henry Nye, James Nye, Rob-
/ ert Nye, etc, and a general discussion
arose, in which 1 did not take a hand.
| The result was a compromise by which
! l was christened Bill Nye and the name
| has chung to me.
| am not especially proud of the name
| l am a lawless, profane and dangerous
| man. People who judge me by the brief
and bloody name alone inStinctively shud-
/ der and examine their firearms. 1t sug-
gests daring, debauchery and defiance To
! the law. Little children are called in when
/ l am known to be at large, and a day OF
| fasting is announced by the governor of
! the state. Strangers seek to entertain me
\ by showing me the choice niquities of
| their town. Eminent criminals ask me to
/ attend their execution, and assist them in
accepting Their respective dooms. ANA
| teur criminals ask me to revise their work
and to suggest improvements.
All this is the cruel result of an acct
dent, for I am not that kind of a man
/ Had my work been the same, done over
/ the signature of Taxpayer or 'Vox Pop
/ un," how different might have been the
| result, Seeking, as | am, in my poor.
/ weak way. to make folly appear foolish.
! and TO make men better by speaking dis
| respectfully of their errors, l do not de-
! serve to be regarded. even by strangers.
as a tough or a terror, but rather as n
/ plain, law-abiding American citizen, who
| begs leave to subscribe himself yours for
/ the public veal, Edgar Wilson Nve
| In politics Bill Nye was a republican
| but he never let his DOlitical prea1 chou