Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 July 1891 — HURRAH BOYS, FOR THE GLORIOUS HURRAH FOURTH. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HURRAH BOYS, FOR THE GLORIOUS HURRAH FOURTH.

10 'HE glorious Fourth uly was close at hand, this fact did not call i any great amount of usiasm from the grown ile of Springville. They i:'d to think that they done their whole duty n they invited an out-of-town orator to read the Declaration of Independence and make a speech. On some occasions—very rare ones, however—they satisfied their patriotic scruples by going to the expense of having a balloon ascension. But on the Fourth of which I write no such excitement as this was to be given us. The great day that wo boys looked forward to with so much pleasure was considered by our fathers and mothers as a day of noise and accidents, and they were glad when it was over. But the younger portion of the population of Springviile amply made up for the enthusiasm that was lacking in their sires. This was especielly true of us four boys, Tom Parks, Joe Blake, Frank Brown, and myself. On the 2d of July we met by appointment at the band-stand in the squara Of course the general topic of conversation was th > approaching holiday and the part wo were to take in its •observance. For several weeks previous, we, together with the other village bovs, had spent all our spare moments in collecting barre s and other materials to be used in making a big bonfire on the square on the night before the Fourth. Besides this general attempt at eelobration, the boys individually had been saving up their spare pennies, all of which they felt in duty bound to spend on their nation’s birthday. This was the condition of affairs when we met at the band-stand for our last consultation. “How much money have you saved *tip?” asked Tom Parks of Frank Brown. The question was repeated, and it was shown that Tom Parks had 31.15, Joo Blake $1.20, Frank Browu 98 cents, while I had been able to lay by just SI.OB. “Four dollars and forty-one cents.” said Jce, after a few seconds work at mental arithmetic. “Quite a lot, ain't it?” ■Our combined savings did seem large. •“Now,” said Joe, “I’ve been thinking -of a way to spend that money.” “Oh, that's easy enough!” grumbled Frank, to whom it was a task of selfabnegation to save money, even for a Fourth of July celebration. Frank's observation was overlooked, and we asked Joe what his proposition was

Jog was, by reason of his superiority ! =ln years and experience, our acknowl- \ 'edged leader, and whatever suggestion ; he made was generally received by us \ -with favor. “I suggest,” sa'd Captain Joe, “that wo club together and buy a lot of powder, fireworks and other nec-saries, and ■have a little celebration of our own to finish ap the Fourth. Yon know the town’s celebration this year ht to be rather a shift affair, and I think with what money we have wo can get up quite a little surprise for the people old and young.” “That’s so! Wonder we haven’t 'thought of it before,” cried we in chorus. “Our celebration must be a surprise,” •continued Joe. “I'll borrow father’s ■wheelbarrow to-night, and Tom and I -will go to Pottstield (things are cheaper there than they are here) and buy all the fireworks wo can lor the money.” Frank, who had determined to include •candies and cakes among his items of •expense on tho i< ourth, suggested as an amendment that we each reserve a small part of our savings for contingencies, and this, by general consent, was agreed upon. Frank was not the only one of us who ihad a sweet tooth .. “We must get some powder for tho -cannon,” said Joo. “And for my old musket,” put in ..Frank. “Is that old relic in existence yet?” put in Tom! “Yes; it’s alive and kicking," replied Frank. Of the latter part of Frank’s statement we have no doubt, for It was a fact well known to us all that the old weapon was possessed of the habits of au illnatured mute. Each of us had some advice to offer in regard to what should be purchased for •our celebration, and before we parted that day Joe and Tom had a full list of -what they were to buy. Early that evening they started on vtheir mission, while Frank aud I eagerly Awaited their return. Pottsfield was only two miles away, and the boys ought to have been back at nine o’clock, but it was fully ten before •we heard the creaking of the wheelnarrow announcing their return. Frank And I hastened to examine the purchases, and it was evident that the boys had •chosen the articles with an eye to quantity lather than quality. There'Were two pounds of powder in -an old’ ifbn kettle, liro-crackors in all shapos and sizes, and othen parcels* pyrotoMttrieS too numerous tenientid^i. AftSi* we had'sttflßft’entiy examSrtd the •contents •df the wheelbarrow, the question was •■'<-- . . “Who.rirshall we put all "this stuff?” (h s time our folks were dpujbtless tn bed, whete we ousht to have been also;- and the barns and sheds locked, so that tftpre seemed to be no opportunity of scerdting thte good* afowr homes. We had not thought of this in our previous 4>!anuiu£.

j<V t I “Say, fellows,* whispered Joe, suddenly, “why can’t wo hide it undgr the bandstand?” The place referred to was a hexagonal, box-like < ffair that stood in the public square at the base of the flftgstaff. It was three or four feet high, and this elevated platform was occupied by the local band on occasions like tho one now approaching. The sides were composed of lattice-work, painted green, and the space under the flopr was used by the authorities to stow away various articles belonging to the town for which no immediate use could be found It was close to the spot where wo had halted for consultation, and leaving tho barrow in the shadow of a fence, wo hastened to examine it as a possible roceptable for our goods. “Just the thing,” said Tom, peering through the lattice-work. “But how can wo get in? The door is locked. ” “Oli, that is easy enough,” said Joe; “there’s a loose board in the floor that father intended to nail down some time ago” (Joe’s father was janitor of tho Town Hall.), “but luckily for us ho forgot to do so. We can pry up the board and drop our fireworks into the space beneath, where they’ll be safe enough till we can got them out I’m pretty sure I can borrow the key, without father’s knowing it, to morrow or next day.” “i}ut if |t rains, ” objected Tom, “everything will be spoiled.” “Oh, I guess it won’t rain,” said Frank. “We’ve had so much rain lately, it seems as though we ought to have fine weather for tho rest of tho week Besides, tho a'manac predicts fair weather.” All fears in this direction being disposed, wo hastily and noiseless,y removed the defoctivc board, and transferred the contents of the wheelbarrow to the mysterious regions under the band-stand. There was litt’c fear of being seen at that late hour by any one who would bo likely to make an investigation of our nocturnal operations, and, with light hearts, we separated for our respective homes, feeling sure that the Fourth of

July that year would end with a surprise that would cause us, the authors of it, to be envied for a long time afterward among the other boys. Alas! there is many a slip— But I will not anticipate. The next day we spoilt in collecting and placing in position the barrels and boxes for tho bonhre that was to usher in the glorious Fourth. To our disappointment Joe was unable to obtain the key by which we were to gain aeoess to the hiding-place of our pyrotechnics, and we wero forced to leave them in their concealment another Joo was sure he could get tho key early on tho following morning, when we would have plenty of time to accomplish our purpose before the people wero out ot bed. But, wearied with our exertions on tho night of the 3d, wo overslept ourselves on the Fourth, and thus again our treasure was forced to run the gantlet of another day. The shades of evening would surely afford us tho opportunity that failed to come to us before. The boys were unanimous in their opinion that it was an unusually quiet Fourth of July. But what with tho snapping of iiro-crackers and tho pop-

ping of pistefe frdm Sunrise* to sublet, the o!d folks no doubt considered it' noisy edtifigh. r T j. The real celebration was begWcgfter dinner.' UThe harass: bßnd took its position on> the band-stand wholly unaware that thdy werte sitting, so to speak, on the verge, of.» volcano, and .plajyfeff several patriotic airs. Then the Chairman of the celebjfatfbn committee Introduced the, orator of the day, who, folitiwing a time honored cuatoil, reid;*the Declaration of Independence, after which, taking a drink of WSTfcT and clearing.his throat a number of times, ho began a! speech that was full of patjgoJ,ism and ' pol ties. In the midst of a period of sur- | passing eloqnenw, he was ln3fe|ruptei I by tho loud Aee#rs of his hearer*. The j men cheeredcteoped, and’the boys, always ready to aid in making noise, ! seized the opportunity to setoff some, fi re-crackers. The cause of al this turmoil seemed p eased, and bowed repeatedly. .The occasion was worth at least a dozen'votes to him. When the noise had somewhat abated, ! he advanced to the railing of the plat- I form to coutiuuj his harangubut

scarce a dozen words were jaid when, before the eyes of the astonished audience, tho platform, with all its occupants, rose in the air in a confused mass, like a steamboat whose boiler had bfrst The truth instantly flashed upon me, and upon the other three boys, as I could see by their white, terrified faces, that the kettle of powder and other explosives had in some manner become ignited, with tho result above stated. The people crowded around the ruined band-stand, and lent their aid In extricating tho entangled mcmbei s l of the band and the oratoyyf unfinished speech. Fort unate)};, they wero not injured beyond a few scratches: but, as many observed, it was a narrow'egeape for them. This put an end to the official celebraion of the day. And what an unexpected conclusion it was! Various theorios were advanced as to the cause pf tho catastrophe, but we who could have thrown light on the mystery thought it best to remain silent and wonder with the rest. When the remains of the kettle and portions of the fireworks were unearthed, many people wore of the opinion that it was an attempt on tho part of the onemy to get rid of the orator of the day, who' was a politician, and consequently had a host of ill-wishers. But the people of Springviile never learned to whom they were indebted for tho subject of a more than nine days’ wonder; and we, tho progenitors of it, had the doubtful pleasuro of seeing the results of our hard-earued savings go off at one burst. But wo also had the consolation of knowing that no event of that memorable Fourth of Ju y was longer rememnered than “Our Celebration. ” —Golden Days.