Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-08-30

when arrested to give the name to which
he answered five minutes before. They
do this for no apparent reason, and are as
loath to give their right names when
pulled in for a trifing misdemeanor as for
a more serious infractiOn of the law. /
have known them TO give
"HALF A DOZEN NAMES
within a month, and the ingenuity they
display is sometimes quite remarkable.
They do not seem to realize that this very
fact alone, under ordinary circumstances,
is enough to make them subject to suspi-
cion; and to tell YOU the truth, it is now
SO common that little attention is paid to
it. With a white man, the very moment
it is discovered that he has two names sus-
picion attaches, except in those cases
where young men on Il frolic, who are
caught up with around town, have them
selves put down on the locke as John
Jones or Jim James or Smith. johnson is
the ~favorite with them, | believe, but nine
times out of ten the station-keeper smiles a
EVERY sICKLY SMILE,
whispers in the officers ear and puts down
his correct name in full, embellished with
the initials. and the Jr.'s and Sr.'s and all,
| as the case may be. They fondly imagine
they have fooled the astute official, which
you know is always accounted a great VIC
tory, but it would do you good to see their
faces fall when they are called all by the
Judge next morning. Most of these young
bloods put up Il forfeit of five or ten dol
lars and let it go by the board, though a
great many of them hide behind the crowd
in the courtroom next day to hear how
the trial goes off. Yes, it is very amusing
sometimes to watch the g%yrations OF these
young fellows and the manner in which
they
"IMITATE THE OSTRICH,
which puts its head under its wing and
imagineS-poOr thing-that it is hidden
away where a search warrant couldn't
find a feather. But you were asking about
aliases and SObriguets. The river roust,
abouts are the greatest hands for nick.
names and seem to take a positive delight
in them. There goes one now exclaimed
the detective, pointing out 4 ginger-cake col
ored darky, with a pedal like a bag OF
potatoes-"How are you, Sugar Foot p
"Sugar Foot" stopped and grinned, said
he was fus' rate, boss, and passed on with
an expression on his face which showed
very plainly that
1913 % HI VAS PLEASED.
"You see they like it." continued the
detective, 81 don't know how his com.
panions ever tortured his pedal into &
sugar foot, but they have done it pretty
well. II | had called him by his name
John Black, in all probability he would
nave stared and deiiberated a minute o.
two before answering. He is a very mo
cent kind of a darby"
"Do you remember any of the sObri
g,ets of the more dangerous darkies?
asked the reporter.
"Ies; but they are nearly all lead anC
gone now" remarked the detective. witt
What seemed to be an accent of positiv,
regret for the
-i..g-. GOOD OLD TIMES.
''There was Chicken He's dead now
and l would give 100 dollars out of mn
pocket to have him back"
"Why? ?" asked the reporter.
Gle was the very best spotter l evel
saw. We will not soon see his like again
Chicken got off his perch at last, how
ever, and killed a man. Then there wa
Snake the 'slickest' confidence THE
that ever was. And 'Trotting John ant
'Okolonie,' the best hand at cards in tho
country. Policy John was square, ant
was always willing to help us when h,
could without putting his own neck in tn,
halter. Little Rock and Red Shirt Bill
have
SOUGHT OTHER PASTURES,
and few OF their glorious race are lief
among us. 'Cut-Shoe Shang' and Chicken
Bill hang around yet, but they are very
tame and commonplace. They are hardly
worth the powder it would take to blow
their brains out. I'm disguised Will
these latter-day saints. They haven't hal
the vim and enterprise and pure and una
dulterated cussedness that adorned tn,
character of their predecessors. 1t is as i
all the big game was gone and nothin.
left to hum but tame cattle. There il
nothing exciting in hunting them down
Reub Shaw is the only one in late wear,
worth a cent. His
CAREER WAS SHORT o..
but it was brilliant"
The conversation at this point was in
t%errupted by a little side play between tn,
station-keeper and a darby who had Jus
been discharged and who wanted a pocket
knife that had been taken from him whel
he was arrested.
"What name did you give 2" asked tn,
station-keeper.
"Bill Davis is my name" sir.
Eyes, | know it is your name now, bu
what was it when you were arrested ?"
WAS it Bill Diggs?"
"How do l know? ?"
"Maybe you put me down az Jim Har
ris. They call me that sometimes"
mo. have no such name on my list
You must do better yet"
The darby
oOKED PUZZLED,
scratched his head, and finally struck hi
fist on the counter and exclaimed: "Py,
got it. Look for Squatty Diggs!"
The knife was soon found, and the sta
tion-keeper murmured that it was always
that way, and that the sweetness of hi.
temper would surely be destroyed. Hi,
books and his mittimuses and discharge
tickets and property bags were all marked
in four or five names, and il was almos-
an im~possibility to keep them straight.
"The negro women of the lower anC
more depraved sort have equally as many
names Us the men," resumed the detect
i've, but the funniest | ever heard was
'Cracker-Neck SAL a black, bony, little
darky, with a neck like a crane. There are
very few sharp females now for us to look
after"
"By the way, what has become of Mary
Jones?" asked some one.
1.-The one who wore the breeches? ]
THE ESsLEY GANG
the other day when they passed through
here on their way to Nashville, said Capt
Hackett.
"She will be a dangerous citizen wheI
she returns next March," said Pryde.
"And she did not lose much time Will
here" put in McCune. That girl stol
many n good 100 dollars, and that to
from men who would not have their name
mentioned for three times the amount o
which they were robbed. know of hal
a dozen from whom she stole 100 dollars il
each case, and not one of them would ap
pear to prosecute. Mary was Away
clever, though, and when cornered Shove,
up the loot" he gratefully concluded.
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE
He Will Pay For II.
To the Editors of the Appeal:
Looking oyer your want column l fine
the following: 90
Work. will pay fifty dollars cash TO
any position in the city of Memphis tina
will pay fifty dollars per month, same bein
guaranteed for three months, and to con