The record-union., 1898-03-28
AN EARTHQUAKE IN A CAN.

"One time" said John Gilbert, the
travelling grocerynian, "one of my trips
took me up into Western New York,
and 1 found myself at the pretty little
village of Arcade. There was much
tension of feeling there. The villa re
was perceptibly disturbed, and people
avoided one certain street in the town
in a shuddering way that made me
think that perhaps the street was quar-
antined because of smallpox or me-
thing of that kind. But it wasn't.
The trouble was this:
About a year before farmer who
lived a mile or SO from Arcade got it
into his head that there was oil, or SALT
or gas or something under his farm.
He talked it up, and by AMI by got it
into other peoples heads that there
ought to be OIL or salt, or gas under
the farm or at least iron or coal, and
formed the Arcade Oil, Salt Iron, Coal
and Gas Company. They wanted to
be comprehensive and not miss any
thing. They put down we'll. They
put it down until they thought they
must be pretty near as far under the
farm as there was any bottom, and
not having found any one of these
things that gave them a right to the
title of their company, they thought
the proper thing to do was to shoot
the well with nitro -glycerine and see
what might develop. They set off
nitro glycerine in that we'll until the
farmer at last protested, because he
was afraid his farm would be all blown
away. They had a four-quart can of
nitro glycerine left, and they decided
to give the well the benefit of one shot
more and then give it up if that last
shot didn't turn up either Oil, or salt,
or gas, or COAL or iron. When they
started to use the charge, however.
they found that the shooting apparatus
had got out of order and wouldn't
work, and as the cost of getting it
back into shape would be more than
the chance of that can of nitro -glycer-
inc discovering something that would
prolong the fife of the Arcade Oil, Salt
Iron. Coal and Gas Company was
worth, they abandoned the we'll
But they had the four quart can of
nitro -glycerfne on their hands. Now
nitro -glycerine is rather ticklish stuff
to have lying around loose in a COM
munity, as a trifling shock or concus-
sion is liable to set it going at any time
and when nitro-glycerine gets 10 gon.
it doesn't leave much in it's vicinity to
tell how the circus happened to begin.
So the Arcade Oil, Salt, Gas, Coal and
Iron Company took this can of con-
densed earthquake over to the creek
way out of town, and buried it in the
bank, intending to send for some one
who had use for such lively coinmod-
ity to come and take it away. Pat
somehow they neglected to do this and
by and by forgot all about it,
"A speciality up around that part of
the State in the spring is the making of
maple syrup, which is put UP in cans
for the market. Floods in the creek are
common thing along about that time
of the year. A few days before l ar
rived in Arcade one of these foods
had come along 1t rose bank high.
Along that way at the same time came
Mr.. Kast. a humble and frugal citizen
of Arcade. He came along in time to
see big tin can floating on the flood
near the bank and within reach
Ha. haI' said citizen Kast "A can
o new maple sugar washed down from
somebody's premises. sure as greensi'
Then Mr.. Kast yanked the can from
the water and started toria with it.
feeling good He hadn't gone far
through the village on the way to his
window: