The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1874-12-31
SOciable Jimmy.

talker l ever came across. lie dld not
tell me single remarkable thing, or one
that was worth remembering; and yet
he was himself so Interested IN his small
marvels, ana they flowed so naturally
and comfortably from his lips, that his
talk got the upper hand Of my interest,
too, and listened as one who receives
revelation. | took down what hi had 10
say, just as he said it-without altering
a word or adding one:
! had NY supper in my room this even
ing las usual, and they sent up bright,
simple, guileisss little darby boy To wait
on Ele-ten Years old-a wide-eyed, Oh
servant little chap. | said;
What is your name, my boy:'
"Dey calls me Jimmy, sab, but my
right name is James, sah.'
| said, Sit down there, Jim,ny-l'n
| not want you just yet
He sat down in a big armchair, hung
both his legs over one of the arms and
| looked comfortable and conversational.
said:
Did you have a pleasant Christmas,
jimmy"
q No, sab, not zackly. ! was kind O
! sick den. But de res y de people dey
| had a good time Mos all all Of 'en
had good time Dey all got drunk.
| Dey all gifts drunk heah every Christmas,
and carries on and has awful good times"
! q" So YOU were sick, and lost it all. But
unless you were very sick should think
| that if you had asked the doctor he
might have let you get-get-a little
| drunk-and--
oh, no, sah-I don never get drunk
its de white folks-dem's de ones |
means Pa used to git drunk, but dat
was befo' | was big-but he's done quit.
| He don git drunk no mo- now. Jis' takes
| one nip in de mawnin', now, cuz his
/ stomach tiles up, he sleeps so SCUM. Jis
one nip-over to de s'loon-everv NAV
min. He's powerful sickly-powerful-
! sometimes he can't hardly sit arOun', he
| cant. He goes to de doctor every week
over TO Ragtown. An one time he
tuck some stuff, you know, an it mighty
near fetched him. Amt ii dish-yer blue
| vittles OATS pison?-aint dat it:-truCk
| what you pisons cats wid:"
Yes, blue vittles (vitriol is very
| convincing article with a cat"
Well, den, dat was it, De ole man.
he tuck de bottle and shuck it, and shuck
it-he seed it was blue, and he didn't
know but it was blue mass, which he
tuck mos always-bue mass pills-but
den he 'spccted maybe dish-yer truck
| might be some other kin o blue stuff,
| and so he sOt the bottle down, and drat
if it want blue vittles sho' nuf, when de
doctor come. An de doctor he say, if
he'd "a tuck that blue yittles it would IA
highsted him, shol People can't be too
particular bout SIGH things les, in
deedy,
&C We amt got no cats lssah bout dis
hotel. Bill. he don't like EN- He can't
| 81 m r4t M hp 10 Ent rob
one he'd slam il outen de windcr in a
minute Yes, he would Bll's down on
cats. SO is de gals-waiter gals. When
dey ketches "A cat bummn' aroun' hcah
dey jis' scooDs him, deed dcy do. Dey
| snake him into de cistern-dey's been
| cats drownded in dat water OATS in yo'
pitcher. ] seed a cat in dare yIstiddy-
all swelled up like pudd'n. ! bet you
dem gals done dat. Ma says if dey was
to drownd cal for her de fust one of
'em she ketched she'd jam her into de
! CIstern long wild de cat. Ma wouldn't
| 10 Cat, | don't reckon, but. deed an
double, she said she would. | can't kill
a chicken-well, kin wiring its neck off
cuZ dat don't make EN- no suiferin
| sCasely; but | can't take and chop dey
heads off like some people kin. 1t makes
me feel so-so-well, | kin sec dat
| tlithtH ul1ltN 50 : CAL steep MT.
Dunlap, he's de richest man in dis town.
Some people says dey's fo' thousan' pco-
pie in dis tovn-dis city But Bill, he
says dey amt but bout thirty-thrce
hund'd And Bill he knows, cuz he's
lived heah all his life, do dcy do say he
won't never set lie river on fire. | don't
know how dey fin out wouldn't like
to count all dem people. Some folks
| say dis town would be considerable
| bigger if it WASN'T on accounts of so
much Ian all roun' It dat amt GOT no
houses on it," CrEis in perfect
seriousness-dense simplicity-no idea
Of IA joke Il reckon you seed
dat church rs yuu come along up street.
! Dat's an awful big ChurCh-awful high
steeple An it's all solid stone, eXcep'
jes de top part-de steeple, | mean
OATS wood. 1t falls off when de win
blows pooty hard, an one time it struck
on a cows back an busted de COW all
to de mischief It's gwine to kill some
body yit, dat steeple is. A man-big
man, he was-bigger'n Bill is-he tuck
it up dare an fixed it again an he didn't
look no bigger'n "A boy, he was So high
up. Dat steeple's awful high. If you
look out de winder you tin see it" Il
looked out, and was SPECIFICS with awe
and admiratioL-whiChg ratitied Jimmy
beyond expression. The wonderful
steeple was some sixty or seventy feet
high, and had a Clock-face on it, you
see dat arrer on top o dat steeple2 Well,
sab, dat arrer is pooty nigh as big rs dis
do door ] seed it when dey pulled it
outen de COW. II mus be awful to stan
in dat steeple when de clock is strikin'-
dey say it is Booms and Jars SOS YOU
think the worlds comm to an end.
| 4 H.. i l.
clocks "A strikin'. Dat clock amt jest a
striker, like desc common clocks. It's
bell-iist regular bcll-and it's a
buster. You kin hear dat bell all over
dis city. You ought to hear it boom,
boom, boom, when dey's fire. NY
! sakesl Dey amt got no bell like dat IN
Ragtown. ! ben to Ragtown, an | ben
mos half way to Dockery thirty miles,
De bell in Ragtown's got so ole now she
don't make no SCUM, scasely."
Enter the landlord-a kindly man,
vergIng toward fifty. My small friend,
without changing position, says;
" Bill, didn't you say dat dey was only
thirty-three hund'C people in dis city,
" Yes, about thirty-threc hundred is
the population now
"Well, some folks say dey's fo' thou
sand"
Yes, l know they do; but it isn't
correct"
bill, don't think dis genlman kin
eat a whole prairie chicken but dey tole
me to fetch it all up"
Yes, that's all right-hc ordered it"
Exit Bill, leaving me comfortable;
for had been perishing to know who
Bill" was.
"Bill, he's de oldest And he's de
hes, too. Dey's fo'teen in dis family
all boys an gals. Bill he supports em
allan he don never Complain-he's
real good. Bill is. All dem brothers an
sisters a his'n amt no 'count-all 'cept-
in dat little teeny one dat fetched in dat
milk. OATS Kit sab She amt only
| nine year ole. But she's de mos lady
! like one in de$whole bilin' You don't
never see Kit a-rairin' an a chargin'
aroun' and kickin' up her heels like de
res o de gals in dis family do gen'ally.
| Dat was Nan dat you hearn a-cuttin'
dem shines on de pi-anah awhile ago An
! sometimes EFF she don't raStle dat pi-anah
when Sne gifts started, Tab can't hold
| candle To her, hut Tab kin sing like the
very nation. She's de only one in dis
! family dat kin sing. You don't never
| hear yelp outen Nan. Nan can't sing
for shucks. I'd les lieves hear tom.
cat dat got Scalded. Dey's fo'teen in
! dis family sides de old man
an ole 'ooman-all brothers an
! sisters. But some If EN- don't