The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1903-11-27

breeze. This stock yards and packing
house smell gets away with a man that
is used to getting It fresh from the briny.
I tell you those breezes.
"Cut out the breezes,n snarled the
man from Goodland. Kan. "What you
need is not so much breeze but a little
more Of that packing house beef.
You fellows are setting in here to
brag about your towns. Mine amt
much. I never claimed it was. II you
gothic breeze that We get in Kansas
with a lot of sand and railroad shop
smoke, you wouldn't be so much stuck
on wind. See my long hair. Well, we
all wear it that way. We don't amount
to anything. We don't raise anything
but a little wheat and corn. All we've
got in our town is railroad shops and
there are bigger ones most anywhere
you'd happen to name. The pops still
carry the county. They always will
But we've got something 90 be proud of.
III tell you that.
~GOodland, Kan, Is the home, the
birthplace, of the LATEST, trihingest. ut
terly queerest gamblin' game that ever
existed under the sun.
ely Lit never heard Of II, did you?
Fly Lit was born and raised there. 1t
viii always be played there and every
where else IN the short grass. I'm givin'
it to you straight. There is a game by
that name, and it was raised right in
that town. It's spread all over the state
now. -Four or five loafers get out on the
sunny side of the depot an lay down by
a side Of a box an spread out a penny
or a nickel or somethin' apiece. Then
they just lay there till a fly comes along
an lights on one Of them pennies or
nickels and the one that owns it, pulls
in the pile.
Maybe you think that amt excitin',
but it Is Why, the fellers II lay there
half a day at a time and then kick be
cause the sun goes down an the flies
quit work. Some of the guys got into
big fight there last summer because one
got wise and smeared syrup on his money
so the flies would pass the other up and
take his. He cleaned up the pile and
those lazy scoundrels got next and went
after him.
Funny thing about the originstion Of
that game. 1t was back in the COS and
awful dry. GoOdland vas only a little
place then. The country all dried up
and the farmers hadn't nothin' to do and
so they came to town and pitched horse
shoes and played checkers.
well, one day an old chap that kept
a general store was sittin' playin' check
ers with farmer, and the wind was
BLOWN up the street and bringing a
! carload Of dirt every Whit. They finally
got tired Of checkers and they laid back
in their chairs and din't even pick up
the pennies on the corner that they had
/ put lust to make interestin'.
They were -sittin' there half asleep
and wonderin' if it was ever going to
rain west Of the Missouri river, when a
! fly comes along and buzzes around over
the board for awhile. Then the old
storekeeper says IN bet you that fly
+ lights on my money first And the farm
er said, IN bet you my penny he lights
on mine Well, he lit on the store
keepers copper first because he had
sugar on his hand when he was handliu
it, and he raked in both and the game
was born. Well, those fellows aud few
others played fly lit for q long time and
then the cowboys got to playin' it and
pretty soon much Of everybody 10 Kan
sas got to playin' 1t.