The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-11-09

The Game Of Billiards:
Mr.. Doesticks thus describes, in The
Sunday Mercury, the game of billiards as
played by Mr.. Berger: ..... -e1
ii need hardly tell you that the game Of
billiards consists in punching ivory balls
about on a big table, covered with green
cloth, that looks like half an acre of meadow
land, with an India rubber fence round it;
that the balls are punched with long wooden
ramrods, with wax on the end to save the
wood, and leather put on to save the wax,
and chalk put on to keep the leather from
wearing out. You take your ramrod and
rub some chalk on the little end; then you
lean over the table; then you squirt; then
you lift up your leg; then you fiddle little
on your left hand with your ramrod; then
you, punch your ball, if your ball runs
against the other mans ball, you've done a
big thing, and you poke up q lot Of buttons
that are strung on wire. This is all there
is of the game of billiards. Anybody can
punch billiards. can, and maybe you
could. .'l ''
swell, Berger has come, the great French
puncher; and Of course I've been to see him
punch few billiards with Phelan. Phelan
is pretty fair puncher himself, but he can't
punch so fast as Berger-in fact, B. has to
give P. hundred buttons or so in every
game. I've often played with Phelan my
self, but he always beats me; he has pri-
vate understanding with the man that pokes
the buttons-when Phelan punches the
balls, the man pokes buttons; when I punch
the balls nary button will the man poke.
So Phelan goes out; but my game is little
the best-in fact, I've challenged Phelan to
play me a thousand buttons for lot of
money, and I've offered to keep the game
myself, so as to be sure all is fair. Phe.
lan's conspiracy with the men who poke the
buttons is disgraceful thing; it discourages
young men, and makes them think they
can't punch billiards as well as Phe)an can.
I'm bound to break it up. But Berger has
out-generaled Phelan. Berger has bought
over all Phelan's button okers-pays'em
more money than Phelan did-and now
they give Berger all the buttons.
ella ha Big thing on Michael
swell, on Friday, Berger was going to
do some punchin, and there was I in the
midst. Berger is fat man; the top of his
head is as bald as goose egg, and he has
got stomach just like a three foot celes-
tial globe, in fact he is shaped just like a
billiard-ball, and might be used for one if
you'd take his boots off and tie his heels to
the back of his neck-only don't want
him to carom on me
"He brought all his own tools with him
from France-a table that isn't so long by
few feet as Phelan generally makes his
lot of balls and ramrods, and everything.
Room was full, all anxious to see the
Frenchman punch and the Frenchman
punched, and pretty good punching it was.
He made the balls hop all over the table and
generally had three in the air at once.
Neil Bryant was there, and Neil is a pretty
good judge of billiard-punching. did my
favorite shot with great success, jumped my
ball off the table, caromed on Neil Bryant,
and holed it in spittoon.
"Phelan said it was big thing, so did
Neil. Berger rolled himself round to the
corner of the table, chalked his ramrod, and
executed fancy lick; he made his ball run
three times round the table, on the edge of
the cushion, leap off at sharp angle, Ca
rom on Neil Bryant, come back to the ia
bic, take eighteen cushions, and stop exact.
ly on the center spot. ....! .....
"Phelan had try. He did one of the
simple shots that / taught him-the one
when the one ball takes twenty-one cushions,
knocks the hats off three Dmchmen in the
corner, comes back, and stops inside the
string. Berger didn't think much of that !;
so he took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves,
and put in tremendous lick, the ball hit
Phelan On the middle vest button, caromed
on Neil Bryant, came back to the table and
took four cushions, went out of the window,
gave stage driver black eye, came back
and took a cushion, caromed on Neil Bry-
ant, took two cushions, went twice round
the block, took cushion, went out through
another window, and came in through the
sky-lght, took four cushions, and caromed
on Neil Bryant, and all in four minutes,
without stopping for breath or sweating .
hair.
Cali hands were occupied for forty min
utes in reviving Phelan, who had tainted
from envy.
BERGER then made his grand shot-he
put such tremendous twist on his ball that
it took every cushion on every table in the
room, caromed on Neil Bryant, lodged out
of the window, travelled once or twice up
and down Broadway, ran into shooting
gallery, rang the bell nine times in rapid
succession, and came back to the table, pre-
viously executing two brilliant caroms on
Neil Bryant. .....-.
"This concluded the show, as supposed
but as l got to the corner of Broadway and
Broome street, caught sight of Neil Bry-
aut rushing round the corner, closely pursued
by two billiard balls, from which suppose
Berger must have done another fancy shot
or two after left.
but Phelan's conspiracy with the billiard
markers all over the country is outrageous.
He has every one of them so far under his
control, that there isn't a place in the Uni
ted States where, when play billiards with
Michael Phelan, the marker doesn't count
more for him than for me"
From Nebraska.
FoRT KEARNEY, Oct. 3l.-The Missouri
and Western telegraph line is completed to
this place, and we are now in direct com.