The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1911-06-29
GRAND
GEYSER CASCADE
A Fourth of July Story.
From the PHILADELPHIA Press

FROM the Philadelphia Press.
Uncle Major" said Jack as he and
Mollie helped the major to remove his
hat and coat, do you think there's
much danger in little boys having fire.
crackers and rockets and pinwheels 2"
o / n little girls having torpeters"'
PUT in Moliie.
Well, 1 don't know the major an
swered warily. What does your papa
say about it,
He thinks we ought to wait until
ve are older, but we don't said Jack.
"~Torpeters V sets nothing afire,"
aid Mollie.
That's true" said the major kindly;
but, after all, your father is right.
Why, do you know what happened tc
ME when / was a boy?"
Haven't an idea sale Jack.
You burnt your thumb" said Mol
lie, ready to make a guess at it.
Well, you get me a cigar, and I'll
tell you what happened to me when I
was = boy just because my father let
me have all the fireworks / wanted,
n then perhaps you will see how
wish him to-"
JAG readily found the desired cigar,
while Mollie brought the major a
match, after which he settled down
comfortably in the hammock and
swinging softly to and fro, told his
story.
My dear old father" said he, was
the most indulgent man that ever lived.
He'd give me anything in the world
that / wanted whether he could afford
1t or not, only he had an original sys-
tenn of giving which kept him from
being ruined by Indulgence Of his chill
dren. He gave me a Hudson river
steamboat once without costing him a
cen / saw Ii, wanted 1t, was begin
ing to cry for It, when he patted me
on the head and told me / could have
II, adding, however, hat / must never
take IT away from the river or try to
run IL myself. That satisfied me.
.AIi ] wanted WAS the happiness OF
feeling that IT was mine, and my dear
old daddy gave :ae permission to feel
that way. The same thing happened
with reference to the moon. He gave
it 10 me freely and ungrudgingly. He
had received it from his ather he
said, and he thought he had owned II
long enough. Only, he added, as he
had about the steamboat, / must leave
look at it whenever they wanted to
and n9t Interfere II / found any other
little boys or girls playing with Its
beams, which l promised and have
faithfully observed to this day.
"Of purse from such a parent as
this. YOU may very easily. see every
thing was to be expected on such &
day as the Fourth OF July. He use6
to let me have my W way at al
times, and 1t Is a wonder I wasn't
spoiled. ! really can't understand hen
1t is that L have become he mar: I an
considering how / was indulged wheI
/ was small.
sHowever. like all boys, / was Yer,
fond of celebrating the Fourth, and
being a more or less ingenious boy.
usually prepared my w firework,
and many things happened which
/ r,riOht MT ~ nnrur{sa hay ANNA ~ no ol
II ! had been properly looked after.a.
you are. The first thing that hap.
pened on the Fourth of July hat wouit
a great deal better not haye happened
was hen / was-er--how old are you
JACKIE"
Eight said Jack, going on g.
THAT was exactly the age I was a
ss-tfia jon piunu
ly-5ust nine to a day"
Eight. i said" said Jack.
Yes" nodded the major; Just eight
hut going on toward nine. My fathei
had given me $40 to spend on noises
but, unlike most boys. I did not care 81
much for noises as l did for novelties
It didn't give me any particular pleas
ure to hear a giant cracker go off witt
all was TO get up some kind Of an ex
hibition that would please the peopi
and that could be seen In daytime in
stead of at night, when everybody /
tired and s~ieepy.-SO instead of spend
ing any money OF firecrackers and tor
pedoes and rockets l spent 50 of it Of
powder ana 81 on putty blowers.
What i wanted TO do was to max
one grand effort and provide ra5sesstSs
with a free exhibitions of what / wa
going to call ~sCarraway's Grand. Gey
ser Cascade To do this properly
set my upon a fish pond not ia
rom the town hall. 1t was a yer,
|. deep pond and about a mile In circrm
ference. Putty blowers were the sell
ing Mt fIve for a cent. and powder wa
cheap as sand, owing to the fact tina
the powder makers. expecting d wal
had nude a hundred times as much a
WIS needed, and as their war didn,