Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-08-05

/ And stlll we are told that every thing al
/ Coney Island. aside from The low sob of the
/ sea, is very high Although the season is
/ not yet far advanced, l have been photo
/ graphed already With a background Of
/ Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty il
/ the very act of enlightenIEg the world
I Buffalo Bits Wild West and the empty
elephant at Coney Island, but think the
! price charged at the latter place is more
reasonable than at most other points go,
/ two tintypes there and had gilt watch
} chain put on by the artist for forty-fve
I cents In one picture he also allowed me
/ to hold his gold headed cane. No man can
I be utterly given up to the lust for gain
/ when he can do this for one who is an utter
stranger TO him
showed these pictures to rival artist
further down the Rue de Hewgag and told
him how cheap / got them. He said he
would not be outdone in generosity, and SO
he photographed NE twice for thirty nine
cents, with his wife's head on my shoulder.
There is generous but spirited rivalry
between the photographers of Coney Island
which is certain to place lifelike pictures
within the reach Of all.
The cold, cast-iron head-rest is still used
there. The artist moves your features
around over your face by means Of his two
large copper-colored thumbs, which look and
feel as though they had escaped from jar
of alcohol in a medical college and come
down here to have a good time and give
themselves up to pleasure.
When the artist has SO arranged your
face that you look as full Of emotion as a
snow man, only hotter and madden, he
brings out d pair of iron dumb-bells attached
TO an upright rod and puts your head against
the machine This is called head-rcst
The head-rest is so called because it rests
itself against ones head. 1t is applied by
putting the cold iron prongs or do-goods
against the love of home and offspring which
is located just south of the cerebellum.
l have made rough drawing of the pict-
ure as it now appears.
In this picture one notices first the utter
air Of abandon which artists so long and SO
hopelessly sought. The whole attitude
seems to say: - am abandoned and am
glad of it, The artist said that If | had
been stouter he could have more success
fully concealed the head-rest AS it is, he
admits himself that the effect of the picture
IS confusing and that the spectator finds
himself constantly asking which is the por-
trait and which is the hcad-rest?
The elephant is somewhat foreshortened
in the drawing and put in the extreme back
ground so as not to detract from the strength
of the head-rest. For that reason he is
massed on the flank of the picture.
The Elephant Hotel may be discerned for
some distance out at sea. On landing the
spoor is.at once discovered Securing sew
eral native Beers from the West End, l en-
tered the popcorn and hot-sausage jungle,
which lies to the north, and where loud
trumpeting could be heard. We were de-
layed for some time by the hostile fakirs
who occupied the peanut kraals in the Hew
gag country. For that reason, night set in
before we sighted our game. 1t was just
dusk, and the low wall of the kazoo came
across the tropical stiffness, mingled with
the heavy grunt of the hired hand, who had
come here for much-needed rest, and was
now engaged in ascertainlng how many
pounds he could lift, when suddenly saw
the eye Of the elephant peering down to-
wards the iron pier The eye of the ele-
phant at night is bright and etfulgent. At
distance it is somewhat mellowed down,
but as you approach it the expression Is