The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-04
v.roaEp AT EATING ONIONS.
a strange Contest in Front Street
Saloon
-, the Nsp York Tin,es.


F,en. the Ney York Times.
Ifnon the bar counter OF Front street
ssjoon there was displayed last evening
Zach basket flied TO the brim with silver
lin onions. A large card was tied TO the
basket upon which was the legend, ''Unnlon
Match tonight I'm, 10
porter asked. -. .L, -
Them as wants to, does, ana tnem as
doasn,t doesn't. the keeper Of the place
answered. 1--WE put EN- in front of EN- on
plates and the one that eats the most onions
m ten minutes wins the match"
"And getS-F
'sGets the priZs, s."
Then the saloon keeper went on TO tell
about an onion match that came off while
ago in the Bowery. Lord, ne eJaculai1ed'
E'you never see such weepln' in your life.
You'd have thought that every one OF 'em
had been suddenly left an orphan. I've
been TO lots OF funerals, but | never see no
mourners shed tears as them fellers did.
couldn't hardly keep from cryin' myself,
seein' them cry SO. Don't you know cryln'
is contagious with some folks, just like
Iaughin' is with others?
and what did the last man do"
He eat fifteen good-sized onions IN
quarter OF an hour. P'r'aps you don't
think that was much to brag of; but you
eat two raw onions-only two-some time.
Just as fast as you can chew 'em up, and Ill
guarantee you'll fell like cryin.'
Onions is awful gassy things, and they
fill mans stomach up terrible fast. 1t
seems to take peculiar stomach to handle
'em. Some folks think that they can do best
on an empty stomach That's what long
shoreman thinks who is goin' to compete
o-night. He amt eat nuthin' at all all
day long. But / don't know, Pm sure.
- l-aPz
match. Probably I'll know more about it
when this one has come off.
at gives man a strong breath, though,
said the saloon man, concluding his dis
course, ''to eat fifteen onions at one meal,
don't you forget that. A Hunters Point
breeze amt pothin' to it"
1t was 8 o'clocd when the onion eating be-
gan. There were five contestants, and they
were stationed in front of as many plates
on a rough wooden table. There was Billy
Burke. tough looking youth of IS years,
who said he was boilermaker's apDren-
tlce; there was Paddy the Sojer," so called
because he never works; there was George
Steinger. who said that he was IN ex-prizs
fighter all the way from the "ould coun-
try; there was Col. Joe Brown, a colored
man, who affirmed positively that he was
the commanding officer of the Seventh
regiment, n. Y. N. Gu; finally, there was
George the Norwegian.
'l've been called that for years." said this
aforementioned contestant. land nothin'
more"
DO you know Hjalmer Hjorth Boyesen"
he was asked
xYes, do"
And do you know IbsenF'
Yes, do; know him well. Ibsen and
me is just like brothers"
And Hans Christian Ander eng"
Yes, knows him too; l knows all the
Norwegians"
The signal for mastication was given by
Daniel OConnell, and each man drove his
teeth into an onion and tore off a mouth
full. That was nothing, and the work of
cruncning it into pieces small enough to
godown the alimentary canal was quickly
done. 1t seemed that almost no time had
elapsed before each man had swallowed his
first onion. But the second onion did rot
disappear from any plate so quickly
Burke and Steinger were not able to finish
even two onions apiece. Their withdrawal
was followed quickly by that of Paddy
the Sojer." who declared that eating onions
was too much like work to suit him. Col y
Brown and George the Norwegian were the
only contestants remaining.
Suddenly the latter stopped munchine
and rushed out of the rooom. "Col
Brown" was promptly hailed as the victor
OF the match, but be was speeches. wher
called on for remarks, and could only bow
his acknowledgment. His score indicated
that he ate eight onions in eight minutes