Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-11-20
A DAY ON COONEY ISLAND.

A DAY ON C00NEY ISLAND.
The 18th day Of September was memora-
ole day IN the annals of Cooney Island-a
nay on which the pulse of that locality |
.nroboed with unwonted excitement, and the |
traces OF tears were seen on many a rosy and |
wrlnkled cheek. The dramatic occurrence |
which marked the autumn day elected the |
sage reflection from Mike WEIGH: "Begorra,
:ystec2n't tell fwhat minute is goin' t be yer
mkt This remark was understood by those
Who heard it to imply weighty philosophic
Suism as to the uncertainty of life a sort of
NJ The midst of life,n etc, deduction. But
sbsent the sun rose on that eventful day and
WI, his chances of light down into the little
t-eey there was nothing in the atmosphere
III ~, pam brewing in the crucible of Fate
me ne leaves in Lindsey's Wood whisnered as
pllthely' the chicken hawk circled on still
wing over Doolan's yard where the roslinps
were, and the female portion of Mrs, Finn,s
garry ma-a-a-ed just as plaintively as she
haa done on other and less eventful davs
Indeed, the ordinary routine of duties was
taken up IN the habitual Finn manner At
Q O'Clock Mr.. Finn slouched down the Old
Point road tc his work in the GLORY Hole of
the cement quarry. At O'Clock the break.
Iast dishes lad been cleared away by Mrs.
Finn -
At $50 little Mike stepped into the back
yard with long putty blower in his hand.
Inc nanny goat was quietly feeding on a
cabbage stump near the door Mickey
climbed over the fence into the adjoining lot,
and lay down in the long grass. He had
hunk of fresh dough in his hand. Lying on
his back be carefully trained his putty blower
on a hornets nest under the gable of the
roof, and sent chunk of dough with IN
erring aim into the fragile nest A dozen
hornets, mad with rage, flew out and darted
through the air in search of the aggressor.
Then another round shot of dough cut like q
onliet through the nest This awakened an
Glfny of Infatuated hornets They darted in
erratic flight around the chimney, they flew,
these winged poison bearers under the caves,
and even circled around the shanty. Then,
as though animated with unanimous desire
to kill the nanny, they all few in a swarm
down upon the helpless animal
Twenty insect backs were bumped and
twenty darts were driven home in her sleek
hide. Her short tail shot upward like Jury
mast on a dismantled ship. She jumped four
feet into the air and her load cries of pain
awoke the echoes in the valley. She began
turning summersaults and running bhndly
against the fence.
"Arrah, musha, LUX a that now!n cried
Mrs. Finn, as she came to the door with
plate in her hand. Fax, I'm afeard tn
nanny's loonev."
While the goat was apparently striving to
stand on her head and 10 scrape the hornets
off by contact with the fence, Mrs. Finn
threw bed quilt over her and carried the
struggling animal into the kitchen. mutter-
ing as she did so, ooh, dear; oh, dear; her
mikll be split intoirely.n
With the help of Mrs. O'Brien, who had
been attracted by the disturbance, the nanny
was swathed in handages of red flannel and
poulticed with wet salt and wood ashes.
Meanwhile little Mike went grinnIng down
the road on his way TO school,
During the afternoon Mickey drowned six
flies in the ink bottle, and cut three new
n0tches in his desk, He was the last scholar
caught chewing gum, and was forced to
stand on the platform beside the teacher with
a clothespin on his nose and chew gum as
hard as be could chew for an hour And
while his jaws ached. and he was forced to
breathe through his mouth, be suffered the
humiliation Of being laughed at by the
school. But when he was dismissed little
Mike bounded away like a colt in meadow.
When he arrived at home he found the
nanny still swarhed in handages She made
a picturesque object, relieved as she was in
her red flannel ado-nment, against the green
grass Of the roadside. As soon as little Mike
10 l.
with:
Mickey, 60 down tn road an meet Yer
father whin he's comm round til turn Tel
him t go down tn company's store an git
wan quarter iv pound iv Crane and black
tea, mixed, half pound iv brown sugar. au
BOAR iv yaler soap-wan iv thin weeny
clint baars, and mind We tell him to charge
1t. Are We hungry, me ladi Well, com,
here till give ye a slice O. bread an molas
ses. Win yere comm back I'll lave y,
scrape out tn molasses pail, so l will, bekas
there's Ou'y that much molasses in tn pal
ash stick t tn sides
Encouraged by the promise of so uylnifi
cent reward, little Nike FASTENED off il
pursuit of the billy goat, which animal h
quickly harnessed to the bone cart. Whe1
his mother had closed the door Of the shant
he secured the nanny also and put her betwee
the shafts, so that he had his team hitche
tandem Down the ROAD dashed this uniuu
turnout, followed by crowd of admirin
children. The windows along the route wer
filed with inquiring faces as the goats wer
by at a gallop, the billy making frequent d
tours in pursuit of dogs, and more than OIL
mother prophesied eventual harm to thu
"dare divvil Mickey Finn"
Just where the road turns down steep il
cline leading 10 the POncEhocbie chapel thel
rises blue stone wall forty feet in he.gh
topped with primitive railing. Mr. Fir
had to pass this spot on his way home, al
here little Nike put the goats out to pastul
on green knoll With his usual rockies
ness, he seated himself on the top of the wa
with his feet dangling over the edge. Viii
looking downward the thought occurred
him that it would be a great achievement
climb down the face of the wall Wit
out waiting to estimate the danger of Il
undertaking, he threw his cap into Il
wagon, frightened the strap which he
up his trousers, crept carefully over the ed
and disappeared from the view of the goat
His action attracted the billy's attentio
and the old graybeard deliberately walked
the wall, dragging the nanny and the wag
after him, and looked down at his masts
who Was clinging like leech to the ston
and slowly making his way downward. 7
goat snorted his disgustof the adventure a
sedately went back to his feeding Scare
had Mickey begun his hazardous underti
ing, however, when crowd began to gait
In the road below, attracted by the unus
sight of a small boy hanging by his fling
and toes upon the face of forty foot WI
When Mickey had covered ten feet of
descent 100 persons had gathered in the ro
and stood, with upturned, frightened fa6
watching the climber. One motherly Ir
woman was about to shout instructions
him, but another and more sensible won
interfered with:
Don't ho..yr, yin frecken him, an h
fallm
And so they all stood like statues wait
for the fall which each felt was surely CT
ing. The women covered their faces "
their aprons, half afraid to look, and
spellbound with the fascination of excitem
and fear. Little Mike was unconscious
the attention he was attracting, and no
NOR shook his fingers or agitated his toe
they were thurst into crannies between
chunks of blue stone He had covered nea
half the distance to the ground when the
ment compauy's bell rang and his fat
came along the road above him on his no