The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-09-12
&" YAPPA.n



OF The MIRROR ever since its inception. L
hailed its appearance with glad approval,
for l saw in it the dawning of brighter
day in prison life; an index pointing out
our needs; voice by which we might speak
to one another. to our friends, and to the
world at large. Heretofore have not felt
called on to contribute anything to it's
pages as the field of subjects has been
pretty well covered by writer's of more
ability than myself, but now feel that l
have something which should be said, and as
others have expressed themselves in their
own way beg the privilege of doing the
same.
When l landed at this institution l was
confronted by the warden who asked me
some very pertinent questions. one of which
was: Got any money and valuables?"
saw that resistance might be dangerous, so
l handed over S1.92. the remains of a we'll
spent fortune and an ill-spent life. After
counting it over carefully. he took hasty
PEN picture of my features. by the way
of valuables, l suppose. When he had got all
out of me he seemed to want, he turned me
over to another who was not so choice
about the quality of his booty. for he was
satisfied by taking all l had left. which con-
sisted principally of ragpickerS perquisites,
and sundry livestock which had become so
attached to my person while i'll jail that
they would not be left behind. But this
man did not seem to be as hardhearted as
the first for he gave me in return for what
he had taken, what l much needed-a bath.
AS came out OF the bath l sighed to my
self: "Ah, old boy, you are fast losing
your grip on this worlds goods. You have
fallen into the hands of the Philistines at
last" Just as l had finished this sad re-
Election the most barbarous Phiistine of
them all bounced upon me- Up to this time
| had restrained my tears, but now they
broke forth and flowed down my cheeks in
torrents as the heather ruthlessly tore from
me my last and most precious treaSure-my
beautiful, beautiful mustache.
Sampson like, ''wilted," and they put
me to grinding in the mill. But | will not.
Sampson like pull down the temple on the
heads of the Phlistines for they have treated
me pretty we'll since my captivity. There
are those among my fellow grinders who
are far more ungenerOuS than our task
masters and l intend to pull a column or
two down on the head of one of them who
has done good deal of ''sQuealing" in the
past and at present is casting ''Retlections. :"
This wind grinder is known as l.. M.
These initials permit of several very curl
ously appropriate interpretations; as. Lung
Musician. Long Meter. Lung Music. Now.
to make use O. an expressive Sioux word,
this lung musician has been giving us too
much ''yappa," which, as interpreted by
the learned Phoenix, means talk. He has
been posing as an oracle and the champion
of innumerable schemes wherein he claims
to represent the interests and wishes of 95
per cent. of his fellow grinders. When this
oracle first began his yappa l listened with
respectful interest. for he was very modest
and consistent. but as time passed he
lost these cOmmendable qualities and of late
he has become like what Geo. d. Prentice
once said Of Geo. Francis Train: IA To-
connective run off the track, turned upside
down, with the cOwcatcher buried in stump
and the wheels making a thousand revo-
buttons minute. A kite in the air that has
lost its tal-a human novel without hero
"a man who climbs tree for birds nest,
out on limb. and in order to get it saws
off the limb between himself and the tree.
A ship without a rudder-a clock without
hands--an arrow shot into the air-a SER
mon that is all text, pantOmime of words,
the incarnation of CAB. A cipher hunting
for figure to pass for something. a solved
conundrum." The reader who has followed
his rantings, snarlings. condemnatiOns eX-
aggerations. wild theories, eXtravagant and
ever changing propositions, will recognize
the above as true picture.
About the only original proposition made
by him tthe dumplings excepted) was that
the partitions between the cells be knocked
out that he might yappa with his neighbour.
At one time his nervousness in jumping in
and claiming victory before it was won
had more to do in losing to us what would
have been a great blessing, than any other
cauSa The limited Snaca of THE MIRROR