But in all his falling he was never known to hurt himself, but
invariably blamed somebody for his fall. When he fell from the car,
and it standing perfectly still, he only said: "I wish the d----n car
would go on or stand still, one or the other." The road leading to
the river makes a bend here, and between the bend and river bank an
abutment of logs, filled in with stone to the height of fifteen
feet, was built to prevent the water from encroaching upon the land.
"Mucus," for no cause whatever that anyone could learn, quit the ranks
and walked out on this abutment and along down its side, keeping
near the edge of the water, but fifteen feet above, when, to the
unaccountability of all, he fell headlong down into the river. The
water at this point was not more than three or four feet deep, but
deep enough to drench him from head to foot. He rose up, and as usual,
quick to place the blame, said: "If I knew the d----n man who pushed
me off in the water, I'd put a ball in him." No one had been in twenty
feet of him. All the consolation he got was "how deep was the
water, 'Mucus'?" "Was the water cold?" But awkward as he was, he was
quick-witted and good at repartee.
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