Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1881 — Interviewing a Machine. [ARTICLE]

Interviewing a Machine.

A dealer in hardware on Jefferson avenue has had a straw-cutter standing on the walk in front of his store for some days past to catch the public eye, and yesterday forenoon two boys discovered it and had considerable sport feeding papers under the knife. They were still at work, one at the wheel and the other feeding all the old papers he could find, when along came three Canada Indians with somthing iess than a thousand baskets hitched to them. They were evidently father, mother and son, and when they saw the straw-cutter at work they came to a dead halt and exhibited great curiosity to know how the old thing chewed up papers in that manner. After some conversation between them the Indian put down his basket and made a closer inspection. The boys fell back to give him a fair show, and as he picked up a long strip of paper the squaw began turning the wheel in about 4-6 time. The machinery worked beautifully, and a grin of quiet delight had just commenced to spread over the red man’s face when the end of the paper was reached and the knife sliced off the end of his forefinger. There was just one howl, accompanied by a jump three feet high. When the Indian lauded he was as silent as the grave and as straight as a bean pole. He looked from his finger to the straw-cutter and back, took in the general laugh from the sfflewalk without giving himself away, and with the dignity of a Sultan he walked over to his baskets, resumed his load, and marched off with his wounded hand in his pocket and his nose set on a bee-line for home. —Detroit Free Press.