The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-10-10
PUNK
SnuRED BY AxlDENT!---Ihats Whot
aappend to link Barclay at
the Hands Of P|utarch Stone
With a Shotgun !!---nink Fatally
Injured but Better At This
Writing!

Hiik Barclay .'one of our most re.
specified citizens was the vicktim of q
painful axident lsst Thursday morning
at the hands of P1dtarch Stone who did
dent do it on prFpose & was turrihle
brung suit agin Plutarch for manslaw-
ter.
Plutarch has been awful bizzy all
fall gettin in his crops & doin his
fall work to SIGH 4 extent that he amt
had time to take day off to go huntin
until last Thursday when bein ketchd
up with his work as you might say
Pluto thort he would take his old muz-
zle loader shotgun and go out into the
woods back of his house and see if he
couldn't shoot 4 squirt or rabbit or pat
ridge or somethink in the way of enufF
game for a mess.
Well, Pluto TUX down the shotgun
often its rack and TUX his powder horn
and bottle of shot and little box of per-
cushion caps and started? After he left
the house and cut acrost Hink Barclays
pasture lords the woods he stopped in
haddent brung his far-sighted spectac1es
with him. Piute stood there in the field
10 minnits and debated whether he
would go all the way back to the house
after EN- or not being as Plute's eye
sight is bad moren SO # away and he
wassent shure whether he could tell a
rabbit from a woodchuck at that dis
lance but he desided that ruther than
bother to go back after his specs he
would do the best he could to make out
what he was shootin at and trust the
rest to Providence? Right here we
might state that if Pluto had of went
back after his far sighted specs this
turrible calamity wouldn't of happend
to Hink tall.
Be that as it may Pluto kept on until
he come to the edge of Kinks potater
patch which is near the woods. Then
to load up his gun before perceeding
emmy further, but when he looked at the
nipple under the hammer there was a
cap on it which made Pluto begin to
think that praps the gun alreddy had
a load of shot in it. Pluto tride to
think of the last time he had used the
gun and recalled that when his cherries
was gettin ripe and the birds was car
ryin EN- off by the peck he bought some
fine bird shot and fired few charges
at the birds jest to show EN- who was
who & that praps he had left load
of birdshot into the shotgun. Pluto
knOWQ that O1fQSnOt was TOO nne TOT
squirls or rabbits 50 he thort he'd shoot
out the load and load up agin with
coarser shot
Pluto dident like to waste the load of
shot even if it was bird shot by shootin
up into the air so he lookt around for
mark to shoot at and all he could see
was big ya11er stone stickin up near
the edge of Kinks potater patch. Lit
tie did Pluto dream that this objeckt
which he thort was yaller stone was
nothink else than Hink Barclay hisself
facing away from Pluto and stoopin
down picl1in up some potaters from a
hill or two which he missed when he
dug his potaters 4 wk or two previ-
GUS. Hink had on yallerish pants and
stoopin over without moovin made him
look a good cal like a yaller rock or
bowlder espeshialy to Pluto who couldn't
see very well ennyhow.
P1ute raised the shot gun and took
keerful aim at the rock and puld the
trigger. What follerd beggers descrip-
shion. Skeercely had the shotgun crakd
until poor Hink who got the full charge