|
Big Corn Stories
This is the year of big corn, and the big corn story too is found in places flourishing like the green bay tree. The big corn story has been told in Kansas so often that it must be a good one to beat those which have been told, the following have been gleaned: The Lawrence World tells this one: A farmer living north of town has a large family of little ones and was much alarmed one night at not being able to find all of them. The next morning has attention was attracted to the corn field and several feet from the ground he found one of the little Hotinskys wedged in between an ear of corn and the stalk. He had lain down near the stalk and gone to sleep and the rapid growth of the corn had carried him up during the night. The Emporia Gazette says a passenger train crossed the state line into this county the cars grew dark and a woman passenger said to the porter, who had begun lighting the lamps: "Is this a tunnel we are going through porter?" "No, ma'am," replied the porter. "We have just crossed into de Kansas Corn Belt. You'll have just a hundred miles ridin's like this." The Kansas City Glove thinks the champion corn story comes from Sterling. A small boy who had been left at home to look after things for the day found that several cows had broken into the corn field. He saddled a horse and rode into the field after them, following them with the aid of broken corn stalks. In crossing from one row to another his suspenders caught over the top of an ear, and the horse walked out from under him, leaving the boy hanging high and dry about seven feet from the ground. Along toward evening a brisk breeze sprang up and blew another stalk up within the lad's reach and by exerting all his strength he managed to tear his suspenders and free himself. Then he climbed down and hurried home to allay the fears of his parents who had given him up for lost. The following story bears a close resemblance to a circumstance which happened in the southern part of the county a few years ago. The farmers there heard awful noises which they were unable to explain but finally rushed over to where the Kansas Natural Gas company had its pipe, thinking the gas had been turned in and was responsible for the cracking and roaring. On the way they passed through a cornfield and discovered that the noise was made by growing corn. The story which resembles this came from an Illinois paper: James Cannon, who lives in the Coonsburg district, where many famous men and queer stories have originated, tells one which goes to prove that they despised part of the county soil is most fearfully productive. During the past week as he was lying in bed in his slumber there came to his ears extraordinary detonations which seemed to come from the direction of the creek. He feared that some one had been dynamiting fish and tried to go to sleep. The noise continued with reverberating booms which made sleep out of the question. Early in the morning by the time the day dawned he donned his clothing and hurried in the direction of the noise. As he came closer he found that the source was in a corn field and that the noises were coming from the growing corn which had been given such a stimulus by the recent hot spell that the growth knew no bounds and proceeded more rapidly than had ever been known before the rending, cracking noises produced by the swelling and breaking stalks unaccustomed to such violent and forced growth. He figures an immense crop unless the growth continues so rapidly that the stalks are broken down or all the vitality is used in the growth of the stalks. |
|
|