Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1902-06-05

THE PASTURE.
ed the alarm, and the critter would
have been met and turned back in his
mad career. That mad dog would never
have entered the town, and the fire in
Moses Hepburn's barn would have
been suuirted out with one vOlumi-
nous squirt"
Inside of half an hour forty men had
put down their names as firemen, and
the town trustees had named COM
mittee to go to New York and look ar
a hand fire engine and report on the
cost. AS if in sympathy with the wave
of enthusiasm sweeping over the town
zebro Scott's woodshed took fire that
night and was damaged to the amount
OF So, and Saniel Gardeners children
played with matches and burned the
tail off his Sunday coat. For two
weeks nothing was talked of but tire
engines, red shirts and heroic rescues
from the flames. Some men sat up all
night for several nights looking for a
conf1agration to break out any minute,
and they loafed about in the daytime
and hoped the schoolhouse would
catch fire and give them a chance to
show off. When the committee was
ready to report, a public meeting was
called, and the town hall was packed.
It was only after the report had been
made and public spirit worked up to
the boiling point that cloud of trouble
sailed over the horizon. All of sud-
den everybody remembered that fire
department must have a foreman, and
everybody felt that he was just the
man for the place 1t was AbsalOm
Jones who made the FIRST break by
rising up and saying:
II am not the man, as you all know,
to thrust myself forward, but on this
occasion I arise to say that / am will
ing to make sacrifices and become the
boss of the fire company. All l ask
In return in case | perish while doing
my duty is that you will visit my
grave now and then and cherish my
memory"
Then Hiram Smallman got up. Hi
ram had once assisted to put out fire
in a grocery in Syracuse, and he con-
sidered himself fire veteran. There
was no doubt in his mind that whoever
was elected foreman would sooner or
later tumble off the roof of burning
house and break his neck, but when
duty called he was not the man to
hang back. He had but one neck, but
he would gladly break that and his
back to boot in snatching widows and
orphans from the grasp of the fire
fiend. There were faint cheers as he
sat down with moistened brow. but
the applause didn't discourage Deacon
Spooner.
"Citizens Of Jericho" he began as
he rose up, there should be no strife
or jealousy over this matter. What
we first want is an engine to squirt out
fires. What we next want is a compe-
tent man to direct the squirting. AS
you are all aware, have been in the
pump business for the last fifteen
years, and l ought to know something
about water and squirting. l will take
the place Of boss and do my best, and
no man can do more. | may perish in
the very first confiagration, but if SO
you will remember me as one who did
his whole duty
AS the deacon was sixty years old,
nearsighted and deaf in the starboard
ear, his offer to sacrifice himself didn't
create any great enthusiasm. When
he saw this, he sat down with a jar,
and Philetus Johnson took his place.
He admitted that his experience with
CONGREGATIONS had only extended to
d burning haystack and blaze in