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Story
July 2, 1858
Bedford Inquirer
Bedford, Bedford County, Pennsylvania
What is this article about?
In Augusta, a ventriloquist named Signor Blinz tricks a crowd and a mule seller by making the animal seem to speak, contradicting the owner's claims about its age during a trade on Bond Street near the Planters' Hotel.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
A MULE BEWITCHED.
The popular idea seems to be that the long eared tribe have been deprived of the power of speech since the days of Balaam, but we find this morning ocular and auricular proof of the fallacy of this belief. As we were coming down Bond street, we noticed a little this side of the Planters' Hotel a crowd collected around the wagon of a countryman, and stepped up to learn if possible the cause of the excitement.
The wagon was drawn by a couple of mules, one of them a rather bad looking specimen, who seemed to hail from a region where corn and oats are rarities; the other decidedly better looking, and giving unmistakable evidence of having been better fed. The wagon was loaded with the delightful esculent—so popular in the South—sweet potatoes. Prominent in the crowd we noticed a little black-eyed, gray-haired man, who was busily engaged, when we come up, in negotiating a trade for one of the mules, and strange to say, for the poorest looking one.
"Now, my friend," said the little man, "I want this mule—I have a first rate match for him, and want to make out the pair. How old is he?"
"Five years old last spring," promptly replied the countryman.
"Golly, what a lie!" cried the mule, pricking up his ears.
Countryman started—the crowd looked frightened, and one or two colored gentlemen incontinently fled, as if the devil were of the party.
"Who—who was that?" asked the dealer in potatoes at length, having somewhat recovered his voice and senses.
"Why me?" promptly responded the mule.
"What are you lying about? You know you have had me fifteen years."
"There, my friend," said the little man, "your mule contradicts you—and he ought to know his own age."
"I'll be damned if I know what to make of you or the mule," exclaimed the countryman.
"I know he is only five years old for I raised him myself."
"There, you lie again," said the mule.
"Take that," exclaimed the now infuriated owner, forgetting his fear for a moment, and striking the animal over the mouth.
"Don't do that again," cried the mule, "I'll kick you!"
The countryman's eyes almost popped out of his head, and there is no telling what would have been the result, had not some one arrived, who recognized the little man as Signor Blinz, the well-known Magician and Ventriloquist, which explained the mystery and relieved the countryman. -Augusta Dispatch
The popular idea seems to be that the long eared tribe have been deprived of the power of speech since the days of Balaam, but we find this morning ocular and auricular proof of the fallacy of this belief. As we were coming down Bond street, we noticed a little this side of the Planters' Hotel a crowd collected around the wagon of a countryman, and stepped up to learn if possible the cause of the excitement.
The wagon was drawn by a couple of mules, one of them a rather bad looking specimen, who seemed to hail from a region where corn and oats are rarities; the other decidedly better looking, and giving unmistakable evidence of having been better fed. The wagon was loaded with the delightful esculent—so popular in the South—sweet potatoes. Prominent in the crowd we noticed a little black-eyed, gray-haired man, who was busily engaged, when we come up, in negotiating a trade for one of the mules, and strange to say, for the poorest looking one.
"Now, my friend," said the little man, "I want this mule—I have a first rate match for him, and want to make out the pair. How old is he?"
"Five years old last spring," promptly replied the countryman.
"Golly, what a lie!" cried the mule, pricking up his ears.
Countryman started—the crowd looked frightened, and one or two colored gentlemen incontinently fled, as if the devil were of the party.
"Who—who was that?" asked the dealer in potatoes at length, having somewhat recovered his voice and senses.
"Why me?" promptly responded the mule.
"What are you lying about? You know you have had me fifteen years."
"There, my friend," said the little man, "your mule contradicts you—and he ought to know his own age."
"I'll be damned if I know what to make of you or the mule," exclaimed the countryman.
"I know he is only five years old for I raised him myself."
"There, you lie again," said the mule.
"Take that," exclaimed the now infuriated owner, forgetting his fear for a moment, and striking the animal over the mouth.
"Don't do that again," cried the mule, "I'll kick you!"
The countryman's eyes almost popped out of his head, and there is no telling what would have been the result, had not some one arrived, who recognized the little man as Signor Blinz, the well-known Magician and Ventriloquist, which explained the mystery and relieved the countryman. -Augusta Dispatch
What sub-type of article is it?
Deception Fraud
Curiosity
Extraordinary Event
What themes does it cover?
Deception
Triumph
What keywords are associated?
Ventriloquist Trick
Talking Mule
Mule Trade
Signor Blinz
Augusta Deception
What entities or persons were involved?
Signor Blinz
Countryman
Where did it happen?
Bond Street, Near Planters' Hotel, Augusta
Story Details
Key Persons
Signor Blinz
Countryman
Location
Bond Street, Near Planters' Hotel, Augusta
Story Details
A ventriloquist, Signor Blinz, impersonates a potential buyer and uses his skills to make a mule appear to speak, contradicting the countryman's claims about the animal's age and causing alarm in the crowd until the trick is revealed.