The times., 1898-11-13
BROUGHT RAIN.
How Il Macon Mayor Won the Favor
of His People.
(From the Laneaster Intelligencer.(

(From the Lancaster Intelligencer)
They have a mayor down in Macon.
Ga, who does not let the glamour of
achieved greatness dim the clearness of
vision with which in childhood's happy
hour he saw and comprehended the things
occurring round about him and forming
part of his everyday life and experience
When in his bOyish love of nature he
held communion with its visible forms he
interpreted its various languages with an
accuracy and understanding that have
stood him in good stead now that he has
become the chief ruler of his native town.
a spell of dry weather in and around
Macon, very similar from all accounts to
that which up to few days ago afflicted
this section of the country, was the cause
of much distress among the inhabitants
of the community. Vegetation and gar
den sass" ii seems We're being burned up
under the fierce rays of a southern sun,
the parched earth gasped for sustenance
and the people of Macon were in despair.
What does the mayor of that city do at
this critical juncture of affairs. He shows
that true greatness knows no limita tions,
and it adapts itself to circumstances with
an ease and facility that belong only to
the operations of a mighty mind. Turn
ing back the tablets of grandly reten-
tive memory, the magistrate of Macon
recalled that when a barefoot lad tread
ing his native heath. holding converse
with nature in the familiar style that be-
longs to your true American boy, he had
,, frequently exerimented with success in
bringing showers when he needed one to
help him on a little fishing trip or other
enterprise dear to the childish heart. 1t
was before the days of professional rain
making, which at best has shown itself a
poor substitute for old-fashioned native
methods. When this youthful genius
wanted rain he would proceed to catch a
moccasin snake, or a ''coach-whip' or
Chicken snake or some other of the
harmless species with which the fields
abound, turn 1t up with the shiny side
of its anatomy toward the glowing heav-
ems and in the desired time would come
the refreshing showers, sure enough.
He remembered that this scheme never
failed, and he so told his astonished fell
low citizens of Macon when they called
upon him to explain the meaning of the
following singular advertisement In To-
cal paper of that town:
Snakes Wanted-I will pay 81 each for
one black snake, one chicken snake one
coachwhip and one moccasin, dead or
| alive, delivered to me at the city hall;
| will purchase from person first applying.
| S. B. Price, Mayor City of Macon
This modest announcement brought to
| the mayor of Macon an abundance of
snakes of the sort asked for-more in
fact, than the sagacious magistrate need
! ed. They came by scores; some in boxes,
| some tied on the ends of poles, while
! some, 1t is chronicled, crawled up to the
! mayors office on their own account. The
/ veracious and esteemed Macon Telegraph
| tells us that the mayor took enough
snakes to decorate every tree around the
city hall, and that almost before he had
completed the task great banks of clouds
| rolled over the heavens the mayor whose
greatness even permitted him to wink IA
| cetiously while this was going on, trium-
| phantly assuring his admiring constitu-
ents that he knew he had sure thing.
| The downpour of rain that followed this
reptilian appeal to Jupiter Pluvius, under
magisterial auspices, fully justified the
experiment, and doubtless assures the
! mayor of another denomination. Re
freshing showers" the Telegraph greeful-
| ly exclaims, were the cause of much joy
and gladness. All nature took on a
brighter and happier look and everybody
felt better