The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1908-10-08

I
to rest. 'rll get an air machine soon,
and fool them. I'm clearing a level
space for a landing stage for the air
ships, and next time you come to Ia
hiti you will alight right at my door,"
Yes, the Nature Man has some
strange ideas besides that of the goril-
| la pounding his chest in the African
| Jungle The Nature Man has Ideas
about deviation.
YES. sir" he said to me. "1evitation
is not impossible. And think of the
| ground by an act Of will. Think OF it!
| The astronomers tell us that our whole
solar system is dying, that, barring ac-
cidents. it will all be so cold that no life
| can live upon it. Very We'll In that
| day all men will be accomplished levi
| tationists, and they will leave this per-
! fishing planet and seek more hospitable
worlds. How can deviation be accom-
plished? BY progressive fasts. Yes,
| have tried them, and toward the end
could feel myself actually getting
| lighter
| The man is maniac, thought I.
"Of course" he added, these are on
j.
late upon the glorious future of man
Levitation may not be possible, but
| like to think of it as possible
One evening when ne yawned, I
asked him how much sleep he allowed
himself.
Seven hours" was the answer. But
| in 10 years I'll be sleeping only six
hours, and in 20 years only five hours
| You see, I shall cut off an hours SLEEP
every 10 years.
| "Then when you are hundred you
won't be sleeping at all, l interjected
! "Just that. Exactly that. When
am a hundred I shall not require sleep
Also, I shall be living on air. There
are plants that live on air, you know. >
! But has any man ever succeeded in
doing it?"
He shook his head
| Il never heard of him if he did But
it is only theory of mine, this living
on air 1t would be fine, wouldn't it:
| Of course it may be impossible-most
likely it is. You see, am not unprac-
teal never forget the present. When
soar ahead into the future / always
leave a string by which to find my
way back again.
| I fear me the Nature Man Is joker
At any rate, he lives the simple life
His laundry bill cannot be large. W
on his plantation he lives on fruit the
labor cost of which in cash he esti-
mates at five cents a day. At present
because Of his obstructed road and be-
cause he is head over heels in the pre-
paganda of socialism, he is living IL
town, where his expenses, including
rent, are 25 cents a day. In order to pay
those expenses he is running a nigh
school for Chinese.
The Nature Man is not bigoted
| When there is nothing better to ca
than meat, he eats meat, as, for in
stance, when in Jail or on shipboarC
and the nuts and fruits give out. Mo-
does he seem to crystalize into any
thing except sunburn.
Drop anchor anywhere and the an
Choir will drag-that is, if your soul i:
limitless, fathomless sea, and not {
4 dog pound" he quoted to me; then adj
/ ded, You see, my anchor is always
| dragging. 1 live for human health ant
/ progress, and 1 strive to drag my an
/ Choir always in that direction. To me
! the two are identical. Dragging an
| Choir is what has saved me. My an
| cho~ did not hold me to my death bed
l dragged anchor into the brush an6
! fooled the doctors. When I recovered
! health and strength I started by
! preaching and example to teach the
| people to become Nature men and Ma
! ture women. But they had deaf ears
! Then, on the steamer coming to Tab
| It'll, quartermaster eXpounded social
| ism to me. He showed me that an
| economic square deal was necessary
before men and women could live ma
| turally. So I dragged anchor once
more, and now I am working for the
cooperative commonwealth. When
| that arrives it will be easy to bring
about Nature living.
Il had dream last night" he adj
| ded thoughtfully, his face slowly break
| ing into a glow. 'It seemed that %
| Nature men and Nature women had
! just arrived on the steamer from Cali
fornia. and that I was starting to go
| with them up the wild-pg trail to the
plantation
All, me, Ernest Darling, sun worship
| er and Nature man. there are times
when 1 am compelled to envy you and
your care-free existence. l see you
| now, dancing up the steps and cutting
up antics on the veranda; your hair
dripping from a plunge in the salt sea,
your eyes sparkling, your sun gilded
body flashing, your chest resounding
to the devils tattoo as you chant, ''The
gorilla in the African jungle pounds
his chest until the noise of it can be
heard half mile away" And 1 shall
see you always as / saw you that last
day, when the Shark poked her nose