The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-11-19
IN HOTEL. CORRIDORS.

made this election. I was in a little town
in Missouri and the merchant to whom
was conversing asked me if I would not
walk up to the end of the street with
him and see the champion idiot OF the
| county pay an election bet. The man the
merchant had called an idiot was an en-
thusiastic supporter Of Bryan and he had
made a bet with another inspired lulOL
4 which was to the effect that the man who
4 lost would roll a peanut up a hill with ms
| street and the distance the peanut was to
| be rolled was about a block The men
we're both supposed to be sensible business
evinced the slightest trace of imbecility,
and they made the bet. IN order to
| clinch the bet they had put up 800 each,
ard the loser could either push the pea
nut with his proboscis or forfeit the
money. The town was out to see the man
display his assininity and they appeared
any doubt that we should have fewer cleo
lions when 1t is so evident that the eX-
element is effeeting the brains of SO
find anticipated men who have made bets
which they consider either smart or hum
orous. The man who can not shave for
four years Is again of the reservation
and is making sick the hearts Of the bar
bers BY the way, the BARRIERS have got
a way of making business out Of election
bets. They bet fifty shaves and five hair
price that a certain party will win and
bet with the winner reversed In this
manner they get about ten bets on each
side. so that it does not matter to them
that much increased business. To. get
back to the men who make toohsh bets:
have come across but one man who
made the old time bet of embarrassing
ton of coal He lived in Macon. Mo. and
was paying his bet on one of the principal
streets, watched by crowd of boys.
have heard of the jays who live in almost
every town and made the wheel barrow
bet In one place heard or a novelty In
on the basis Of 5 to 1: that is, the man
who, lost wheeled, the. other man five
blocks and then the winner would wheel
the loser one block. The men who are
compelled to wear kick me- signs from
so much in evidence. That chestnut has
been cast aside for more recent and more
foolish bets.
AZ. II noticed in a Chicago paper few
George French, had made a. lot Of money
In real estate DEAL said one of
group in the. Copeland lobby. French is
not exactly his name but it will answer
boSs together back in indiana he was
considered the worst boy in the town
and, as IS usual in such cases, all the
eventually find home in the peniten-
tary; and, as is also usual, he did just
that which they had predicted he would
man. honest and respected. To show that
he had q. schemer's head | will tell you
of one of the trips that he made when
he ran away from home for change.
Smith in the boom days on the runaway
money They had a few dollars left but
when that was spent They Thought over
the matter and finally agreed Jpo1 a Dian
to raise money without working They
went TO secondhand dealer and pur-
fiddle and went into a restaurant where
he got his supper. He left the fiddle with
the proprietor telling him that he would
call for it the next day. Shortly after
he had gone his chum went to the res
versation with the proprietor Or He c aSu-
ally asked to see the hddle and had no
sooner opened the case than he became
greatly excited. He told the restaurant
man that the fiddle had belonged to his
father who was a great violnist and that
it had been pawned on account of lack
of funds They had tried in vain to find
1t and it now seemed that Providence was
smiling on him, because he had discov-
cred the long-lost treasure. The chum
wore long hair and was fluent He went
into raptures over the fiddle, but did not
ant keeper SO for the instrument r on the
spot and was very much cast down when
mer who had left it there. The chum
raised the price of the fiddle to $25 and
finally left with the understanding that
he would call in a few days and get the
address of the man who owned it. When
asked him if he would sell the fiddle, ana
after good deal of dickering French
never went near the restaurant again anS.
I suppose the fellow still has the 81 fiddle
for which he paid SIS"
They were talking Of experiences with
snakes when one of the said: Il
have lived both in the west and in the
south and have seen a good deal of creep
ing and crawling reptiles and I am thor
oughly convinced that the black snake
mas mas more sense than all the other rep
tiles combined. A black snake IS not vi
cious and its bite is not poisonous-at
least no one has ever been known to die
from its bite 1t is easily concentrated and
make very valuable pet, as it will
drive away other snakes and will keen
the premises clear of mice and rats,
was ranching out in Colorado a few
the ranch also sold me a domestieafed
black snake which had lived on the ranch
i've or six years The snake did not take
to the change very readily. but in time
he became very fond of me and would
come when would give a peculiar whis-
tie, which his former owner had taught
me. The snake was a monster being
house in the winter time in a box thar
mer he slept in one Of the barns in order
to guard the horses It was the onIv
snake that have ever seen that would
cat ever lived that was as fond of fresh
milk as was that snake. It would hang
MIXED and would hiss and run between
the mems legs until quantity of milk
was poured into a pan for it to drink It
would drink a quart of milk both morning
and evening. To show how INTELLIGENT the
snake was and to prove that it knew
Sary to relate little incident. One even
ing the We're late and the cows had
not been driven in from the pasture ]
was coming from town and at a distance
saw the cows walk out of the pasture
gate and go towards the lot near the
house where they were MIXED / did not
see any OF the men and could not surmise
how the cows had got the bars down,
but as l got closer saw that the black
snake was following them to the lot He
had let the bars down and was driving
the COWS in to be MIXED as he was get
ung impatient for his milk. / followed
and watched his movements When a
COW would lag behind the rest the snake
YOU'D run beside her and coiling with his
head down would strike her with his
tail: The blow. was hard. for it sounded
JUST IKE a whip. After that We let the
snake bring in the cows every night. He
learned to put up and take down the bars
ana could do II with his strong coils as
| easily as man could. In putting the
bars up he would crawl on the fence
ana coll around the top rail; then he
would reach down Id r1.il