The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-12-05


Up-To-Date Munchausen is a story |
teller. You may not know him by the
name but you know him by his stories, |
lif you've ever heard them. He tells
them just because he likes to. He
doesn't really believe more than half OF
them himself and his hearers DO not
stop to think whether they accept any
of them as history or not; they just
listen while he talks. He puts so much
local color, so much enthusiasm and
so much earnestness in his tales that,
from his lips, they are just as much
classics as those told by the baron
years and years ago.
10. 7. D. Munchausen has a crowd
around him every night; that is, every
night when he is in the vicinity of the
crowd or the crowd is in his vicinity.
| The evening services are not properly
opened until he comes in the door, dofIs
his cap, hangs up his ulster and says
in a voice that is deep and gutteral,
| How are yet?''
U. T. D. Munchausen like to Whit the
fumes of good tobacco and between the
puffS tell his stories and sip from a
mug or stein of-weIl, cider is just as
good an appellation for the beverage as
any other. When he is talking and the
crowd around is crowding close to hear
him, the scene looks much like one IN
the play of "O1d Heidelberg" and in
fact it is a Heidelberg atmosphere
which permeates the being of the lis
teners. The programme is much the
same at each session. U. L. u.
Munchausen musings his story teller's
pack. The mug is filled and placed
close by him on the table. The defer
enee due him allows him plenty or
room and the assurance that some one
will watch the mug and keep it filled
one story and so on.
wonder if you ever heard of the
time 1 was besieged by wolves. No?
west, and when wolves were plentiful
and rather hungry. l was trying TO
make a ride of 128 miles across the
country. There wasn't living soul to
be found a settlement in all that
distance. Half way there was de-
serted cabin. Well. I was in sight of
that deserted cabin when 1 heard a
pack of wolves yelping. They caught
4 the scent of my trail and were bearing
down on me-. The snow was pretty
deep. I urged the horse on and made
the cabin before they reached me. l
got the horse inside and shut the door.
To my horror i found a big hole in the
east end Of the cabin and another big
one i'm tflenwest effd Each of the holes
was big enough for wolf to get
through. There was just one piece OF
to cover one of the holes, but there
We're no logs or anything to hold it in
place after it was put across the hole.
/ The wolves Wer8 coming from the
west I put the. board over the hole
4 in the west end of the cabin and leaned
up against it. l could hold it all right,
4 but how to keep the wolves from get
4 ting in the hole at the east end
heard the wolves coming. They came
right to the west end and smeiied
around that hole. guess they knew
there was a hole in the east end.
U II. D. Munehausen tells the story
of the time he was waiting at a small
4 station and trying to get train that
would take him away. The station
agent informed him that the train did
not stop. Munehausen asked that the
agent telegraph to- the chief dispatcher
and ask him to have the train. stop.
says: Il know something about teIeg-
raphy- / saw an old key on the opera
tors desk. I secured the key, under
pretext of getting drink of water
from the operators private pail. 1
walked out of the station and down the
track a ways to a telegraph pole.
climbed the pole, cut in on the wire
with the instruments and called up the
agent He answered his call. I gave
him an order, supposed to be from the
chief dispatcher, telling him to flag the
train for me and let me have a ticket.
I supposed the dispatcher, the agent,
and the president We're all mad when
they found out what had happened, but
got out of the town that night and
that was all wanted"
Second mug. Third mug
Fourth mug.
They left the hole at the west end
and made a run around the cabin, the
whole pack of 'er1. for the east end. I
grabbed the board and made a run. for
the east end. L got there just in time
to get the board over the hole and keep
EN- out. Then they all made a run
, back for the west end and ran across
the cabin with board and stopped the
hole again. I got there in time Then
the pack withdrew a 100 yards for a
: council of war. Finally they divided
into two packs. knew that one of the
packs would go to the west end and
one to the east end thought was
done for
Fifth mug.
Il had dropped the bride reins of the
horse over a hook in the wall of the
cabin when we rode in. He was a
r mighty Intelligent brute He began
pulling on the reins and whinnying-
= Just then the two packs made run,
one for the east end. the other for the
west end. gra bbed the board and ran
to the west. end I didn't know what
else to do. The horse broke loose"
Sixth mug.
E THAT horse saved our lives Do yoL
. Pretty soon wolf tried to come in the
hole The horse let him have good
square kick right between the eyes, TnsT
another tried it and was kicked to death
= The wolves kept that I'D untl the horss
f had killed thirty-nine- Then there were
only three left and they retreated ovel
the hills and the horse and I resurnee
: our Journey That was the most intelh
G gent horse ever saw
Seventh mug.
7 Eighth mug Ninth mug.
{ But I was in worse Scrape than tina
I once A party Of us were out hunting
when we were surprised by a band of In
n dams. They drove us to the top of a III
: | tie knoll. where we found refuge beAfnt
: a lot of rocks. We were safe enOugl
and we had plentse- of grub. but we wer1
short on water
y Tenth mug