Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1896-03-06
ELI PERKINS ON NYE.
ONE GREAT HUMoRlsT TALKS OF HIS
RELATIONS WITH ANOTHER.

How Bill Nye Started Out-when He Took
Up His Nom de PIume-Engilsh and
American Humor-some Good Stories
About Liars and Others.
first met Edgar Wilson Nye 8 years
ago while passing through Laramie, Wy.
Mr.. Nye was then practicing law and
making his first reputation as humor-
ist through editorials and paragraphs in
his weekly Boomerang. These editorials
were irresistibly quaint. Every 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 weekly call
ing Nye, to his great amusement, ian
idiot and a crack Drained rattlesnake
editor from Moosehead lake.
Bill Nye was then, as ever after
ward, a delicate and retiring man.
When l asked him why the rival editor
called him such names, he said;
"Well, he 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
rattlesnakes of the west.
''I see you are a lawyer as we'll as an
editor" l said
Eyes, l practiced law about year,
but" he added, without changing a
muscle, nobody knew much about 1t
here 1 kept it very quiet. l have been
justice of the peace in Laramie for six
years. "
did you ever marry any one2"
"Oh, yes, / married my wife, and
after that used to marry others and
then try them for other offenses
Noticing that the humorist had very
white teeth, remarked upon their reg
ularity and whiteness and asked him
what kept them so white.
"Oh, that's natural" he said. "All
teeth remain white IL they are properly
taken care Of. OF course / never drink
hot drinks, always brush my teeth every
morning and evening, avoid all acids,
and although 1 am S5 years old my
teeth are as good as ever. "
"And this is all you do to keep your
teeth whiteP" 1 asked.
"Well, yes-that is, barring the fact
that put them in glass of soft water
nights.
The attention of the public was first
called to the humorist's writings on ac-
count of his vigorous English. His Ian
guage was of the wild west order. For
example: The professor of rational psy-
chology of Boulder college wrote to The
Boomerang and asked the editor the
question, "What is literature?"
"What is literature?" exclaimed Bill,
pointing half coptemptuously at the col
umns of The Boomerang. What is
literature? Cast your eye over these
logic imbued columns, you sun dried
savant from the remote precincts.
Drink at the never failing Boomerang
springs Of forgotten lore, you dropsical
wart of false and erroneous civiliZa-
ton Read our Address to Sitting
Bull or our Ode to the Busted Snoot
of Shattered Venus de Milo, if you
want to fill mp your thirsty soul with
high priced literature. Don't go around
hungering for literary pie while your
eyes are closed and your capacious ears
are filled with bales of hay"
Years after Bret Harte's Truthful
James" poem was written Edgar W. Nye
commenced signing his articles "Bill
Nye." Mr.. Nye always considered the
best joke ever perpetrated by an English
newspaper was when the London News
came out with serious editorial say
ing that "Bill Nye" was a real char
acter. Then Mr. Nye got out his scrap
book and read this serious editorial from
the London News;
If ever celebrity were attained Unexpectedly
most assuredly it was that thrust upon Bill
Nye by Truthful James. II is just possible,
however, that the innumerable readers Of Mr.
Bret Harte's "Heathen Chinee" may have i'm.
sgined Bill Nye and All Sin to be purely myth
ical personages. 30 far as the former Is con
cerned any such conclusion now appears Il
have been erroneous. Bill Nye is no more 9
phantom than any other journalist, although
the name Of the organ which he "runs" savort
more Of fiction than of fact. But there Is nj
doubt about the matter, for the Washington
correspondent Of the New York Tribune tele
graphed on the 10Th inst. that Bill Nye had &C
oepted a post under the government. He hai
lately been domiciled In Laramie City, Wy.
and is editor OF The Daily Boomerang. In ref
srence to Acting Postmaster General HattonI
appointment OF him as postmaster at Lara
mie City the opponent OF All Sin writes an ex
tremely humorous letter, "extending" hi
thanks and advising his chief Of his opinion
that his "appointment is q triumph Of eterna
truth over error and wrong" Nye continues
''It is one Of the epochs, may say, in the ma
tion's onward march toward political purity
and perfection. don't know when have no
ticed any stride in the affairs Of state whicl
has so thoroughly impressed me with it's wis
DOM" In this quiet strain Of banter Bill Ny,
/ ~onffnuaa IA the and Of his laffar 1nyhfoh 70
gests the opinion that whatever the ofilcia
. qualifications Of the new postmaster may be
the inhabitants OF Laramie City must have
very readable newspaper In The Daily Boom
, erang.
On one occasion Mr.. Nye sent me th,
! following note, which gives a true his
tory Of his family:
DEAR ELI-You ask me how came TO adop
the nom de plume Of Bill Nye. and can truth
. fully reply that did not do % at all.
My first work was done ON a territorial pa
{ per in the Rocky mountains some u years ago
and was not signed. The style, or rather tn
lack Of it, provoked some comment and two o
three personal encounters. Other papers be
, gan to wonder who was responsible, and veri
Gus names were assigned by them as the prog
er one, among them Henry Nye, James Nye
. Robert Nye, ETC., and a general discussion
: arose, in which did not take a hand. The re
suit was a compromise, by which was chris
tened Bill Nye, and the name has clung 10 me
, ! am not especially proud Of the name, for i
conveys the idea to strangers that am a law
less. profane and dangerous man. People VIII
I Judge me by the brief and bloody name alon
instinctiyely shudder and examine their fire
arms. Ii suggests daring, debauchery and dc
hance to the law. Little children are called 4
when / am known to be at large. and day q
7 fasting Is announced by the governor Of tn
state. Strangers seek to entertain me by show
Inc mi the ehgioa infnnfffae ~ fhafr