310 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



morning a certain number of 'Emus- 

 rans' were 'restricted' by being 

 placed on these machines and shot 

 upward into space at a startling 

 velocity. Thus was the population 

 kept within bounds, and without it 

 they assured men that there would 

 soon be not even standing room on 

 the planet. There was no mourn- 

 ing among friends and relatives 

 when an 'Emusran' was 'restricted,' 

 for the next morning that one would 

 appear in the form of one of the 

 beautiful birds overhead and hold 

 refined converse and association 

 with the loved ones left behind. 



"Age was the test for candi- 

 dates for 'restriction' and in test- 

 ing for age years were not counted 

 for they reasoned that a man may 

 be old in years yet young in vigor 

 of life. So the test of senility was 

 the number of hairs in the heads of 

 the people, silvered by time or 

 trouble, either cause being deemed 

 sufficient to entitle the candidate to 

 restriction. Here it might be re- 

 marked, parenthetically that there 

 are no hairless- headed people in 

 'Emusra.' The candidate for the 

 offices of the catapult was first sub- 

 mitted to the hair counter, an in- 

 genious piece of mechanism that 

 counted the grey hairs in the head 

 as quickly noble judge, as you 

 would snap your prosperous finger. 

 If two thousand silver hairs were 

 found the candidate was placed 

 upon the 'Restrictor,' and his trans- 

 mogrification accomplished. 



"Brief indeed, twenty days, forty 

 hours, earth time, was my stay 

 among these people, when at last 

 submitting to the examination as 



they who inhabited that planet 

 must submit, I was found to be 

 eligible to the 'restrictor.' With 

 pleasurable anticipation of a happy 

 after life in a new form, I stepped 

 upon the catapult. The mechanism 

 was touched and I, as I had seen 

 many 'Emusrans', shot upward 

 again into space. 



"Prom that moment, Most Noble 

 Judge, I lost consciousness again. 

 I remember no more until y ester 

 e'en, as the sable shades of night 

 were falling I found myself floating- 

 and splashing upon the waves of 

 your noble lake. Crawling upon 

 the shore I wandered through the 

 streets of your wonderful city. 

 Meeting a pedestrian I inquired of 

 him my whereabouts. He told me 

 this is Sheecauga in America. Just 

 then your minion of the blue coat 

 seized me, and after confinement in 

 a noisome dungeon for the night I 

 was brought into your noble pres- 

 ence." 



The "court" sat back on his 

 throne of justice "paralyzed" in 

 wonder. The clerk found voice 

 and pronounced the trembling cul- 

 prit the "prince liar, or the wonder 

 of the ages." Officer Doherty shook 

 his head in wonder, while the hold- 

 up men, the panel gang and all the 

 combings from the vice-ridden dis- 

 tricts had a look of awe-struck won- 

 der on their faces, at the grewsome 

 tale of the maharajah. 



Just then a farmer, who had been 

 held up at a stock-yards saloon of 

 his money received for a consign- 

 ment of cattle, and who was pre- 

 sent to testify against his assail- 

 ants, stepped forward and said: 



