The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-31
F'IRE,l
Et Up Lon SklllIng's Ham Smoke Aeuss. Rain Puts IL Out but Lon and Eh CVssn Get
 Awful DrsHchad

That Bingvilie ain't burned all to pieces and ali it's citizens without homes is because most eyerybnddy was blame r1Aer drownd to detf1 by terrible storm which happened in the nick of time.
 Lon Skillings bilt fire in his ham smoke house last Friday night and went out in the yard to smoke hisself and see whot the weather was before going into the house, as his wife objecks to terbaeker smoke, being as she is troubled with asma. As Lon walked up and down his back piazza smoking and pulling his whiskers, Hannah, that's his seckond wife come out and says Lon Skillings, if yew don't move that smoke down back in the field, I'll pack my traps and get aout afore I'll be smoked to deth."
 lest as Lon was erbout to say some thing sassy back his eye caught sight of sparks shooting; Up behind the smoke house and he run tords 1t as fast as he could, only to find the whole baclSk of the struckure in flames. As soon as Lon see this he knowd something was wrong and he darts out into the street hollerinK fire as loud as he could holler. Eb Green was passing by at the time and was jest going to ask Lon where the fire was when Eb remembered that he wasn't on speaking terms with Lon be- cause Lon dunned him every week for S7c<wich he loaned him five years ago. So ED made beleeve he didn't heer Lon and kept on walking lords the village when Lon hollered to Eb to come back and help put out the fire.
 Eb he hesitated mint and desired to # d-kt rn seeing he wasn't a member of the fire dept. and keep his mouth shet about them g cents. Lon sed yes afore he thot and told Eb to hurry up and pump some water immedjet and they both of them together. rushed to the scene. By this time the flames had ct up the smoke house and was commencing to jketch the pie pen and the wind had begin to blow and the rain turned from a drizzle to a heavy drozzle till Lon and Eb wisht they had an umbrella or something if thev was agoing to fight fire long enuff to get drenched. Eb run to the pig pen and managed to let the pigs out and s.most broke his fool neck by falling over a pig which tried to run betwixt his legs. :.
 sheets and the wind blowed like all pos sessed and outened the fire without Lon and Eb doing another lick so they went into the house to excape the fury of the storn, as you might say, and talk things over.
 Neither one or the other had dry stitch on them. SO they peeled off their clothes and set in two big rocking chairs wrapped in two of Mrs. Skillingses old quilts till their clothes was dry and past kthe time a playing old sledge and drink ing some prime old cider wich showd its effeckt when they shuk hands eight times before Eb finally got started for | home.
 When the storm petered out several of
 our citizens looked over their property and found it damaged quite a good cal Cy Hoskins had II tons of stacked med der hay distributed all over Bingvilic
 and Eph Higgins found a whole pain
 of glass on the ground all smashed tc
 pieces outen the P. O. Jim Rawlins had his cellar filled up with water till il
 couldn't hold emmy more, and Hank Dew.
 berry had a young heifer break awaS