Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1913-10-16

liner, from creeping jungle streams
3 roaring glacial torrents, from deseI
0 city to forest town in a score of di
a ferent languages news urchins Wild
shrieked OF softly lisped their "e1
l tras," in many cases the first and las
edition extraordinary the populac
ever heard OF during their lives. Tn
earth had been brushed by anothe
celestial body which had passed 1t 81
closely that It's roar had deafened ant
Its breath overwhelmed even to thu
: death scores of human beings way VI
on the back bone of the North Ameri
can continent. Buildings had beer
} crushed like trampled eggs, trees tori
up by their roots as dentists pull
teeth from their sockets, while dus
whisked from the visitor as by {
mammoth broom had fallen and car
peted a large section of the eartf
with coverlet as thick and soft as
feather bed. The earth had shud
dered like horse dashed with whip
tidal waves had run riot and total
humiliation had only been prevented
by mere chance, good luck, miscalcu.
lation, Divine mercy, or as one Italian
paper naively put 1t, "by the foresight
and prompt action of Signor Desmond,
the dtscoverer." Not a telegraph, tel
ephone, cable or wireless upon the
world but buZzed and cracked with
the tremendous news, and every OBJ
servatory In the world where the at
mosphere was clear or the view un-
obstructed had its great telescope
trained like hostile cannon upon the
supposed path of the departed body.
Yet not trace of 1t did they find, and
more astonishing still. the microreflec-
| toscope did not register It, Where 1t
had gone was as great a mystery as
from whence it had come, and all the
wise savants of the long tubes could
do was wag their heads and form
their own opinions. Some came bold
ly forth with explanations closely CO.
inciding with Professor Desmond's,
others held Numerically opposite
opinions. while still others-and per-
haps these gentlemen were the wisest
of all-withdrew themselves clam
like into their shells of reserve and
refused to be cajoled forth by the
most tempting of batteries or the most
exasperating of proddings. But great
day as it was for the press and the
wire, 1t was still greater for certain
of the Adventists. To them the fail
ure of the world to be destroyed was
but temporary encouragement, fully
offset by the certainty that the first
small body had been but a herald to
warn the earth of the larger and close
following one which was to destroy
1t. Great day, also, 1t was for the
dead and injured, for their names
were blazoned in great type the world
around; in fact 1t was great day for
almost everybody.
And then close following the first
announcement of the passing of the
worlds In the night came a second
scarcely less startling or spectacular.
The earth had at large upon it new
and marvellous being, in fact former
inhabftant of the other sphere who
had been blown off, fallen off, jumped |
off or in some other manner dislodged |
from his native habitat, and who was |
now stalking abroad in the land of the |
free seeking whom he might devour.
He was seven feet tall, reddish |
brown in color, monkeyish of limbs
and had pinions that spread over |
thirty feet. He had been seen by at |
least dozen reputable (?) citizens,
some of whom had fought duel with
him in which he had escaped after
being severely wounded. This caused
a great roar of laughter, especially
in foreign countries, and the newspa-
pers of the world treated the story
according to their national character
istics. The British press treated 1t |
with cold sarcasm and deep regret at
the yellow journalism of the Ameri-
can newspapers, the French with
shrieks of derision, the Latins with
lnsolent abuse and the Germans with
utter contempt. The Yankees were
out Yankeeing themselves, they were
making themselves ridiculous, they
|
we're contemplate braggarts, or they
were great dunnerheads, according to
the nationality of the sheet that
printed the item. Instantly the car
.oonists came into their own and for
, day the world was theirs. The Fly
ng Man was depicted in every con-
,eivable shape that their vivid mag
nations could conceive. He looked
ike an eagle, crow. rooster, a
,rane, a bat, demon, an angel.
learned judges cracked ponderous !
okes at his expense, the ministry
lsed him to point moral and adorn a
ale, mothers employed him as bug
boo to brighten their children and
he Congressional clown pretended to !
ny and get a law passed whereby the
should provide him free I
back to his own land. q
ar and wide dime showmen exhibit
d huge pictures of him and an {