The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1878-10-26
0ol o Examiner
Tho Spelling Bee at Angels.
nEroRrED ny TRUTHFUL JAMES.

REPORTED ny TRUTHFUL JAMES.
waltz in, waltz in, ye little kids, and gather
And drop them books and first pot hooks, and
hear yarn from me. III
1 Kin not sling fairy tale OF Jlnny's fierce
For / hold II Is unchrstlan to deceive simple
chldi
But as from school yer driftin' by thowt ye'
ora "spellin' bee" at Angels that we or
ganlzed last year.
1t warn't made up Of gentle lads--of pretty
But gents as had their regular growth, and
some enough fof two.
There was Lanky Jim of Sellers Fork and
Bison of Lagrange,
And "Pistol Bob, - who wore that day q knife
by way Of change.
You start, you little kids, you think these are
Bui each had man behind It, and-my name
Is Truthful James.
Thar was Poker Dick from Whisky Flat and
smith of shooters Bend.
And Brown of Calayaeras-whlch want no
better friend.
Three fingered Jack-yes, pretty dears-three
nngers-you have i've,
Capp cut OF two-its sing lar too, that Clapp
amt now alive.
Twas very wrong, indeed, my dears and Clam
was much to blame;
Likewise was Jack, In after wears for shootl'n
of that same.
The nights was kinder lengthenin' out, the
rains had Jest begun,
when all the camp came up To Peters to have
their usual fun;
But we all sot kinder sad-like around the bar
room stove,
Till smith got up, permiskss like, and this
remurk he hove.
"Ihere's new game down In Frisco, thet, eZ
far eZ can see,
Beats euchre, poker and van-toon, they calls
the "Spellin' Bee"
Then Brown of Calaveras simply hItched his
chair aud spake;
"rGkST,s good! s enough for me-" and Laniy
And Bob lowed he warn't proud, but he
must say right thar
That the man who tackled euchre had his elu-
This brought up Lenny FairchIld, the school,
master, who said
He knew the game aud he would give instruc-
lions on that head.
''For instance take some simple word" seq
he, 'like Separate
Now who can spell itp'' Dog my skin, ef there
was one In eight
This set the boys all wild at once. The chairs
was put In row,
foot was Joe.
And high upon the bar itself the school master
was raised,
And the bar-keeper put his glasses down, and
sat and silent gazed.
The first word out was parallel" and
seven let II be,
Till loe waltzed in his double ~ betwlxt the
"a and 'e';
For, since he drilled them Mexicans in San
Jacinto's fight
Thar warn't no prOuder man got up than Pistol
Joe that night
TIL rhythm" camel He tried to smile, then
said, 'they had him there"
And Lanky Jim, with one long stride, got up
and took his chair.
o little kids my pretty kids, twas touching
These bearded men with weppings on, like
school boys at their play
They, laugh with glee, and shout to see each
other lead the van,
And Bob sat up us monitor with cue for a
rattan,
Brown said he'd be burned
IT any such blamed words that in school was
ever learned.
When '.'phthislc" came they all sprang up,
and vowed the man who sung
Another blamed Greek word on them be taken
out and hung.
As they sat down again saw In Bilson' 5 eve a
flash
And Brown of Calaveras was a-twistin' his
InustaChe,
And when at last Brown slipped on ''gneiss''
and Bilson took his chair,
lie dropped some casual words about some
folks who dyed their hair,
And then the chair grew very white and the
chair said he'd adjourn,
But Poker Dick remarked that he would wait
and get his turn;
Then with tremblin' voice and hand, and
with hwanderin' e,e.
The Chair next offered "clder-duck,n and
Dick began with u,
And BilsOn smiled-then Bilson shriekedl
Just how the fight begun
never knowed, for Bison dropped and Dick
he moved up one.
Then certain gents arose and said 'they ID
business down in camp,'
And ''ez the road was rather dark and "a the
night was damp,
They'd here got up Three-nngered Jack
and locked the door and yelled;
NO, not one mothers sou goes out till thai
thar word Is spelled"
But while the words were on his lips, h,
gr0aned and sank In pain,
And sank with Webster on his chest snd Wor'
cester on his brain.
Below the bar lodged Poker Dick, aud trleC
to look ez he
Was hnntin' up authorities that no one els'
Aud Brown got down behind the stove allow,
in he was cold, -
Till i upset and down his legs the cinder
Ana several gents called "Orderl' till In hi
simple way
iOor Smith began with 'O' 'R'-'or'-and h
was dragged away.
o, little kids, my pretty kids, down on you
knees and prayl
You've got your dedication In peaceful sor
Of way;
And bear In mind thar may be sharps G
slings their spelln' square,
But likewise slings their bowie knives with
out a thought or care
You wants to know the rest, my dears? Thet
ALI In me you see
The only gent that lived TO tell about tina
spcllln' Bee.
lie ceased and passed, that truthful man; tn
children went their way
with downcast heads and dOwncast hearts
hut not TO sport or play.
For when al eve the lamps were lit, and sup
PEERLESS To he'd,
Each child was sent, with tasks undone AM
lessons all unsaid.
No man might know the awful woe that thrill
ed their youthful frames,
AS they dreamed Of Angels Spelling Bee an
thought of Truthful James.
f1lrnt IIarto a., Nny,n,hor Grrihnar