The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1920-02-14


KIND FRIENDS
Please help a POOR man
WILLING but UNABLE
to work with LARGE FAMILY. :
According to his own statements he
had lost his arms in a variety Of ways +;
the juvenile population had been in
formed that Sharks-Or bearS-had
eaten his lost arms; to very old and
supplemented ladies it was "iirQ-
damp" or ION the railway" or just
"cannibals." He had also "fallen from
the masthead" dropped out of a
balloon" and got caught in an ele-
vatOr.' Sometimes his loss had oc-
Cured while fighting in Cuba" or
engaged in Blasting rocks in Cali
fOrnia." In fact, of moving acct
dents" Armless John was a long way
ahead of Othello.
His memory being somewhat treach-
erOus, he sometimes had to listen to this
kind of a remark:
"Why! you told me last month that
you lost your arms in Peru-nOw you
say it was in Australia ; you must either
be lying, or had a lot of arms to start
with"
To all such personal and unkind OBJ
servations, the stammerlng beggar
would reply somewhat like this:
"Wa-wa-wasn't / in-sen-si-ble at the
ti-ti-ti-at the time? How'd dye
s-s.spOse-" (He had a habit of break.
ing off like that.) "But l lost 'em,
you b-b-bet."
A man of perhaps fifty years of age,
stability dressed, stopped one morning
in front Of Armless John.
mice morning." said the stranger.
"Fi-f-fne, sir" agreed John.
yours is a bad case, my friend" re-
Joined the other.
"T-t-terrible, sir"
"How did you lose your arms?"
"Gun p-p-powder explosion at Mel
melbourne"
australia"
The beggar shook his head.
"Thats my native place" added the
stranger.
81 don't mean there. Mel-mel-bourne
In Kentucky is the p-p-place, all right"
you're a liar, Phillips. Do you
know Sing Sing" asked the man.
"Never there" answered John, now
looking for the first time in the other
mans face.
Eyes, you were, my friend. You and
spent about five years there. What
an old fraud you are! How do you
manage to dispose Of your arms like
that?"
John was speeches., as well as
stammerless, though still apparently
armless.
81 hope We won't squeal on me,
Tom?" he remarked.
"That all depends Have you got
large family, as the sign says?' in
CURED Tom.
There's six of us altogether, in
Guiding the dogs"
"Well, you'll have to pay me so
much a week, and 1 won't say word"
replied the other.
"There amt enough comm in to do
that" said John dolefully.
Something must be DONE" remarked
Tom. 81 haven't got work, and / can't
get any"
Suppose you come up to the house
tonight, and we'll talk things over.
Go away now, Tom, do; see you to-
night"
The stranger moved away slowly,
to an old lady about to drop
a coin in the little tin mug: That's
a bad case, mum; the poor fellow lost
his arms falling off the roof of a
church"
did he, indeed?" sympathetically
said the lady. II always give him
trihe when / pass, but l thought he
lost his arms in battle"
The ex-convicts were holding mid
night session.
1--WE thought out a scheme, Tom,
which will pay us both, and we'll be
of each other. Suppose
you go and stand at the library, and
be d blind man. There isn't such
fellow in the place. Every day one
Of the children can bring your dinner
down to you, and also lead you home
at night. I'm sure you'll make more
than do"
'Don't suit me-" answered Tom. ST
amt a-going to keep my eyes shut all
day. / think I'd better be one-armed
sailor, suffering from a shark-bite."
"Thatl never do" said John. "I'm