The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-02-05
MONEY IN THE AIR.
Remarkable Result of a Tornado in
the South Dakota Country.

From the Chicago Inter-Ocean.
II see that they've had another mud
shower somewhere in Oklahoma" OBJ
served the man in the crash suit as he
laid down the paper.
Huh" calculated the man who had
just paid for the round, another one
of those newspaper lies Mud showers,
red snow-storms. airships. kissing
bugs; they're all the same, nothing
but fakes, sir! Overwrought imagina-
tion of some country correspondent
produced by too steady diet of strong
liquor and high temperature. Mud
shower! HUH"
We'll" responded the man from
Buffalo, affably. there are good
many lies told in the papers nowadays.
but it's hard to point 'em out with cer-
tainty. Now | once witnessed a sight,
gentlemen. that outdid anything ever
described in the way of freak showers.
1t was out in Sitting Bull Wyo., about
twelve years ago. I was running a
drug store there: had full assortment
Of horse liniments, rheumatism reme-
dies and plug tobacco, and was taking
in from 60 cents to 80 cents d day.
in the doorway. keeping a lookout for
man who owed me for a tin of axle
grease. when all of a sudden it began
to blow. Wasn't anything alarming,
YOU understand, just a plain blow; no
need to get into the celler.
Presently something huttered down
onto the sidewalk right at my feet. 1t
was kind of green, and awoke tender
recollections in my breast: and. well.
it took me about one -thousandth part
of second to pick it up. Gentlemen,
it was a nice, crisp $50 bill!'
The man from Buffalo paused,
crooked his elbow, elevated his chin
and wiped his mustache dreamily on
his sleeve.
Il looked up and down the street." he
continued. There was no one in sight.
l put that bill in my pocket and looked
around for more And I found them.
Inside of a half minute the air was full
of them. They blew in from the east
like a flock of green sparrows. | filled
my pockets until they wouldn't hold
any more and then ! ran into the store
and got three soap boxes and keg
BY that time the street for three or
four blocks was ankle deep in money,
and every dod-blasted man, woman
and child in Sitting Bull was out har-
vestng.
well, gentlemen. | staked off A
claim with four bottles of cod liver oil
and stayed up until . o'clock in the
morning clearing ii up with hay
rake. And when ] went to sleep 1t
was with the cheering knowledge that
I was one of the richest men i'm the
world Every one of those bills was a
brand-new. crisp $50 gold certificate,
signed, sealed and delivered at the
door, gentlemen.
1.-The next day, when every one had
their money put away in trunks, boxes
and gunnysacks. they began to wonder
what it meant. There were lots ol
theories presented, as you may imagine
but none of them proved correct. But
there was the money, piled high on
| every door stooD. One man went crazy
because he couldn't find out how much
he was worth; got different total
| every count. As for me. just counted
me soap boxful and estimated the bal
ance: / had about sl.6OO,OOO."
"And then" asked the man in the
| crash suit, as he sighed and drained
his glass to the very last bit of lemon
| peel
1T was all explained later. gentle,
men. There had been a cyclone over in
| South Dakota. and a counterfeiter's
| house had been leveled tn the ground
He lost the proceeds of four years OF
| honest toll"
"Did-did you-?'
Gentlemen, a secret service Officer
| with fourteen deputies rode into tow
| one day and arrested every last resi-
! dent for passing counterfeit money. Re
| cause of the unusual circumstances W.
| got off with a fine of $40 each. Tall
about mud showers. gentlemen!"