The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-07-11
A DETROIT MONKEY.
How He Gets Involved with Il Ball OF
Pitch.


How lie Gets Involved with II Ball Of
Pitch.
That poor Mrs. Nicholo, who has been
grinding o hand organ around the sol.
diers' monument for the last year, had
got to believe that she owned the sole
right to play "Captain Jinks " and
"Growing Old" in this town. The
other day along came u double-fsted.
heavy-weighted, big-voiced Italian who
had bran new organ and heap OF
fresh tunes. She ground and he ground,
and he wasn't hall an hour beating her
into the middle of last week, She rea-
lized that he was taking in all the cash
while she was receiving all the pity and
she put her little organ on its little cart
and drew it home. Something must be
done to recover her lost prestige and o
share of the public currency, and she
sent to Toronto for o monkey to make
faces at the public and hand around tho
tin cup. A monkey would offset the
new organ, md the monkeys antics
would offset the Italian, and he'd have
to pack up.
Poor Mrs. Nicholo came out yesterday
morning with the monkey for the first
time, and it wasn't ten minutes before
her fond dreams were being realized.
Boys and girls and adults gathered
around, her sagacity was applauded,
and big coppers and little pennies and
bogus nickels darkened the air rs they
flew to her cup. The boys soon dis
covered that the monkey was fond Of
anything and everything except old iron
kettles and rusty joints of stovepipe, and
they bought him candy, peanuts, apples
and other appetizing diet. In the midst
of the era of good feeling young fiend
came down Monroe avenue. He was
about twelve years old. and in his hand
he carried big ball of pitch, which he
had taken from barrel where roofer
was at work. The crowd drew him to
tho monkey, and, as he saw the little
beast devouring whatever WAS thrown it,
he conceived wicked plot. Waiting
his chance he tossed the ball of pitch at
young Darwin, and in half second the
monkey was trying to swallow it. It
was big dose. No horse in town could
have gulped it down without starting the
tears. It began to soften up as the
monkey gulped and swallowed. and in the
course of a minute he had bad job on
his hands. When he realized it he made
Jump into the air, fell back and then
ensued such a scene as no Turk ever
dreamed of. Poor Mrs. Nicholo shrieked
and grabbed the beast by the tail and
held him up and thumped him around.
The old folks fell back, the boys yelled
and innocent children shed tears of heart
felt sympathy.
"Water I" cried man.
"Camphor p :,hrieked a woman.
"Police !" howled q peanut boy.
And the monkey spit and gurgled and
gulped and paved and contorted till he
was all tied up md his owner turned
pale and shouted and cried and gesticu-
lated, and the big italian with the new
organ smiled complacently, and remark
ed that Providence always had care for
the fatherless and the destitute. That
monkey may have swallowed that pitch
ere this, but he hadn't got it halfway
down when poor Mrs. Nicholo grabbed
him and made run for home, leaving
the organ unmatched on the street.
What the moral lesson will be no one
can tell. She will either beware OF
monkeys, or that monkey will beware Of
boys, or boys will beware of pitch. You
can take your choice, while the monkey
will in future prefer Strawberries
| Detroit Free Press.