The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1885-02-05
A LANDLORDS RUsE.
A Story OF Some Of the Pleasures OF
Running n Hotel.

Ny friend, who told me the following
summer hotel on the New England
coast. At this time of the year he is
"taking things easy" and waiting for
next summer to come, and he spends
certain portion Of his leisure time in
my office, where / am always glad to
welcome one of the fraternity. One
day last week he lighted fresh cigar.
disposed himself at the proper angle in
his chair, and fired away about as fol-
lows:
'Did | ever tell you the inside his
tory Of our sudden grand change from
colored walters TO white down at the
beach last season. IL made lots of talk
at the time, Well, sir, this is how it
happened. 1t was in the middle Of
dinner ono day, and everything sliding
along as usual, when one of the walters
went down stairs and walked up to the
girl who gave out the toast, and said:
You Irish -, give me some toast
The girl up with the toasting-rack and
let him have II over the head. He had
in his hand heavy butter dish, and
he gave her crack with this on the
side of her head that knocked her
scnselcss and stiff as quick ms n stroke
Of lightning could have done it. Some
body ran for nc, and | piled down,
with D., our special constable and
detective, close behind me. There lay
the girl, apparently dead, and the
place was full of the 'coons, who were
after their orders for the dining room.
D. jumped right on to the fellow.
and together we hustled him upstairs
and had him showed into closet and the
door locked before the crowd down
stairs knew what was going on.
snow, there is this difference be-
tween white walters and colored ones:
II a white waiter gets drunk or cuts up
rusty you can throw him out, or knock
him down and drag him out II neces-
sary, and that's all there is to it; but
II you touch one coon they're all on
top of you and there's 'razors in the
air in no time.
"Well, in a minute these fellows dis
covered that their man was gone, and
they began to rush through ali the
lower corridors and halls looking for
him. There was regular pandemoni-
um there, YOU can bet, with the gang
Of darkeys rushing back and forth,
swearing TO find their pal and cut up
everybody in the place II he wasn't
produced. We got the girl out and
safely bed, with the doctor looking
after her, and then | tried talking to
them, but they paid no attention to me
at all. OF course, | thought about the
people in the dining room, so I'M
locked the closet, let my prisoner cut,
told him the girl was coming on all
right and he could go 10 work. He
took his tray and won't and got his
toast and marched up stairs with it,
and then the others also fell in, got
their various portions and followed
suit. Tho whole affair lasted less than
ten minutes, and in the dining room no
one suspected anything. / stood by
the door and not single person COM
planned of any delay or told me that
this was deuce Of place to pretend
to serve dinner or said any OF the
other pleasant little things that we all
have to take whenever anything goes
wrong.
"But | tell you, | was mad clear
through. While the row was going
on the darkeys had been perfectly fran
tic, ilourishing razors, cursing and
threatening, and one fellow told me to
git out de way! Yves gwine to run
dis place And then the Internal bru-
| tally of the attack ON the poor girl,
who never stirred or showed any signs
of life beyond breathing, till late in the
evening-that made my blood boil.
The men came to me, some of them,
and said that II was going to make
any change they wanted to know It,.
] told them that they would know
when made change, and / meant
that they should. | went up to the
city as usual that afternoon and adj
vertised for fifty white walters TO APP
ply at the Office OF friend to whom
explained the situation In the morn
ing went up again at my regular
time, saw lot Of men, engaged every
one that said he was waiter or looked
like one. and the next day had my
fifty. My comngs and goings were
Just the same rs usual, so none OF my
old walters suspected anything. The
second day got my new recruits to-
gether and took them down with me.
! made them walk up from the boat tc
the house quietly in twos and threes,
keeping their bundles out of sight, and
locked them all in the bar room.
went to the Office and saw my part
ner.
"'Whcre are all the menp'
"'Over in the barracks, shaving ant
cleaning up for dinner, rs usual Thii
was about eleven o'clock.
Have you got their accounts al
made upp'
"'Yes, all ready for EN-
~ went 10 the dining room. Their
| found one solitary darkey, Big Dan.
Dan said !, you make track
right over to the barracks and tell thos'
fellows that want every man of then
to step right up to the Office and &c
his pay and take the next boat for tn
city. III there's single coon here af
ter the boat leaves, I'll have him II
jail eve ha' 6 a Jail of our own OF
the premises.)
Lightning never went any taste
than Big Daa did when he broke 70
the barracks with his eyes sticking ont
to tell the colorcd boys the news. BE
fore they were out ont OF their quar-