The Men with the Pig

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 65, 30 August 1884, Page 5

The Men with the Pig

A few days ago two men, who were afterward fonnd to be Detroiters, arrived in a town about fifty miles to the west leading a pig. It was perhaps big enough and heavy enough to be called a hog, but they termed it a pig, and as they turned it over to the care of the landlord at whose inn they proposed to rest for the night one of the men explained: "Be awful careful with that pig. He's a daisy — a new breed from Scotland. We've sold him to a farmer out here for £50, and we don't want anything to happen to him." The landlord locked the pig up, and then began to think and cogitate and suspect. When the strangers had gone to bed he called in some of the boys and said: "I've twigged the racket; them two fellows are sharpers, and that's a guessing pig. To-morrow they will give you a chance to guess at his weight at ten cents a guoss, and you'll be cleared out— only you won't ! As the fellows sleep we will weigh their pig and beat their game." Nobody slept until the pig was taken over to the scales and weighed. He pulled down 170 pounds to the hair, and the villagers went home and hnnted up the nickels and dreamed of pigs and scales and sharpers through the remainder of the night. Next morning the pig was led around in front, and before starting off on his journey, one of the owners remarked to the assembled crowd: " Gentlemen, I'm going to weigh this pig directly. Maybe some ef you would Hke to guesd on his weight ? I'll take all guesses at ' ten cents each, and whoever hits it gets fifty cents." This provoked a large and selected stock of winks and smiles, but no one walked up until the pig man said that any one person could guess as many times as he cared to, provided a dime accompanied each guess. Then a rush set in. Three or four mer1 chants put up thirty. A lawyer said about twenty would do for him. Before there was any let up in the guessing about 600 had boen registered and paid for. Every soul of 'em guessed at 170 pounds. It was curious what unanimity there was in the guessing, but the pig men didn't seem to notice it. When all had been giving a chanco the pig was led to the scales, and lo ! his weight was exactly 174 pounds ! "You see, gentlemen," explained the spokesman, " while this animal only weighs 170 pounds along about 11 o'clock at night, we feed him about five pounds of corn meal in the morning before weighing ! You forgot to take that into consideration !" Then somebody kicked the landlord, and he kicked the Justice, and the Justice kicked a merchant, and when the pig men looked back from a distant hill the whole town was out kicking itself and throwing empty wallets into the river.