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Show AL FIELD HAD TO PAY WAGER Minstrel Finds That the Weather Is a Mighty Uncertain Thing to Bet On. When the Al G. Field musical band stopped in front of I he Neil house a few days ago, and played a concert, a bet of over a year's standing between Al G. Field and Ben Harmon, manager of the hotel, was paid. The bet was made In a hotel in Hot Springs, Ark., when Harmon and Field met there by chance. It was In the Bummer, and the weather was as dry as a bone. The farmers near Hot Springs were being burned out. and all of them were banging around the hotels In the little town cussing fate and the weather. "I never saw it fail," said Mr. Field, "that when one August was bad. that the one following wasn't great. Next August, if we had a dry month In Columbus, Co-lumbus, this year will be a wet one." Ben Harmon took exception to the statement, and the two men got hold of Section Director Alcaitore in Lit f'e Rock, Ark., and found that the pre- cipitatlon Tor August, 1909, In Columbus Colum-bus was 2.53 inches. Mr. Field Immediately Imme-diately bet Harmon that the following August would see at least four inches of rainfall here. He bet a public concert con-cert to twenty tickets to his minstrel show. Friday morning, as soon as Field arose, he telephoned to the newspapers newspa-pers to find out how matters stood in the rainlall department. "It's been the driest August in thirty-two vears," he was told. "Holy smoke," shouted Mr. Field, "is that on the level?" "Pretty near," said the reporter. "There was a fall of only 42-100ths of an Inch." "Gosh," said Mr. Field. "Come on down and listen to a concert in front of the Neil house. Maybe there'll be something following it, too, "cause it certainly has been powerful dry around harriers, 16 staghounds, 11 drag hounds, 58 beagles and 18 ottei hounds; Ireland possesses 25 foxhound packs, 40 harriers, 4 stag and 6 beagle packs; Scotland has 11 foxhounds, 1 harrier, 2 beagles and 2 otter packs. These altogether make up an approximate approxi-mate total of some 456 packs of hounds. In round figures the packi which hunt the fox and stag or deei number some 9,000 couples of hounds, while the harriers and beagles thera are some 3,500 couples of hounds.. Pall Mall Magazine. |
