Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1872-12-24
The Terrible Beast.

was handed to us by a subscriber
and we publish it without comment
allowing the reader to draw his OWL
inference:
Iwili ell rou tale of very old town,
So old tina, perhaps il is now tumbled down.
But that is nothing to do
If the story be true
whether the city was old or was new,
Since the story comes safely to me and to you
Well the facts as they re stated in very plain terms
And no one who reads them ever afirms
That there is any doubt
Or bubble about
| The truth of the tale, nor ever stands out
And calls il a hb,
Or bit OF squib.
| TO tell to the children not out Of the bib.
Now this very old town TO which I've referred
Was ono as you'l see, most unpleasantly stirred
d very huse beast
Tia; came in there TO feast
Upon children and grown folks, dozen at east
Making no more than a moderate lunch;
While between his huge jaws
And his monster fore paNs
He would lug OF a bunch
OF some forty TO MUNICH
And eat them sauce,
While their tones he would crunch.
The style Of the cities in those ancient days
Differed somewha. from our more modern ways,
For they had huge wall
which was middling tall
And would keep out all
Both the great and the small
Whether beast or man that would make them
call.
but the people were careless, they shut not the
gate
And the story that follows is sad 70 relate.
Tor the 'riss men, the proud nun, the little and
great,
They said 10 themselves,
We are all silly elves
To be shutting ourselves
Up when no danger is near
And there's nothing 10 fear,
Let me say now, right here,
Il is not very queer.
For the town had six wise men and I'VE Of them
said,
Such beast never lived,-if he did, he is dead
Why, sir, you're all FOOLS
We've been to the schools
And we'll state you The facts,
Tia, no beast with such tracks
Ever makes his attacks
Upon people to kill them but only to vox.
And in this riemarole
Like man with no soul
These so-called iris, men
Talked of this beast as he lay in his den.
But one OF the men
Had peeped into the den,
Which seemed AZ first sight
As dark a. the night,
But the eyes of the terrible beast gave light
Which, ginIing around,
Revealed huge mound
Some hundred feet round
OF the bones and the flesh of the victim, he'd
found;
And all over the floor
Were the clothes which they wore
All bedabbled with blood and stained with the
gore.
Now the terrible beast came on. OF his den
To make him feast upon women snl men,
And while proving around
To sen wha, might be found
Near the walls of the town,
OF course he espied
The gate open wide,
He had nothing TO do but through il to slide.
Then he Travelled along in u manner quite spirited
No doubt twas n custom the bea., had inherited
Then lac eapcd with he jaws
And stretched out his paws
To sharpen his claws:
Then he swung his huge leathery tale in the air,
And gazing around with terrible stare,
And scizing five men with one Of his paws,
He swung them right in between his huge jaws
Round his tongue they were tvirled,
Down his throat they were hurled,
Into his stomach and out Of the world.
20 he staked through the town,
Gulping them down.
Somrtiines three or four,
And then half u score.
Then licking his lips as IL hungry for more.
Vow what DO you think that these wiseacrcs said
While obviously gazing and shaking the head
Why the thing, airs, you see,
A. we wise men agree,
Is no ravenous beast, but the creature musr be
An overgrown, lubberly. hungry old .f,a.
To be sure, sirs, the thing is provokingly queer,
But hsre's nothing 10 fear,
Which wen plainly demonstrate in less than =
year;
Let the fellow 90 on in his innocent glee,
He'll do you no harm as you'll! presently see.
NH the boast did go on in his innocent glee,
W Ia MI sorts Of people exceedingly free,
Munching and crunching some hundred or more
And smearing himself all over with gore.
AMI just on account OF these wiseacres erring
All in the town were dead as a herring.
Ye doctors, don't make up your mind quite no
quick
Nor hold il in error ~ tight brick
IL you do you will surely help make up feast
For some terrible beast
Like the fools in that silly old town in the east.