The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1899-03-06
GRowGwILL's SOAP KETTLE.



II don't know when I've seen man
more surprised" said Col. Calliper
s.than my friend Abner Growgwill was
when he tried to break up the soap
kettle. Mr.. Growgwill lived in Stork-
vile Center, vt. He had big cast.
iron soap kettle that was cracked and
of no further use, so he wanted to
get it broken up TO sell for scrap. He
might have had men break it up with
sledges, but as the county fair was
going on in Storkville Center he had
an idea that he'd have it taken up by
the man that was making balloon as
tensions and dropped from good
height ON Stony hill, rocky rise not
far from the fair ground. He thought
this would be fun, and the balloon
man, as n matter of fact, didn't charge
him anything for it, because he turned
the whole business into big advertise
ment for himself, and had posters out
all over announcing that on such a
day and at such an hour, weather per-
uniting, Prof. Hihite would drop Mr..
Abner Growgwill's monster soap kettle
from his balloon upon the summit of
Stony hill.
"Of course the whole town turned
out to see it. Storkville Center had
never seen castiron soap kettle
dropped from balloon upon the sum
init of a rocky hill before. doubt,
indeed. IL any other community ever
mas. The wind was favorable. The
load was about all the balloon could
lift, even though it had been inflated
to its fullest capacity, and all extra
weight had been removed and all bal
last was left behind. But it lifted it
finally and scared away higher and
higher off in the direction of Stony
hill. At a great elevation, and when
the balloon was directly over the stoni-
est part of the hill, the people, Mr..
Growgwill among them, stretching
their necks and looking up from be-
low, saw the acronaut making ready
to cast the great kettle loose. Just
an instant before he did SO, gusty
current of air struck the great gas
globe and pushed it over on one side,
swinging the great kettle under it in
the other direction. The professor
would have waited If he could until
the balloon and the kettle had resumed
the perpendicular, but it was too late
now. Some of the lashings had already
been cast loose, and the weight of the
kettle did the rest, and away it went
sailing through the air, not dropping
straight down to be smashed into frag-
lments on the rocky top of Stony hill,
but flying off in slantendicular direc-
tion whose end was realized in min
ute, with shout Of dismay, by every
body looking on; 1t was flying straight
for the house of farmer who lived
at the foot of the hill.
"It struck the chimney, which was
in the middle of the house, square on
the top and crushed it down as great
bowlder would have crushed down a
mans tall hat, and smashed right on
down through the house plumb to the
cellar, leaving big, ragged crater at
the top where the chimney had been,
with cloud of dust coming up out
of ii. The whole multitude made for
the house, fearful that somebody had |
been killed in it; but the farmer and
his family had all been out with the
rest looking on; so, fortunately, no.
body was hurt; but the house was a !
wreck; it was all right outside, but
inside it was gone to pieces, and after
it all the big kettle lay in the cellar as
sound as ever but for the original
crack.
"Mr. Growgwill was man of means,
and he paid for fixing up the house.
which amounted substantially to re-
building it. He tried to get the bal
loonist to pay part, but the professor
said that he had undertaken the work
under contract, and he couldn't be re-
gronsible for the action of the ele-
nents, anyway, so Mr.. Growgwill had
10 pay it all. He never had any more
Doap kettles to break up; but it is safe
to say that If he had had he would
have had them broken up with sledges
In the commonplace way, and not
lropped from balloons."-N. Y. Sun.