Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1903-07-23

SOMC, anu Tie uOCtOI SdAu tAS AAAOSS
likely thing he could do to get Hack
allah on his pins ag' in was to trepan it.
So he pricked out piece o. the skull
and sot an old Mexican silver dollar in
the place. Hackaliah got around in
about month as lively as ever.
Zone day he went to town. While
he was there thunderstorm came up.
Hackaliah Bascom had great way o
setting in one o. the big armchairs on
the tavern stoop, tippin' it back ag'in
a post, an goin' to sleep.
The thunder an lightnin' didn't pre-
vent him dom this that day he went
to town, and, besides, so Uncle David
Beckendarter says, he had been lucky
in runnin' up ag'in considerable o. the
old stuff. He got his chair little too
close to the edge O. the stoop, and in
his sleep his head got to rollin' over
to one side, and pretty soon the
chair lost it's balance and kerplunk!
went Hackaliah to the ground, four
feet below.
'The conclusion knocked the silver
dollar out O. the old chaps topknot,
and it rolled out on the ground. Hack
allah jumped to his feet. The first thing
he saw was the silver dollar. He picked
it up.
"'Sizzlin' John Snodgrass!' says he.
what a clap that was! Struck the
bank, didn't it?' ......
"They fixed Hackaliah up all right,
| and he gave the dollar to Uncle David
Beckendarter. Uncle David gave it to
me for birthday present, and I've
had it ever since-but 1 haven't got it
with me-"
The Pochuck chronicler paused, but
no one said word. -
"A year ago." he continued, after an
eloquent sigh, "Hackaliah Bascom
made up his D,ind tibet it would be
good stroke O. business for him to take
out a policy ag'in accidents happenin'
to him, then when the next time come
around for him to have somethin' hap
pen to him he could lay back and draw
$25 a week, and if he got killed, his
folks would get his insurance money.
'He said there wasn't any sort O.
doubt but what when he died it d be
OWN to an explosion or collision, or
somethin' o. that sort, and he might
as well make littlc somethin' for his
family out of it as not. So he got
$4,000 policy.
"After that he drove the skittishest
horses he could git, but they always
fetched him home safe and sound.
Billsouzer's sawmill was known to
have a b'iler that wasn't much safer
than lightin' match IN powder mill.
Hackaliah Bascom took asgreat fancy
to settin' in that sawmill day after day
and arguin' politics.
"One day he didn't 60 to the mill
for some reason or other, and the biler
busted and killed the sawyer, and laid
up for two months two men that
hadn't been nigh the mill before.
"A bridge fell into the creek, so foot
below it, one day jest as Hackaliah Bas-
com drove across it. He got out of
train at Bullsnip station one day, and
mile further on the train ran off
the track and smashed the car he was
in all to splinters.
"He went out to shoot chicken one
day. John Snavley, a neighbor,
asked him to let him take the gun and
knock the hen over. Hackaliah hand
ed over the gun. The barrel busted,
and took off four O. Snavely's fingers.
'And so it kept goin' all along.
Hackaliah's luck seemed to have
changed entirely. Everything seemed
to 90 ag in him, and at last, three weeks
ago, he was took with bilious fever an1
died as peaceful as a chlorofofmed
rabbit.
eyes, Hackaliah Rascom is dead, my
Uncle David Beckendarter's favorj:e
brother-in-law, and I'm feelin' mighty
bad about it. Mighty bad, tell you:
Bowed with SORROW"
The cash register jingled merrily
over the purchase Of a couple Of high,
balls. The manipulation inspected his
complexion critically in the mirror
among the glassware. Nobody said
word until the man from toward
Pochuck rose, with remark, uttered
with some pepper in it.
''I'm feelin' mighty bad about poor,
old Hackaliah Bascom," said he, ''but
teller might be bowed down with
sorrow till he doubled up like a jack
knife, by cats, and nobody around
here'd pour anything on to it to drown
it,"
Then he strobe out and went Po-
chuckward.--N. Y. Sun.
raa.- n-<s-s.&s> -