The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1881-12-01
JAY GOULD.
Or the California Pet Lion.

stops Vi tHdt 6ACSlIOhh CiECuS nOJSi,
Russ House, a tall, suuburned, bald
headed mao, with pine burrs in bis
clothes aud stick of ssssafras in
his mouth, approached and said
BE you the wild animal man,
mister 7
HI admitted that he was,
'rhen, proceeded the party from
the mountain, | think I'll get you to
make the ao offer for a large>sized
healthy Californy lion I've got
Good specimen, eh y asked the
circus man.
Good 7 Well, | should say so,
Measures eleven feet from the tip of
of his nose to the tip of his tail.
Caught him myself when a cub
Just four years old to morrow.
'Hum-good appetite
Appetite Y-Great Scott -appe,
titeR Well, | should smile that's
just the point; that's why I'm part,
ing with Jay. call him Jay Gould
because be takes everything in. If
it wasn't for his appetite, and the
queer little things it makes him do,
wouldn't part with Gould for for.
tune.
Savage, eh 7
'WeIl, no; done know as
should call Jay savage, exactly sor
ter nibbIish though, maybe. Has a
kinder habit of gnawirg up things,
80 to speak. ln fact the neighbors,
| live up at BIadder's Peak, have
gotten to be SO fussy and particular
of late, that cant so much as un-
chain j. G. fol- little fresh air with
gu. their getting grumpy over it.
There's no pleasing some people,
said the hippodromer.
Il should say not, Now, finstance
about three months after Jay got to
be as big as boarding house sofa,
came home one day from a picnic
and found he had eaten up old Aunt
Maria, who had been left at home to
mind the house eastwise she was
nowhere to be found !; and as Jay
Gould seemed sorter bulgy>like, and
kept coughing up hair pins and false
teeth for day or two, we kinder
suspicioned the whole thing,
Maternal aunt 7 inquired the
Snowman, thougbtfully.
Exactly My wife took on dread
fully at first, and wanted me to shoot
Jay right off. But told her that
he probably suffered good deal as
it was, and that as most likely he'd |
catch rheumatism and things from
the remains, we had better call it
square.
And did she
well, she kinder got reccnciled
after a while, especially as Jay
seemed so fond of playing with the
children. One morning soon after
that my wife's mother-whole family
lived with me, you sec didn't come
down to breakfast. AS all her false
hair was hanging over chairback,
and Gould crawIed out from under
the bed licking his chops, and with
his tongue a good deal coated
mother in-Iaw was always taking
things for the liver complaint-we
saw at once it was another vista
ton OF Providence, and that the
heavy hand of affection WAS again
upon US.
Looked that way, didn't itf
well, as you may suppose, the
old Iady--that's my wife-pranced
around a good deal then, aud got
down the breech loader right away.
Bat just then arrived gold medal
from the 5. p. G. A. Society, award
ed on account Of my forbearance 10
the Aunt Maria business, and so |
got her Gained down after awhile.
'Pacihed her, eh
Yes managed to arrange a re-
prieve for Jay, somehow. You see,
| / was always awful fond of pets, and
tender hearted, aud all that, you un'
derstaud. | argued that the poor
animal didn't know he was doing
wrong-merciful uau is merciful to
his beast etc. That smoothed things
over for another month,
What happened then 7
We'll, ne day ! sent Tommy, our
youngest boy down to the store for
some sugar, and he took Gould along
for company. Now whether it was
because Jay was fond Of sugar or
not, don't know, bat be came home
alone, and as soon as we noticed a
peculiar kind of bulge on bis ribs,
about 40 big as Johnny, we cOnclud>
ed that the dread archer had marked
another Skidmore-my name is
Skidmore-for bis own. The whole
family took 90 like mad, and Mrs.
Skid was about to shove the powder
keg under j. G. and touch it off her
self, when pointed out that it
wouldn't do to desecrate our off
springs tomb in that way. So |
iust had the burial service read over
the lion, and tied Grape round his
neck for thirty days. How does
that strike you
After that you KEEP! the animal
chained I
We'll, no The fact is, | set out
to ge. chain sever al times, but one
thing and another prevented, until
one day last week | actually missed
- Ia Iad, baraaIf looLad