Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-07-04
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lots Of noise and angry police he can
have as good a time as he wants.
A premature explosion Of cannon
cracker started a group of men to talk
ing about some Of their escapades on
THE night before" 1t all happened
years ago, but 1t was interesting
enough perhaps to repeat. They told
us boys" said one Of the older men,
bers Of the group. lone year back in
the little country town where l was
born that we shouldn't ring the church
bells on the night before the Fourth.
The bells were used as fire alarm
and the good old citizens who had for
gotten that they were ever boys were
very much afraid that IL there should
| be a fire that there would be no way
OF spreading the alarm. That was alto
gether too thin for the boys. They
couldn't see how q fire could start un-
discovered with every boy in town on
the streets. Some said that 1t would
disturb the sick. but a careful canvass
showed that there wasn't a sick per-
son within a mile Of any church. The
mandate was therefore accepted as
challenge and war was Immediately de-
clared between the special constables
and the boys. l tell you 1t was n hot
fight. "
Every key to any OF the churches was
placed under strong. guard. The son of
one of the deacons. Who had a key was
sure he could get hold Of It but his IA
Their was tooi smart for him and slept
| hn he, ial 20 uriSt EVprV
| window and door in the churches Were
firmly fastened until II was believed
that a professional burglar would be
puzzled to effect an entra nee. but the
boys got there just the same. In spite
of all the vigilance some sort Of hole
was forgotten in each building and was
found by the boys. At midnight there
was q boy in every belfry and the
ropes to the bells We're hanging on the
Outside with crowd watching the
minute hand of a watch for the signal
to pull, The officers had been thrown
CT their guard by the unusual stiffness
and the fnncicd security Of the church
ea. Those who had been too near the
churches had been artfully drawn to n
safe distance so that when midnight
arrived every bell IN the town began to
clang. '. Il ;
Then the fun commenced An officer
started for every church but when he
arrived all was still. The ropes were
found dangling on the outside and cut
but the boys in the belfry We're undis-
covered. AS soon as the officers started
to leave the clang again commenced.
Some of the superstitiOus began to
think Of spirits. but the more sensible
spotted the trouble and began the tedi-
Gus climbs. The guards on the outside
lgave the signal and by the time the
officers reached the bells the boys were
snugly hid somewhere about the big
buildings. BEFORE the officers stepped
from the ladders on the descent the
bells were again ringing over their
heads. SO 1t went all through the night.
lone bell might be silenCed but another
took its place.
"A young business man who was pre-
Sumably simply watching the fun and
very much in sympathy with the on
GERS met them with surprising frequen-
Icy on their trips from one church to
another and talked soothingly with
them about the young rascals. The i'm
lportant part he played in causing de-
lays that made narrow escapes posi-
BILE was never mistrusted.
THE officers did manage to catch
one boy. The unfortunate one was the
last Of squad that was leaving the
church in the rear while fresh squad
was going in at the front. Just before
he jumped he foolishly blew a long
blast on a tin horn and the waiting Of
ficer simply took him in his arms when
ha 6nScQn6aI no III 70,
the lookup. There was talk Of resisting
an officer and lots more supposed to
be very terrifying but it never came to
a head and the officer didn't care to
say much about the one arrest of the
night.
1.-THE police gave up in disgust, long
before the boys got tired Of ringing the
bells and the next year there was no
mandate that they should not be
rung."
THAT reminds me-. said another in
the group. of the time we fastened a
fine wire to the clapper of a bell and
ran It back to a treelabout 100 yards
from the church. We worked 1t In fine
style until an officer climbed the bel
fry and cut it Off"
Yes. but that wasn't SO good as the
trick we played" said one OF the
younger men. "The school where had
some ;rudiments pounded into me had
an electric gong and we pushed the
button in and fastened 1t with n tooth
pick. The batteries were a wreck be-
! fore they discovered the trouble"
I'VE once hadta chief of police in our
town." said, another nlan, whose opin-
! ion on the, proper meahners to celebrate
the Fourth was an open secret. He
watched us start monster of bon
fire with stolen tar barrels and I'll
never forget how mad the best runner
in our crowd was when the chief beat
him out after n special got after u.s."
| oh, WELL" sighed the Oldest men,
Der Of the party. Il suppose IT, Fe got 1
caught in such things nowadays IT
would mean the police court, but 1
wish could go out with the boys to-
night just the same"
- ~ III Y,