The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1897-12-10

''RHi' nome again.
From foreign shore
'Iie had a bottle OF rum under hi.
arm. and the brethren and sisters hur.
ried home. feeling that the end Of all
things couldn't be far away. When il
got out, though. that the dominic was
simply suffering from the third stage OF
the kicking fever, they excused him and
rejoiced. But the dominic always de-
clared that he never had such pleasing
antidote for pain. Then 1t began to be
noticed that this last peculiar stage Of
the ailment seemed 10 nave no regular
period Of existence, and II is noted as a
fact that the afflicted district wasn't
entirely able to be out and around as
usual until the tavern keeper gave
notice that there wasn't drop OF any,
thing left that the last stage Of the
kicking fever called for.
During the time the fever lasted
three leading citizens of the Sinnema-
hone were carried off in their bloom by
ii, not one Of whom even had the con-
ISOLATION Of enjoying the treatment for
the last stage. First, there was Abiram
IIinkle. When the kicking fever first
struck the district, the doctor said that
the harder the victims had to kick the
better it would be for them. for If they
couldn't kick hard it would strike in
and that would be the end of 'em. The
kicking always came in the right leg.
Now Abiram Hinkle didn't have any
right leg. ii having been taken of clean
in the saw mill. When the attack seized
him he couldn't kick. II struck in and
away he went
"Next was Simon Shelly. Simon
swore by Elijah Pink. the horse doctor,
who could cure anything, according to
Simon's belief. Elijah hadIcured kick
ing horse for Simon one time by rigging
him to some sort of continuance
that threw him every time the horse
kicked. Simon made up his mind that
he was just Us apt to have the kicking
fever as his neighbors We're, so he sent
forElijah to rovide against it. He had
Elijah fit him with a rigging some
thing like the one that cured the kick
ing horse. The very next day the all
ment seized him. Simon was standing
by n window in his house. He gave one
tremendous kick. The rigging worked
Ii threw Simon. Itthrew him out of the
window and head first into a barrel Of
rain water that stood beneath 1t. They
didn't discover Simon in time. and that
made two fellow citizens the epidemic
carried away.
Its third victim was Erastus Sleeper.
Erastus went out TO milk his COW one
evening, and just as he began the kick.
ing fever took hold of him. He shot out
4 kick. 1t hit the COW in the shin. The
disease was so very contagious that just
that one kick gave it to the COW. The
COW kicked. Her kick landed in Erastus'
stomach. and knocked the wind out OF
him so far they couldn't get 1t back.
Erastus' widow married jeff Roner, the
sheep-pelt buyer.
well. this brings me round to my
own deep disappointment. Jephenial'
Biffkins had been paying moro atten-
ton to Deacon Peeler's daughter Nan
CIV than seemed TO me safe, and when /
came back home that time l made up
my mind I'd settle the matter right
cy was destined to be n Bifrkins or a
Pettibone. ! went straight TO the dea-
cons that very evening. before had
been home half an hour. This was jus,
at the time the kicking fever WINS get
ting in it's best ticks. but didn't know
thing about It. Nancy was home. and
hadn't been there long before she had
promised that her name should be
Pettibone. was happy, / tell you. and
just before ! got ready to go Deacon
Pceler himself came in. We had q very
cheering talk for a minute or two, and
started to go. just as opened the door
l felt tremendous shock. and at the
same time l rose in the air more than
three feet. When / landed was stand
ing out in the yard. Before had come
entirely to felt the shock again. Again
was lifted and swept several feet
further out in the yard. Then / looked
back. Nancy's father was just behind
me with a queer look on his face. His
right foot rose up and shot out, and the
shock came third time. Deacon Peeler
was as strong as an OK. and his foot
was shod with a No. IL cowhide boot.
This time the shock lifted me over the
gate and set me down in the road. Nan
cy had come running from the house.
and she cried out:
Father amt kicking you. Praxy!
It's only the fever that's workin' on
him! He amt kicking you!'
We'll, n he wasn't kicking me l
didn't know what they called kicking
along the Sinnemahone, and think
made a remark to that effect as hur-
ried home in sorrow and went to bed.
Next day l heard about the Kicking
fever for the first. and then i know
what Nancy had meant when she de-
clared that her father wasn't kicking
me. l went right back with heart
lighter than feather, but Nancy made
1t heavy as lead in less than half min.
ute.
'Praxiteles Pettibone!" she said,
you went and ran away from father
last night when he was sick and suffer