Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1910-04-08
AN EXPERIMENT,
ax M. QUAD.

several old residents who could. re-
member that when he and his wife
moved into the village he was Il work
er and ambitious. Then one day he
attended circus and was kicked by
4 giraffe. The circus men gave him Il
dollar as damages and sent him home.
\ doctor examined him and said no
great harm had been done. but Silas
took it into his head that he had re-
ceivel severe internal injuries aud
that any further labor would take him
TO his grave.
One afternoon when Silas had wan
dered down to the bridge over the
river. for the first time in four years.
some hilarious young men seized him
and threw him over the railing. He
did not resist. 1t would have been too
much like work. 1t was expected. of
course. that soon after striking the
water the lazy man would set his legs
and arms in motion and help himself
ashore. lie did nothing Of the sort.
He simply permitted himself to sink
slowly and easily to the bottom. and
he lay there until those who had flung
him in helped him out.
Again. one winters evening Silas
was seized at his own gate and car
ried mile away and flung into a
snowdrift and told to lie there and
freeze or make his way homeward.
There was some slight doubt as to
which course he would adopt. but it
was soon settled. He Struggled down
in drift. and there lie was found five
hours later by the conscience stricken
men who had left him. lie had been
frost bitten. but he had saved his rep
utation.
\ dry goods drummer visiting the
village heard of the case and recon-
mended Il cure and offered to admins
ter it himself. At midnight a figure
With horns and hoofs and tail. sup
posed to be Il good imitation of our old
friend down below. opened the unlock
ed door of the White cottage. and ST.
las and his wife We're awakened to
find the intruder in their bedroom.
Mrs. White screamed out in terror.
Silas took Il long look and asked what
was wanted.
81 want your was the answer in an
awful voice.
"What frr?"
81 want you to come with me to the
bottomless pit."'
"Thcn you'll have to carry me-" re-
piled the champion as lie turned over
toward the wall.
h,f
could be done With such Il man, and
for years Silas was left to enjoy his
laZincss in peace. 1t was the general
opinion that lie would be too lazy to
draw his last breath when the time
came and that his accomplishing wife
would have to do it for him. There
was to come q change. however One
day after the wife had placed IL chair
for him under an apple tree and left
him to smoke and sleep she noticed a
thunderstorm creeping up in the west.
1t was her duty to watch things and
bring Silas in before the storm broke,
but she suddenly decided to make an
experiment. She would leave him
where he was and see if he would
|
wasn't bit like her to do this, and
she never could make out why til.
thought came to her that day.
The black cloud grew larger, and the
thunder muttcrcd and the lightnn:
flashed. Sias heard things and wok,
up. He saw the coming storm. and h,
saw his wife in the back door. III,
l,nr 1,,yf S.1,n
Lightning did, however There wer
twenty barns and houses and tree
around for it to strike, but it ignore,
all of them and struck Silas White. |
seemed to scatter him over half a.
acre of ground. 1t tore Off his clotlle
and pulled off his boots. 1t burned OF
his whiskcrs and bleached his eye
dead as Il doornail. but at the end q
two hours he suddenly sat up. Sill
was Il little bewildcrcd. but still in til
ring.
There We're half Il dozen men in til
house when the champion came to hin
self. They were expecting to hear hil
drawlngly ask what had happcne
when he jumped off the bed and bcsl
driving Them out. In five minute
he had cleared the house of muurnrr
Then. in spite of the fearful protest
of his wife. lie seized the aX and G,
more iirewood than he had in 81
years before. When he dropped Il,
AK at last it was to pick up hamul.
and nails and begin patching up ii
hog holes in the fence. Before nigl
he had weeled the garden and put
new hinge on he gate.
i'GG,%.::::..2 a:.me to ask Silas how he fe
when struck by the iililnGerSa::. al,
he answered ut the top OF his voi'
and rolled out the words so fast til;
he could hardly be understood. l.
couldn't bear to be still minute.
That thunderbolt had changed Sill;
White from IL champion lazy man
a champion hustler. He uprooted tree
pulled down fences and dug holes
the garden Inside a week he had 70,
fights about politics and called eve
man in the village liar. They couldl
cton him frnO, WORKING and to1Ei0