Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1897-02-27
(Contlnued next weekly
EMULATEo RIP VAN WlNKLg.
How n Maine Man Disappeared from So
Ciety AMI Rcappesred Afjer Ten Years.


a faint suggestion Of the story of Rip
Van Wrinkle attaches tOthat told Of jim
Hayes. a one-tilne resident oi a village
in western Maine. located near the
boundary line between that state and
New Hampshire.
While digging Il his well ,ne morn
ing the walls caNed in, b|urying him be-
meath the debris, ia >uch "A manner.
however, that The stones, instead If
crushing him. formed an arch over his
PROSTATE body.
The brilliant idea occurred 10 Jim,
whose aversion 20 work, by the way,
wa a nrighbornood proyerb. that rather
than subject himself 10 the labor ol dir.
ging his way Ia the surface il would be
a shreWd Dodge to remain quietly whore
he was and let the ucighJor~ dig MINI
sell and incidentally his well oat f..
him.
What followed only goes to show that
a man may reckon without his neigh
bol,.
The latter arriving upon the scene
after due delibera,ion and u discussion
Of ways and mean expressed their
unanimous opinion in the following I'M
sentimental but practical >~yilogi>m:
That Jim was at once dead and bur-
led.
That a dead man ought to be buried.
Conclu>ion-that the best thing to be
done was to do dothing-to-wit. leave
the well and Jim in such condition as
found.
The general consensus OF opinion was
that the late Jim had been a lazy. good
for nothing. shiftle,- dog. who bad con-
lerred a greater beneIit upon the village
br thus quietly dropping out Of society
without putting his neighbors to the
trouble OF bIrying him, than he had
ever done while living.
Remarks TO this effect. and others
even less complimentary. being borne
vaguely to the ears of the entombed
jim, apprising hin. OF the worth i'm
puted 10 him by his fellow townsmeu,
he then and there resolved 10 reform
aud mend.his ways.
Realizing that a return 10 his old as
sociate and associations would be 4 Sc
r.ou> bar to these good resolutions. the
uOw-reiOrmcd Jim set industriously To
work to dir hi, way out; but instead OF
making his way straight upward he
pursued, for a rod or two. IA lateral
course, which eventually brought him
ont "A few feet the other side OF the state
boundary line into the state of New
Hampshire.
Here. it * averred. a steady adher.
enct 10 his ,ubterrauran resolutions.
made a new man OF him. 20 that he be.
came OF sufficient importance and prom.
inence to be made chairman OF tine
selectmen and Il member Of the school
committee in 4 little New Hampshire
town.
Upon returning TO his native yiilag;
after "a lapse OF ten years he was greeted
with amaZement by his old cronies, who
had supposed him buried by an act Of
providence. Such, however. was the
position he had acquired for hils>elf in
society that any feelings Of incredulity
which the story he told may have had
aroused ia their bosoms were suffered
To lie dormant and were given no out.
ward expression.
Finally. it may be said to those vino
have doubts concerning the %truthfulnes:
Of the narrative that the foundation foi
it. lying, Us il does, at the bottom OF 2
well, should OF Itself serve to repel ali
such unfayorablc SUSPICION.