Morning journal and courier., 1884-03-18
Old Back Number Billiards.
A Chicago Drummer's Experience in a
Dakota Town.
IlaoIz 1

A Chicago Drummer's Experience in n
Dakota Town.
From Peck's SUM-
Two travelling men who had not met for a
month came face to face at the supper table
at the PIankinton House one evening last
week, and after several hearty shakes they
ordered supper, and while the waiter was
procuring the quail on toast and other cut
feed the boys talked of their experiences
'.After supper I will play you a game of
billiards. said one.
Not if I know it, said the other. 81
have had billiards enough to last me the bal
ance of my natural life. You see. I have
been showed in at a little town out in Dakota
for ten days, and billiards was the only rec
reation. The first day I sat on my trunk at
the depot waiting for train, and then I
found was in for long stay at the winter
resort, and I asked If there was billiard
table in town, and found there was one in
saloon but they said there was nobody in
town who could play on it. I thought I
would go over and put in the time in that
saloon. Well, you would have tainted away
to see that table. It was one of those old
back number wooden bed tables about
twenty feet long. Such table as was in use
thirty years ago when Chicago was village.
The cushions were some kind of leather,
u
hair Or wool. The balls were all different
sizes, and each ball bad a piece or two
Clipped off so when they rolled over the
cloth on the wooden bed the noise resembled
a bowling alley in full blast. The pockets
were wide open like a valise, and long, 50
when you pocket bail you have to roll up
your sleeves and go clear down to your ell
bows, and you would not only get the ball,
but collection of bric-a-brac that had been
hidden away there for months. / got pop
bottle and two dried lemons out of one of the
pockets the first time pocketed ball. The
cues were old and covered with dirt that had
to be scraped off with a piece OF window
glass, with no feathers on except one, and
that had the leather nailed on with shlngle
nail One leg of the table was gone and the
corner was propped up with a pile of brick.
They said they had to burn part of the
billiard table to keep warm during the bliz-
zard last year. Well, asked the man what
he would rent me the billiard table for all
day, and he said about fifty cents would pay
for it. and l closed with him and went to
punching balls around. It got noised around
town that q millionaire from Chicago had
leased the billiard table at the saloon, and
that he was doing some tall PLAY ing, and the
citizens began to drop in, and 1 gave them
an exhibition. The room was full, 'and II
you could have q picture of the crowd and
the scene it wouId be worth a fortune. They
stood there with mouths and eyes open and
watched me- The table was lopsided, and If
1 started ball for right hand corner pocket
it would strike a crack in the wooden bed and
go off rattling over to the left hand side
pocket, and I would look wise and act as
though play ed for it, and the fellows would
look at each other and wink and say I was
the finest player they ever saw. I shot
ball against cushion and run the cue under
the cloth about foot, where there was
hole in it, and in pulling the cue out drew
out deed of forty acres of land which the
saloon man had recorded there for safe keep
ing. When the ball struck the cushion four
mice that had nest in the wool came
running out on the table, and the crowd
laughed and chased the mice down into a
corner pocket, but they got away. There was
one pocket that seemed SO far of that didn't
try to hole a ball in it, because I had no
retriever to go after the ball. reached
down under the table to get the bridge to use
to make shot, and found two mems ana
rooster roosting on the handle of the bridge,
and had to trip them off before l could
shoot. Well, you may think am lying, but
finally poeketed ball in that isolated pock-
OF, away of at the southeast corner of the
table, and noticed that it wiggled around
and swung like a pendulum. but I took a
trip down there to get the ball, and as felt
down in the bottom for it I hope to have my
salary reduced il did not find a cat asleep
in the bottom of the pocket and she woke
up and walked up my hand and arm with all
her toe nails about her. and her tail as big as
. feather duster, and she run across the table
and the iakes in my audience fairly yelled, as
though had made fine shot
80, say, what are you giving as" said she
fellow drummer, as he slipped his coffee.
fsYou travelling men do learn to liz awfully |
when you travel out West"
mo lie at all I can prove it by half the |
population But was mad when pocketed |
) ball in the side pocket. I heard cackling |
and sputtering, and hen jumped out OF the |
pocket with that surprised look that you Of |
ZEN see on the face of hen when she has |
aid an egg and jumps of the nest. and be
gins to carry the ne3s When that hen
ooppsd mp ont of the side pocket was JUS
, little bit annoyed, because felt that tn
billiard table was liable to bring forth yoke