ADVENTURE WITH A BOOMERANG.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2628, 11 June 1877, Page 3

ADVENTURE WITH A BOOMERANG.

Sijiipi c; as the Australian boomerang apparently is, millions of small boys have tried in vain to imitate it., In fact, until very; recently not a'-'single civilised boy has ever-possessed a boomerang that would do its duty. Crooked Sticks of all sorts and sizes hare been made aDd thrown at all possible 1 objects/ but in no case have they returned to the thrower, or shown in any waythe slightest resemblance to the true boomerang.. Thus the small boy grows up'wjtofi an unsatisfied longing for that c^Hous and useful,weapon, and the hopelessness of ever, attaining it has cast a gloom,oset the: childhood of nearly every man ipw^.living. It will hardly be crefliteSjlpufc nevertheless it is asserted to bei true, jtjhat a Detroit small boy recently came accidentally into possession of a boomerang that was in all respects equal; to the-best boomerang Australia has yet produced. - Why fortune was thus prodigal.t?'this particular boy we are not told, but that it actually showered upon him, the priceless treasure which ail other smlll'bbys have longed for in vain we are not permitted to doubt. He was not the archiMjt of his own boomerang, end-his discovery of. it was . purely accidental. One, Saturday morning he was sitting near the wood-pile* with a tomato can in his hand and a dog by his side, trying to devise'some neyr way of putting the two together. Being interrupted bye the appearance of the cook at the kitchen door, who threatened to report him to his father if he did not "lave the poof baiste alone,' 1 he carelessly picked up a crooked stick and threw it at the humane but presuming Bridget. Strange to sayj it not only hither, but it also returned and hit the dog. That it was a boomerang there was.no room, to doubt; and if that small boy had been offered at I that moment the original Aladdin's lamp, he would have put it aside with contempt, and clutched with delirious joy his unexpected boomerang. In the- course of the next six hours no less than 31 leading citizens of Detroit were suddenly struck by unseen clubs, without being able to dett'ct the assailant. Boys without number were hit in tender places, and, beyond .the. fact that two or three of them asserted that they were struck by sticks which came sailing around the corner, no explanation of these disasters could be found. Had jthe..fortunate possessor - of the boomerang'been able to moderate his transports all would have been well; but, unfortunately, he could not resist the temptation to, try his weapon upon his Sunday*school teacher. Hitherto, the boomerang - had : implicitly obeyed "the wishes of its proprietor, but on this occasion it attempted an independent course of action, which was followed by disastrous results. The small boy was standing at the corner .of the street when he saw hi s teacher .approaching a distance of a feW hundred yards, .He. instantly threw hisJboomerang straight at the unconscious teacher,.feeling confident^ that it would { return to him after discharging its duty in time to enable him to .escape.;. Curiously enough, the teacher was not hit, and the; boomerang totally disappeared. For.some; minutes the small boy stood,: with .-hands in his pockets, -.utterly astonished at. his failure* .and ; wondering. whathad become of his welapon^ He. wasnot long ldftin dbtibt; In the course of about four minutes that boomerang came rushing up the .side ; street, smote the small boy on the head, fracturing his skull, and then disappeared for: ever in a direction a little. < north of east-north-east. The main facts of this story cannot be doubted; without striking at the,foundation, of our faith in the Detroit newspapjjgts. It contains a beautiful moral for tne use of Sunday-, school teachers, and is full of encouragement for reckless youth. The natural boomerang is, beyond, doubt, excessively rare, and there is little hope that another could be found, though every wood-pile in the 1 country should ..be searched. Nevertheless,.the wildest: dream :pf:boyhood has at length been realised,and the knowledge of this, fact will sustain thousands of juvenile hearts in the darkest hours that follow interviews in the wood? shed with stern and.muscular parents.— New York Times. . ;