The Perils of 'Red Shirt' Advice in Mason County
A local farmer put his faith in newspaper advice regarding an aggressive bull, only to find that some solutions are more dangerous than the problem.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
There is a man up in Mason County who has forever lost his faith in newspapers. The other day he was in a field when he observed a large bull charging towards him. He knew at once what was the matter. He had on a red shirt, and he remembered reading that in cases of the kind the objective article must be instantly removed and concealed. He at once put this advice into operation, but while struggling to get the objectionable garment over his head, something knocked him about twenty-five feet and broke three of his ribs. He concludes now he would have done almost as well to have made a bee line for a fence, shirt and all.
“There is a man up in Mason County who has forever lost his faith in newspapers.”
This 1878 account captures a timeless American archetype: the skeptical rural reader outsmarted by 'expert' advice. It serves as an early, humorous reminder that while the mediums of information have shifted from print to digital, the consequences of bad advice remain painfully physical.
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