The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1867-07-25

of John Jmith. The man in front ofme was a |
pitcher. He was nice pitcher but he sent |
the balls hot. The man behind me was a |
catcher. He caught it too!
The umpire said "play.n Its the mostl
fedical play know OF, this base ball Saw
NC eotd wood is moonlight rambles beside !
hAseba So the pitchers senta bali toward |
me. 1t looked pretty coming, SO II let it |
cetne Then he sent another. hit it with |
the club, and hove it gently upward Then
Istaxted to walk to the first base The ball
lit in the pitcher, or his hands, and some
body said he caught fly. Alas, poor fly !
1 walked leisurely toward the base. Anoth- |
er man took the bat. | turned to see how
he was making it, and mule kicked ME ON
| the cheek. The man said it was the BAN. /
1t felt like mule and l reposed on the grass.
| The BAH went on
Pretty soon there were, two more flies, and
| three of'us few out. Then the other nine
came in, and us nine went out. This was
| better. just as was standing on my dig
ntySin the left field, hot bal, as they called.
/ it, came skyrocketing toward me. My cap
tain yelled, Take itin yITs
| | FASTENED gently forward to where the ball
was aiming to descend. have good eye
to measure distance, and saw at a glance
where the little arolite was to light. | put
/ up my hands How sweetly the ban des,.
cended = Everybody looked felt some
thing warm in my eyel "Mufiin!" yelled
ninety fellers.s Muffin be I'D! It's a
cannon ballr' For 8 days I've had two
pounds OF raw beef on that eye, and yet it
| painethi uass g,s gurE EgSrt
Then I wanted to go home, but my gentle
captain said may So 1 mayed and stayed.
L - Dr.a
bat !'s yelled the umpire. / went, but not all
in one hip high. / missed it. He sent in
another neck high. 1t struck me in the gul.
let. Fowl yelled the umpire. He sent in
the ball again. This time. | took it square
and sent it down the right field, through
parlor window kerosene lamp, and rip up
against the head of an infant who was quiet
1 ly taking itsAnap in his or its mothers
arms. Then l slung the bat and meandered
forth to the first base. heard high words
and looked. When slung the bat l had
broken the jaw of the umpire and was fined
4 ten cents. y.- T.. .sra>fE-
The game went on. liked it. 1t is 90
much fun to run from base to base just in
time to be put ont, or to chase bali three
fourths of mile down hill, while all the
spectators yell "mutfin p ''go it!' "home
run ?" ''go round AGAIN. or Ego round a
dozen timesr' Base bali is a sweet little
! game. When it came my turn to bat again,
l noticed everybody moved back about ten
rods! The new umpire retreated twelve rods.
! He was timidl The pitcher sent 'em in bot.
| Hot balls in time of war. are good. But
don't like 'em'to hot for fun. After while
| / got fair clip at it, and you bet it went
cutting the daisies down the right field. A
1 G. nd ~, eLoIa nf
oak enjoying the game. The ball broke one
f leg of the dog and landed Ike a runaway
, engine in the corporosity of the fat man. He
was taken home to die.
Then i went on double quick to the
: field, and tried TO stop hot ball. 1t came
toward me from the bat at the rate of nine
miles minute. put up my hands, the bal
went sweetly singing on its way with all tbs
skin from my palms with it.
More raw beefI
e That was aneventfhl chap who iirstinven-
= ted base ball. Its, such fun. I've PLAYED
| five times, and this is the result:
y Twenty-seven dollars paid out for things
e One buneed eye, badly bunged
s One broken little finger.
! One bump on the head a-r
Ninefeen lame backs. .1Esl TEtE
a sore Jaw i. ILJE[AEl,
One thumb dislocated.
Three sprained ANGLES. E
/ Five swelled legs. SIS .--E
Ell One dislocated shoulder, from trying Il
5, throw a ball thousand yards.
+, Two hands raw from trying to stop no
q balls
" A lump the size of hornets nest on tn
K left hip, we'll back. r. ~ f'FSs s
Vt "A nose sweetly famed, and five uniform
d spoiled from rolhng in the dirt at the bases
have played two weeks, and don't thinl
e like the game, There is not square inc
on IN sorF under me but aches i 3 'sleei
q nights dreaming of hot balls, "fys," fouls,
and defending "sky-rockets." / neve
worked so hard since Ruth stole wheat, an
never was so lame since the burning g
l. | Luther.
e But 1 am proud oflny proficiency in tn
r. game. It's fine EXERCISE little easier
n than being run through threshing machine
e and not much either. It's nice game 70
o a poet or orator-'twill make one sore be
n yond all accounts.
di I've looked over the scorers book, an,
/ find that in two weeks I've broken seve
IS bats. made one tally, broken one umpires
Jaw, broken ten windows in adjoining houses
s. killed a baby, broke the leg of a dog, AM
mortally injured the bread-basket of a spec
tator; knocking five other players out o
time by singing my bat, and knocked tn
waterfall from schoel-marm who was stant
L. ing twenty rods from the field, a quie
looker-on,
I've used up. fifteen bottles of arnica lin
r, ment, fye bottles oflotions, half, a raw bee
II and AN sd falIpf pain that it seems as IL ID
K bones were bat bsts, and my legs the hml
e. of dead horse-chesnut, instead ofthe ono
t, elegant trotters of geyF - - e.