Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-01-25
EATING OYSTERS.
A Wisconsin Mans First Experience
at the Business.

A WISCONSIN Mans First Experience
at the Business.
From the st. Louis Republican
Job Owens is from the lumber region
of Wisconsin, and until yesterday had
never eaten an oyster. 1t wasn't his
fault, only his misfortune. Job be-
longed to the truly rural, and somehow
or other oysters had never come in Job
Givens's way. For some reason Job
had drifted TO st. Louis to find some
thing to do, and by chance he came
yesterday morning to where an oyster
dealer was packing oysters in boxes
for Christmas orders. Job stood look
ing on for about an hour, and then he
said to the oysterman:
Say, captain, what hev you got in
them things?"
Baltimore oysters"
Oysters, Ell? I'd like to have one
of 'em."
Gone can?"
mo, one oyster. I've heered tell
on 'em. Pears to me I'd like to hev
one mighty well"
The oyster man took Job Owens in
side and picked out an oyster from the
tureen. Job Givens wasn't favorably
impressed. He turned it over and over
on the fork. put his tongue to it, smelt
it, and still he couldn't make up his
mind exactly what to do with it.
Its all right, 1 suppose?" said Job.
"Of course it's all right"
Job put it cautiously to his mouth,
and finally into his mouth, and the
moment it came off the fork it slid down
his throat.
"Well, I'm darned," said Job Owens,
IF that ar'nt queer; the critter didn't
give fellow any show. Say, Major,
can't you stand another? "
The oyster man forked out another to
saa -, fun, and this one Job took good
care to taste. ne caught it in his teeth,
and there he held il. ara TO let 60
At length it went the way of all oysr..~.
and job slid quietly: It's big thing,
to its looks anyhow. Say, Colonel, how
many's in one of them TINS -Four or
five dozen. Is that fact? Say, /
arn't got any money, but I'd like to
work out one Of them tins.
The oyster man wanted help and so
he said to dob, Pitch in, then, and
earn your can"
After working couple of hours car
rying up boxes and doing the rough
work, Job stopped aid asked him for
his tin. 1t was given to him, and then
the trouble was to open it. He had
about as clear an idea of doing this as
he had of reading Hebrew.
At last they opened the can for him,
and he sat in the cellar pouring the
oysters down his throat out of the can.
They offered him a fork and o plate.
but that process was too slow for Job
Owens. When he had finished his can
Job wanted to know if he couldn't work
out another tin, and the oyster man set
him to work again. AT the end of
another two hours, Job, who had worked
enough for two men under the inspira-
ton of coming oysters, asked if he had
earned his tin; and he took his old seat
in the cellar and disposed of the second
can in about the same manner as the
first. All he said was that they were
"big things to their looks"
And still the oyster man kept on
packing boxes and Job Givens kept on
working like a steam engine, and at the
expiration of every two hours taking
his tin into the cellar and pouring the
oysters down his capacious throat. At
eleven o'clock last night Job had worked
almost thirteen hours and had six cans
of oysters slowed away under the
waistband of his pantaloOns. All that
he said after every can, was, Il tell
you. General he had brevetted the
oyster man all the way up from Captain
-"them's the biggest things to their
looks that ever l fell in with"