The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-05
IN OF JULY FUN.
The Kind of Celebrations Boys in
Country Towns Used to
Indulge In.

evitable question of whether Mrs. So-and
Sos dress was entirely becoming or not.
The men, at the other end, were blowing
clouds Of smoke and gradually working
around TO the political situation.
Just az they were about to hit 1t, the boy
none OF them had noticed got his giant
cracker in position to suit and touched
IL off, There was not the slightest warn
ing for any Of those on the veranda, and
the deafening report, sharp as the crack
OF a 8-inch gun, and seemingly as loud,
provoked chorus of shrieks and ejacu-
lations that instantly changed the current
of all the talk
why is it that the boys can't wait until
the Fourth is actually here?" asked one Of
the women. "They always begin their
awful racket a week or ten days ahead Of
time and keep it UP as long after the Fourth
as they can get any firecrackers.'
II suppose the parents are really to
blame said another. III we didn't buy
the stuff for them or give them the money
to buy it themselves, there wouldn't be
such tumult all the time
Its senseless custom, anyway" put
In one Of the men, land am glad 10 see
that It seems to be dying out. There doesn't
seem to me to be nearly so much of II as
there was when I was boy"
That's where your observation is wrong
ead one Of his friends, who had known him
from boyhood +The sport is not dying
out You are getting older and growing
away from II that's all. You surely have
not forgotten some Of the tricks we used
to play not 80 many years ago
@Oh, no." the other admitted. Il do not
forget them. In fact, there were some
that I shall never forget. Do you re-
member the time we blew up the header
wheel, firing guns on the morning of the
FOURTH"
'"Do II" asked his friend 1--WE got the
check yet that my father gave Mike Gal
lagher to pay for the damage to his build
ing"
What was it," asked one of the others.
.0h, not much of a scrape, after all,
was the reply "You see it was when all
we boys in town had craze for doing
something smart and making our own
way instead Of going to school as our par
ents wanted us to do, and the way the
doctor there and tried was working in
Sam Smiths foundry and machine shop
lou uluIl KNOW. Hu YOU, tiidl Doln
of us had served our time and learned
the trade as machinists? Well. we did.
and we are competent to-day to get into
the harness again if some of these strikes
should make it necessary. But that is
not the story.
"One Fourth of July we decided that it
would be great thing to wake the town
up in proper style by firing hundred guns
before daylight. We didn't have any guns.
ofcourse to fire, but a couple of big anvils
will answer every purpose in making a
great noise. just as well as the best guns
ever forged.
AThere were eight anvils in the shop and
one Of them was corker. 1t was all the
two of us could do to move it.
"You know there is hole in the bottom
of every anvil 80 that it can he firmly set
on the block on which it is used. In firing
guns with anvils the anvil is turned bottom
side up and the hole filed with powder.
Then another anvil is set over that and
q little train of powder led to the supply
in the pocket.
4Then some one takes long iron rod
which has been heated red hot at one end
and drags it between the two anvils so that
the hot end wi Il come in contact with the
train Of powder. The result is an explo-
sion.
well, two anvils would not begin 10
make enough noise for us that Fourth morn
ing, go we dragged out the entire eight
We used the biggest one for the bottom
OF the pile, and in order to get larger
quantity Of powder into the explosion
wetook large ring made Of forged stee
and set 1t on the bottom anvil just over
the hole. In this way we used consider
ably over a pound of powder for each shot,
we had some heavy bars of wrought
iron which we laid across the bottom anvil
and piled the other seven upon them. II
was a grand scheme and the report from
each explosion was terrific. There surely
we're not many persons in that town who
were able to get any sleep after we began
our firing.
aThe shop was in an out-of-the-way part
of the town, down near the railroad station
and the street in front of it was not vel
built up, so that there did not seem to be
much danger of doing dana GO to the build
ings by the heavv explosions We had
noticed that the glass in small shop just
opposite the foundry where we were firing
had ratified several times, hut as it had stood
all we had done we naturally forgot all
about it or thought it would stand what
ever we might still do.
sWe fred pretty rnpidlv and had nearly
used up our powder before any of the boys
who had been turned out by the row mad
come down TO see who was doing it, and to
get a chance to join in, If they could.
don't remember whether the doctor or