St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-06-06
Florida Street Oranges.
now THE AUTHOR OF PECK's BAD BOY
wREsTLED WITH A JACKSON
VILE STREET ORANGE.


da knows there is as much differ
encce between the sweet, cultivated
orange and the bitter, sour orange
that grows on all sides as there is
between the wild crab-apple that
crows in our woods and the mellow
June apple that bushes in the sim
mer sun. Mr.. Peck did not know
it. He thought an orange vas an
orange the world over. He TACKLED
a Jacksonville street orange, and
writes thus to Peck's Sun on the
subject:
me. I couldn't see how they could
grow right there in the street, right
within reach OF every little Niger
coon in town, without being stolen.
In the North the sourest crab-apple
that ever broke a mans jaw or
puckered up pretty mouth would
not be safe for a moment, as expos
ed as these oranges were, and |
could not believe that boys in the
South were more honest than boys
in the North. Then I got to think
ing, and made up my mind that the
oranges were tied on the trees with
pieces Of wire to deceive Northern
people. I thought it was a mean
deception. and / made up nv mind
to expose it to the world. I asked
a coIored man If there were any
objections to a man picking all
orange, and he said he reckoned
not; so I reached up and got hold
Of one and picked it. I looked for
the wire or string, but it was ac-
tually a growing orange, and I had
more faith in Florida than ever. |
shall always believe that the color
ed man smiled when he saw me
take out my knife to cut piece out
Of that orange. Anyway, he turned
his back when I started the piece
Of orange toward my mouth
Many of the readers of the sur
viii remember my mouth as it was
when / lived at the North. 1t was
a pretty decent sort Of mouth tc
stub around home with a plain,
everyday sort of hole, with teeth
and tongue and lips, before [ took
that piece Of orange in. Ye Gods
The orange was as much sourel
than vinegar than vinegar is sourel
than honey. And bitter! Aloes
and rhubarb and quinine combined
would be molasses beside that
orange. My lips began to curl up
and draw around my left ear, my
teeth became loose and ratified
around like dice III q dice-box, and
my tongue Glove to the roof of my
mouth. One eye opened so wide
that the eyeball looked like the face
of a six-shilling watch, and the 9th
er chosed spasmodically and vinked
so colored nurse got off a bench
and hauled the baby away, while
the baby cried as though a pin was
sticking in it, on account Of the ex-
preston on my face. ! reached
around to my pocket for a handker-
chief to cover my face until | could
unscrew my mouth and get it bach
in front Of me, and the colored man
thought [ was going to draw o pis-
toll, and he started off on run
Well, if / hada picture Of my face
when | took a mouthful OF that or.
ange, they could sell them by the
thousands in dime museums as the
wild man of Borneo. And that is
the reason oranges are safe growing
ON the streets. They are too SON
to eat, and no boy will steal any.
thing he cannot eat.
A humane blacksmith in Neya
ia has built cart with the
axles bent so that the horse is
directly under it, sheltered from
sun and wind. The driver sits
in front, and other passenger:
sidewise on seats running length.
wise over the horses back. There
is, of course, a steering apparatus
and also an arrangement with {
wide band under the horse, 50 thai
in going down hill the animal car
be lifted bodily off his feet anG
given a rest, while the whole ont
fit coasts. ! And the lifting-ma