Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-03-09

Elijah P. Jopp was an American from
way down somewhere. but exactly where
doesn't matter. He was in the show line
and has got hold of real paying freak.
This was nothing less than dragon, not a
crocodile, nor an alligator. faxed up with
green paint and gliding, but a genuine me-
dieval, fire-breathing. princessivorous dra-
gon. with a voice that could be heard ten
miles off when it wasn't muzzled, and an
appetite like a smelling furnace.
Elijah P. Jopp had found curious-look-
ing egg one morning when he was prospect
ing for gold in an unknown part OF the
country. He would have been better pleased
IL ne had found nugget, but, II he had
only known it, that egg was going to prove
worth fifty nuggets to him. When he re-
turned home four months later in a very
bad temper, owing to his not having found
the gold mine for which he had been look
ing, ne put the egg in an incubator.
For all he knew the egg might have been
lying where he found 1t for months before
ne picked IT up: as matter OF TACT 1t
had been lying there for more than thou
sand years. The chances were against the
incubator making anything OF the Job of
Matching, but, what with Elijah knowing
nothing about incubators, and the incubator
Knowing nothing about dragons eggs, the
experiment was successful, and in due time
the egg was Matched
Its first meal was off it's fellow dodgers
in the incubator. 1t then burnt it's way
through the inf1ammable part of it's foster
mother and was free. Elijah was at first
inclined to administer capital punishment
Tor these offences, and would have done so
II he had known how to set to work. He
did make an attempt with a Ratchet but
the infant dragon blew its nose and Elijah
retired with his trousers singed and his
legs scorched.
He judged it wiser not to come to close
quarters after that, but retired into the
house and fetched his revolver The first
bullet f1attened itself on the dragons steely
hide; the second glanced off and found
billet In the eye Of Elijahs COW. He then
decided to forgive the dragon, which bore
no offence, and indeed liked its owner none
the worse. imagining that Elijah's attempts
on its life with Ratchet and revolver were
intended simply as an amusement for its
unoccupied hours.
Soon 1t became tame and followed him
about like a dog. Hezt1id not let it eat out
or his hand, for it would probably have
made a meal off that member in more senses
than one, and, besides, it always cooked its
food by breathing on it before satisfying
its appetite, which caused Elijah to become
proficient in throwing. as he found it ad-
visable to makeza habit of feeding his pet
at range of about fifty yards 1t was for
tunate that the dragon attached itself to
Elijah, or trouble might have ensued. 1t
had a soft and engaging disposition, and
after time he'could do anything with it,
and even punished it by means of a crow
bar when the infant mortality of the village
began to attract the attention of the insur-
ance offices. This was in the dragons early
days. BY the time Elijah had got 1t suffi-
GENTLY under control to join a travelling
circus at large salary it had settled down
into quite respectable member of society,
and was content to accept whatever susie
nance was offered 1t instead of helping it
self
Elijah toured with the circus in bis native
country for some time, and made a nice
little sum of money. Finally the concern
was broken up by the disappearance of the
proprietor. There was nothing to account
for it. Business had been good and doncs-
tic relations all that could be desired. The
theory of suicide was secuted on all sides;
beside, where was the body? Elijah's dragon
showed it's grief a the untimely occurrence
by refusing all food and going to sleep for
two days. Then the proprietor's watch and
chain were found in corner of its cage,
and spiteful things were said and regret
table accusations made against 1t. Elijah,
on behalf of the dragon, was very much
hurt, and told the widow that unless she
withdrew her insinuations he should go
away and start a little circus Of his own.
The widow refused to withdraw, so Elijah