Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-01-25
"SWEARING OFF,"
he Steamboat Captains Fight With Appetite.
From the Barton Experiment.

From the Barton Experiment.
Daring the first day of the trip,
Cravme made no trouble for himself
or Fred. Under thefriendly shelter of
night the two men had q two-hour
chat which was alternately humor-
GUS, business-like and retrospective,
and then Crayme fell asleep. The
next day was reasonably pleasant
out -of-doors, so the captain wrapped
himselfin a blanket and sat in an ex-
tension-chsir on the guards, where
with solemn face he received some
condolences which went far to keep
him in good humor after the sympa-
thizers had departed. On the Sec
ond night the Captain was restless,
and the two men played cards. On
the third day, the Captains physique
reached the bottom of his stock of
patience, and protested Indignantly
at the withdrawal of it's customary
stimulus and it acted with more
consistency, though not less ugliness,
than the human mind does when IN
der excitement and destitute of con-
troll. The Captain grew terribly de-
spondent, and Fred found ample use
for all the good stories he knew
Some Of these amused the Captain
greatly, but after one of them he
sighed
"Poor old Billy aockess told me
that the only time | ever heard it be-
fore, and didn't we have glorious
time that night He'd just put all
his money into the Yenesei--that
blew up aud took him with it only
year afterward and he gave US a
new kind of punch he'd got the hang
of when he went East for the boats
carpets. Twas made of two bottles
of brandy, one whisky, two rum, one
gin, two sherry, and four olaret, with
guava jelly, and lemon peal that had
been soaking In curacao and honey,
for month. 1t looks kind of weak
when you think about it, but there
were only six of US in the party, and
il went to the spot by the time we
got through. Golly, but didn't we
make Rome howl that night -
Fred shuddered, and experimental
upon lis friend with song he was
rewarded by hearing the Captain
hum an occasional accompaniment !;
but, as Fred got fairly into q merry
Irish song about ore Terry O'Rann,
and uttered the lines in which the
poet states that the hero
took whisky pinch
livery night for bis luneh,'
the Captain put such word Of ex-
preston into a long. drawn Sign that
Fred began to feel depressed himself;
besides songs were not numerous in
Fred's repertoire, and those in which
there was an allusion to drinking
could be counted on half his fingers.
Then he borrowed the bar>keeper's
violin, and played one tune after
another, the airs which had been his
favorites in the days of his courtship,
until Crayme exclaimed =
"Say, Fred, we're not playing
church; give Us something that don't
bring all of fellows dead friends
along with i"
Fred Redeemed, swung his bow vi
ciously and dashed into "Natchez
Under the Hill," an old air which
would have delighted 0ffenbach, but
which will never appear in coIlec.
ton of classical music.
"hhi that's something like music, +"
exclaimed Captain Crayme, as Fred
paused suddenly to repair broken
string "I never heard that but
think of Wesley Treepoke. that used
to run the Quitman went afterward
to the Rising Planet, when the Quit
mans owners put her On a new line
as an opposition boaS, Wess and |
used to work things so as to make
Louisville at the same time-he 60