The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1888-09-13
Bill Nye Goes Grabbing.

went grabbing last week in Pleas
ure bay and enjoyed it very much.
1t is different from hunting elephants
or pulling a tiger out of his lair by
the tail, being safer and less exciting.
I have hunted the coon in the south
with more or less success, stepped on
the trail of the Indian and apollo
gized for it afterwards, supplied the
regular army for two weeks with
buffalo meat slain by these fair hands,
shared suckers in Illinois, hunted
Anarchists, spent the evening with a
vigilance committee, played bean bag
with some of our best people, and
been arrested on the Bowery by u
roundsman with a 50 Ten Nights in
Barroom breath, but never enjoyed
myself better in my life than l did
grabbing on the smooth surface OF
the bay with O cotton string and q
fish head.
James Whitcomb Riley also soaked
the cold and pulseless features of a
dead fish in the calm and crab in
tested waters. Ever and anon he
would burst forth into song. The
low refrain would start up kind of
easy, like this beginning of an anthem,
and then it would swell out in places,
and arise to a height of seven or
eight feet, it would then safely die
away.
Sometimes he would tell me what
he had been singing, and could see
by the words of the song that it was
SO and that he was right aboutit
The sweet smell Of the hay field
came lightly across the water and
kissed the dolce farina lineaments of
our sleeping sail. The low plant OF
the cuckoo clock and the gentleman
from New York who had Just been
presented with his bill was borne
across the dimpled bosom of the tide.
Then James Whitcomb Riley again
burst forth into song. He has q good
voice. 1t is rich and full, with notches
cut in it so that when he gets up to
high note he can hold ON without
slipping cog or fiatting. I tried to
sing with him, but could not do so
successfully at all. Our party said I
had more soul than voice, while Mr..
Riley seemed to run largely into voice.
If could keep my soul out ofmy song
more l would be less apt to give Of
Tense to sensitive people. But Mr..
Riley's notes rise like those of a lark,
mature rapidly and end in glad
bleat which shakes the green apples
off the trees for miles around. 1 did
not succeed in reaching the altitude
which Mr.. Riley did but once, and
that was when was trying to ex-
plain to young lady by means of a
large ultramarine crab how it was
that the animal could catch hold of
anything and retain it in his possession
for d long time.
Mr.. Riley composes rapidly while
grabbing, easily inventing, construct
ing, improvising, correcting and re-
vising as he goes along. He also
constructs an accompaniment of mu-
sic while keeping his eye all the while
on his sport. He is certainly a very
versatile and ambidextrous man. I
presume he wouldn't care to have me
speak of it here, but to show how
easily he composes l will say that he
arranged for the pianoforte while we
were grabbing a sort of roundeau OF
roundelette setto the air of March
ing through Georgia., which made
the hot tears well up in my eyes. and
they have been SO dry that for years
they have squeaked in their sockets.
I can only recall now a few lines of
the song, but they show that the
song writer is born, not made. They
are as follows:
Scarcely could we be restrained from bursting
into tears
When we saw those good old crabs we hadn't
caught for years,
While we went grabbing through Georgia.
Bill Nye in New York World.