The weekly union record., 1864-12-31
A Whimbamper and Lion Fight.

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: Baltimore, al the early days OF whicL We are
writing, yet they came occasionally, SD this
time was visited By old Nat Waeailey. Jolly.
weather beaten boatman, well k1owa IL Bali
more as an inyeierate joker, who never let any
+ one get 10 the windwari Of him. lie Nas
furthermore & sufferer Of the first class.
/ Nat visited the meuagerie. As he catered
The Snowman was stirring up the monkeys a0d
toFmenting the lion, giving elaborate GeScrip-
tionS Of the various propensliles and natural
peculiarities Of each and sl.
This, ladies and genlemea, this. say. Is
the Afrikin Lion. \ noble beast be Is, ladieS
and gentlemen; is called the King Of the For
est have often heard that he makes nothing
OF deyourilg young creatures ot every deSc.ip
ton, when at home IN the woods. CeTtiug il
it is that no other beast can whip him
M minister" interrupted Wheailey, do
you say be ant be " whl whipped"
Il duz," said tie man Of huns, tigers and
bears.
What will you b bet cant fetch a
critter what will whip him p
Il aiu't bettin' man at ail. Bat I don't
object to taking small bet to that same effect 3"
I'm bet ca-cau fetch something ,ha, will
whip him. Wha, say you 10 huadred dollars.
crowd who knew Wbeatey well, and were fully
convinced that, if the bet were made, he was
sure Of winning, so that be had no difficulty in
finding 'backers, one Of whom told him be
would give him ten gaons of rum if he won.
The menagerie man glanced at his lion.
There be crouched in his cage his shaggy
name bristliug, and his tail sweeping, the very
picture of grandeur and majesty. Tue bribe
4 ha
"Certiug sir, certng; | have no objection
TO old Hercules taking bout with any creter
you may fetch
"Ny-very WELL said Nat, "iis bet"
The money was planked up, and the next
night was designated for the terrible conflict.
The news was spread over Baltimore, aud at
an early hour the boxes of the spacious theatre
were 6lled-the pit being cleared for the an
licipated fray.
/. Expectation was on tip toe, and it was with
great impatience that the crowd awaited the
arrival OF Wheatley.' He at length entered,
bearing large bag or sack on his shoulders,
which, as he let it fall on the floor, was observed
to contain some remarkably hard and heavy
substance. The keeper looked on with iudig
nation.
where's your animal:" he inquired.
"Th-th there" said Nat, pointing with his
finger at the bag
well. what is it ?" asked the man, with
increased establishment.
'Th-th that, ladies and gentlemen" said
Nat, gesticulating Ike the Snowman, lis d
VIII VII whimbamper -
+ a whimbamper, :" echoed the keeper. That
is certainly new feature in zoology aud anat
omy. 4 whimbamper. Well, let him out
and clear the ring, or Hercules may make
mouthtul Of both Of you"
The keeper was excited. Accordingly, Nat
raised the bag. holding the aperture downwards,
and out rolled q huge swapping turtle, while
the cheers and laughter Of the audience made
the arches ring.
There he is said Wheatley, as he tilted
the "whimbamper" over with both hands, and
set him on his legs. The snapper seemed un-
conscious of his peril.
Wheatley was about leaving the ring when
the keeper swOre that his lion should not dis
grace himself with fighting such pitlabe foe.
Very we'll said Nat, If yyyou choose to
give me the hundred dollars"
But it Is unfair cried the Indignant show
man.
The audience interposed and insisted upon
the fight. There was 90 escape, and the
Snowman reluctantly released the lion, making
himself secure on the top OF the cage.
The majestic beast moved slowly around the
ring, snutfng and lashing, while every person
heid his breath in suspense. Lions are beasts,
and this one was not long in discovering the
turtle, which lay on the floor, large, inanimate
lump. The lion soon brought his nose in close
proximity to it, which, the turtle not liking.
popped out his head and rolled bis eyes, while
a sort of wheeze issued forth from his savager-
GUS mouth. The lion jumped back, turned.
and made q spring at the turtle, which was
now fully prepared for his reception. As the
lion landed on him, the turtle fastened his ter
rihc jaws on the lions noStrils rendering him
poweFiess to do harm; yet with activity of
limb be bounded around the circle growled,
roaTed, and lashed himself but the snapper
hung on, seeming to enjoy the ride vastly.
go 1t, wlimbamper." cried Nheatley
from the boxes
The scene was rich. The Snowman was no
less enraged than the lion Drawing pistol,
be threatened Nat that if he did not take his
turtle off, be would shoot him
"ra-ta -ta-take him off yourself, shouted Nat
in reply.
At this critical moment, by dint of losing
portion of his uose the lion shook his dangerous
tue Uu uluU, auu, Clearing lle space bGtNetu
himself and the cage with a bound, he SUNK
quietly in, TO chew the cud of his defeat and
PAIN.
1t was fair fight, all declaring that the
"whimsamper" was the victor. The next
morning, he carried his turtle TO the Marsh
market and sold him. So this valiant champion,
after conquering the king of beasts, served to
make a good dinner for Baltimore epicures.
The ENGLISH LANGUAGE-The words Of the
English language are a compound Of several
foreign languages. The English language may
be looked upon as a compcatiou both in
words aud expressions, of various dialects
Their origin Is from the Saxon language. Oar
laws were derived from the Norman, oar mill
tary terms from the French, our scientific
names from the Greek aud our stock Of nouns
from the Latin, through the medium Of the
French. Almost all the verbs in the English
language are taken from the German, and
nearly every noun or adjective is taken from
other dialects. The English language is com
posed of 1888 words. OF which 6,732 are from
the afin 4 9I f-or, tha French ! f65 fran