Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-04-13
HUNTING THE ELEPHANT,
The Sayings and DOings OF Three
Mad Ways.


and Palatks, and the captain is a dump.
ling shaped ex-rebel, with a meerschaum
pipe and heart as big as an elephant. He
commanded The first Confederate privateer
and be commands the best regulated boat
on Florida waters. The captain has q
slight Dutch accent. met him in Jack.
sonville.
"Well, am klsd to see you," he said
81 played uger Wit you some months ago.
You don't regollect me, reckon"
"Oh, yes,' replied, 81 remember you
perfectly, captain. [ am glad to meet you
again.
"Well," continued the captain, ''you
came fun New Yorg, as ! remember.
would like 10 ask you if you know three
gentlemen named Fowler, Wheeler, ant
ant-(rubbing his fore6nger over his left
ear)-what was his name-Kingsley?"
i thought a while and then SAID, eyes,
know three men by that name in New
York, one is civil justice, another is an old
gentleman that they cali old Pop Kingsley
and the other is newspaper writer. But
why do you ask me?"
Captain Coxetter-Because those three
gentlemen are the keenest fellows that ever
gum on my boat. They bought $50 worth
of wine, and they played CARDS all night,
and raised the devil wit the passengers who
wass all so seasick.
Correspondent-Wha kind of looking
men were those you spoke of, captain?
Capt. Coxetter-Well, Fowler, he was a
chunky gind off man-not fet. He had
black hair, black eyes, black moustache,
ant three blk diamond buttons in his shirt.
1 interrupted the captain by saying,
"Then it is not Judge Fowler. How about
Kingsley"
"Well," said the captain, kingsley, he
wass a singular-looking man. He looked
like be wass made of fish bones with red
hairs on them. He wass long man ant
wsss an awful ukly man-the worst ever
saw; but he had a mighty blk diamond
pin"
SWELL" said Capt. Coxetter, after a
pause, ''those were the kreatest fellows
that l ever saw Cd a steamboat. They
mixed up all the boots that belonged to the
passengers when they put them outside of
their state rooms to be BACKED. And such
a time next morning you never saw. When
the Dictator kot TO Fernandina, about one
O'Clock in the morning, Fowler and Kings
ley and Wheeler they kot out on the deck,
and bekun TO keckle like hens ant to grow
like roosters, and pretty soon one rooster
in Fernsndina he gTOwed back akain, and
then another rooster, ant another ant then
two more" Here the captain raised his
right hand and added: "Ill be dokked if
those fellows in five minutes did not have
three thousand roosters growing from one
end of Fernandina to the other.".
"Are you sure that these were gentlemen,
csptain?" inquired.
"Oh, yes" the captain said, al could tell
that by the way they called for wine.
When they couldn't drink wine they poured
it into the boots around the state room
doots and into each other hats. They were
funny fellows"
"What were they doing in Florida, cap,
tain?n l asked.
"Well," answered the captain, "they had
gum down here for their health. They
were funny fellows, and they could drink
more than they could eat, but"
Here the whistle Of the steamboat blew
and the captain left me.
l found Jacksonville had also been excited
over Fowler, Kingsley and Wheeler. 1t
seems that they stopped at the st. James
hotel. When they came down to supper
Fowler talked across the table to Wheeler
as if he were casual acquaintance. Kings
ley sat bolt upright like dried herring. A
ten dollar bill stuck out of mis- vest pocket.
The walters, the most Of whom were Irish
men, saw the bill and begun to flock around
the table. All were anxious to wait on
Kingsley. Fowler, looking over to Wheeler
said, pointing to Kingsley with his thumb,
''My friend here is hardly responsible for
his action. To tell you the truth dow
ering his voice, butIspaaking generously so
that the waters could hear) he is slightly
insane. am compelled to watch him very
carefully. He is very wealthy, and be
would just as lief give waiter a hundred
dollar bill as ten cent stamp"
Here my informant says that Kingsley
began to play with The ten-dollar bill and
the walters began to Struggle to get near
him. In islf minute there was a row
among the servants. One of them got
punched lust below the ear, while another
disappeared with half pound of butter on
the back Of his neck. Kingsley never
moved a muscle of bis face, but began eat
ing with his fingers and acting as though
his thoughts were wandering in Central
Africa. Meanwhile the head waiter had
suppressed the mutiny in his army. The
ten-dollar bill still remained sticking out of
Kingsiey's pocket. 1t was evident that the
head waiter had heard of Kingsley's little
peculiarities, for he began to overload the
insane man with his attentions. Wheeler
then began TO sympathize with the old gen.
tleman, and Fowler watched him more
closely.
At one time Kingsley laughed. Wheeler
az IN hat ind
affected, as his laugh was the laugh of a
luuatic. While Fowler was talking to
Wheeler, Kingsley drew forth the ten dollar
bill and held it behind bis chair. All the
walters made dash for it. Some of them
started from the further end of the dining
room, nearly 80 feet distant. A little pock-
marked fellow secured the prize, and was
just sinking it into his pocket when Fowler
grabbed him by the arm. Hs told the wait
er that bis friend was crazy, and that he in-
tended to see that he did nothing rash. De
then demanded the ten dollar bill. The
servant reluctantly turned the money over
to Fowler, who looked at it and said, 'qL's
a ten dollar bill, is it? The only wonder
TO me is that he didn't give you hun
dred dollar bill instead of ten dollars"
Here Kingsley Indignantly sDatched the
ten dollar bill from Fowler's hands, say
ing, any money is my own. l have suffered
your insolence long enough, sir. III cLl't
give this money to the waters, l will do
something else with it that may please you
better, sir"
Kingsley then deliberately tore the bill
into bits and scattered the pieces around the
chair. After this he apparently composed
himself and again sent his thoughts to
Central Africa.
asked my informant, who was a land
agent, what was the result of the whole
thing.
"The result of it was" said he, th2t the
ten dollar bill was a counterfeit, but the
walters knew nothing about it, and there
was row every day to see who should
serve Kinsley. While scores of people sat
in their seats crumbling bread and playing
with their forks because there were no SER
wants to take their orders, Kingsley was
buried under weight of attention amid
an o cean of delicacies.n "Bdt you'd ought
to have seen the wine those three men
drank. Why, heard that their wine bill
for four days amounted TO over $780," T.
"Dld you talk with any of the party2" l
asked.
eyes" he responded. 81 asked Fowler il