Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1900-03-15

never knew the source OF the mamma
that was thus showered upon them.
But life in st. Louis ruined StortA
He yielded to dissipation, being un'
able to control his conyivial DISPOSE.
ton. He plunged deeper and deeper
into the mad whirl as the years Gid.
ed by and gradually lost much of the
prestige that he once commanded.
"As an Illustration of Storts' fidel-
ity to clientan his bulldog tenacity
in winning out under adverse circum.
stances, there may be recited the
story of how he once gained possess.
ion of a grocery store for a man who
had been defrauded. A country mer.
chant came to st. Louis and bought a
stock of groceries, A cash price was
named and the buyer made a large
deposit, neglecting, in his bucolic sim.
plicity, to take receipt or other evi.
dence to show that he had made .
payment. The grocer who pretended
to sell the store was a trickster and
took advantage of the trusting coun'
tryman. Storts heard the victims
story. He accepted the case. He
reasoned with the grocer, but all to
no purpose. Becoming desperate, he
gave him sound thrashing and
forced him to turn the store over to
the man who had negotiated the pur.
chase.
"At times Storts was given to prac.
tical jokes. One day man who
wanted to talk over the telephone to
the owner of an old-fashioned man.
sion in st. Louis got the wrong num-
Der and the phone rang in Storts
office.
Mr.. Blank, I want to know what
you will take for those iron dogs in
front of your former home on Thir-
tieth and Pine streets?' queried the
man at the other end of the tele.
phone.
"rhe Mr.. Blank addressed was a
prominent capitalist. Storts saw an
opportunity to have some fun, so he
did not reveal that a mistake had
been made in the telephone number,
but replied as follows:
"Why my dear sir, l do not ask l
cent for those iron dogs; they have
been an eyesore to me for long
while, so just go out and take them.
AA ! ask is that you bear the expense
of moving them
"The man who wanted the dogs
was profnse with thanks and a few
minutes later he had big transfer
wagon and a trio of burly negroes
armed with crowbars prying up the
iron dogs. These dogs were immense
limitations of bulldogs, moulded out
of iron, each weighing several hun.
dred pounds. They were perched on
either side of the steps leading up to
what was in the early days Of st..
Louis one of the most fashionable
mansions. The building is now occu-
pied by government institution, and
a custodian is on duty to see that
the premises are properly cared for.
This official ordered the negroes to
stop prying the dogs loose from their
sockets. The man who was to get
the dogs resisted the authority Of the
custodian. A fight ensued. The po-
lice were called and the man and his
negroes were arrested. When they
arrived at the Four Courts Storts ap-
peared for Them he having heard in
the meantime of the trouble, and
through his Influence and his open
acknowledgement of the joke he had
perpetrated the prisoners were allow
ed to go free When the dignifed
capitalist heard the story he flew into
a passion and it was some time before
he regained his equanimity.
! son another occasion Storts imitat-
ed the speech OF German saloon
keeper over the telephone so cleyerly
that he placed orders with numerous
wholesale houses and other concerns
for goods to be delivered Immediately.
The saloon mans credit was giltedged
>all over town and the payment of the
bills was not questioned. Among the
things ordered by Storts, imperson-
ating the saloon keeper, were two
barrels of whisky, ten gallons of
fresh oysters, twenty pounds of bo-
logna, a load of sawdust, cigars by
the hundreds and many other things,
the most freakish of which was a
coffin. AS to this gruesome order,
Storts explained to the undertaken
that child had died in the neighbor-
hood and that the parents were too
poor to purchase coffin. The UNI
1ertaker was instructed to call at the
saloon for further directions. The
coffin could mot be furnished until
the measure of the supposed dead
child had been taken, and presuming
that the body was to be removed to
the undertaking establishment to be
ltillUuIlucu, tHt hnucI ihhci othb oHC VI
his solemn-looking, black dead wagons
to the saloon, the driver being in.
structed to call on the saloon keeper
for further orders. OF course that
saloon man was mad, but he was still
more deeply enraged about an hour
later when wagonload of sawdust
backed up to the side entrance to his
place and two stalwart laborers COM
menced throwing sawdust by the
scoop shovelful upon the polished tile
floor of the saloon. OF course the
proprietor insisted that he had order
ed no such stuff and wouldn't have II
in his house at any price, but the men
in charge Of the wagon declared their
H. ILL