Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1890-10-26
RATsY ON BELLIGERENCY
Some Groggery Occurrences as Niewed
from Behind the Bar.

Some Groggery Occurrences as Viewed
from Behind the Bar.
NeW York Sun.
Ratsy is a bar tender in the most bel
licose GROCERY of fighting neighbor-
hood. After a recent encounter on the
premises, Ratsy was asked what had
been the cause of the row.
zone gent had nose what was
swelled and reddish, and he came in here
with it," was the reply. Another gent
said to him. sAh poisoning the air
with that nose of yours?' Then they
strapped.
Fair fighting has gone out of vogue
in New York" he said. Ten years
ago Americans never thought OF Strlk-
ing a blow except with the fist, but
nowadays the idea in sudden light Is
to do your man up in any way possible.
Where travel | am constantly witness
ing rows. and if a man punches another
| am willing to make an instantaneous
bet that the man attacked will retallate
in some underhand way. II there is a
bottle at hand he uses that, or If he has
Il heavy stick with him he begins to
club his asSailant. 1t is going on from
bad 10 worse all the time, and in IA very
short while fist fighting will have gone
out of use here entirely. a man VINO
wants to use his fist gets no encourage
mcnt. A friend of mine who is one OF
gamcst and squareSt men in the world
had won the enmity of a big, desperate
chan. who went about declaring his in
tention of knocking him out the hrst
time ne saw him. My friend heard the
threats. and decided that he had got TO
defend himself against punching.
One night the two came together IN an
uptown resort. and my friend jumped
forward to plant his fist III the other fel-
lows face. As he did so he received a
kick i'm the stomach that dropped him.
and then. as he lay writhing in agony,
he was belabored over the head with "A
cane. Naturally enough, he was fright
fully used up without getting single
chance to defend himself. The eXpe-
rience caused him to abandon fair light
ing. After recovering his injuries he
set to work TO find the man who had
whipped him in such c0wardly way,
and. coming across him one night, he
struck him across the head with heavy
stick that felled him to the ground. al
terward jumping on him till he was well
nigh dead.
You see, it is all very well" Ratsy
meditatively continued, 'to talk OF
fighting fair, and we are ours every
time we take the advantage of man,
but if it rests to choose being kicked or
dubbed to a pulp and using your an
taconist up in the best available way,
YOU are apt to use the quickest means
at hand to come out the victor. Ii you
ask my advice about fighting, l say keep
out of it when you can, and when you
must fight. don't put up your hands UNI
| Til YOU see if your antagonist IS that
kind Of Il fighter. If he is he will lead
| for you with his fist, but if he IS an un-
fair fighter he will look about him for Il
weapon, if he has none already with
| him. Then You should anticipate him
| in any way you can. 1t is not 10 be sup
posed that You want to kill him, but
you do want to lay him ont if YOU re-
gard him as being any way dangerous.
If you can knock him down, do it, even
if you have to break up a thouSand-dol-
lar ornament. That is the latest science
Of New York fighting, ugly and coward
~ as it may seem TO you. Down your
man, no matter how"
Ratsy went on to to say that the best
experts, even experienced bartenderS.
can't Judge of bicepS that are covered by
coatSlceveS. BY way of illustration he
told story. A quiet young man from
out OF town CHANGED to enter a resort on
Tenth avenne. He was thirsty. and
called for settler lemonade. not too
sweet and very cold. The tough bar
keeper said that his ice was locked mp
in a safe where he couldn't get at it.
The young man from out Of town
glanced up quickly on hearing this, and
observed that the bartender was Il
youth of pale countenance, with coal
black hair and beady eyes, Sneering
mouth. and an air of constitutional
pugnacity.
~ lemonade. please; not too sweet
and very cold" repeated the young
man, gazing calmly into the bartender'S
eyes.
The tough evinced a little surprise at
this by lifting one eyebrow and measur-
ing his customer from head to foot, and
retorted: Il said my ice was locked mp,
see. viii you take whisky?"
Certainly not" replied the quiet
young man. Il would like to have you
to open your safe and get enough ice
out To make me a lemonade"
Jaw, 20 chase yerSelf round de block, ="
was the elegant reply of the tough bar
tender.
The young man from out Of town
tossed the cigar he was smoking into a
corner of the room, extended his right
arm across the bar, and with one move
ment caught the tough by the collar of
his jacket. and pulled him over the
counter. For a space of fifteen or
twenty seconds there was an indiScrim-
mate scuille, in which the young man
from out of town stood very firmly on
his feet. while the bartender flew round
like a windmill, making a rat-ta-ta-tat
with his head and heels as he went, and
utterng half-stilled groanS as he beheld
the beauties of starry ornament. When
the appeals for mercy had ceased, the
young man dropped the tough bartender
in a heap on the floor. Strengthened his
nccktie, and going behind the bar,
made settler lemonade. He then drew
his card from his pocket and wrote on
it in pencil: If you ever come to FL
PaSo. Tey., call at my bar, and | will
make YOU the best settler lemonade you
ever drank. When the tough bartender
had pulled himself together the young
man had vanished.
Late that afternoon a quiet-looking
man went into the place and asked in a
mild tone for settler lemonade. The
bartender, whose head was bound up in
a whir of cloth. peeped out Of his half
closed eyes, and expressed no opinion
whatever upon the subject of mixed
drinks Just as the young man was
leaving after finishing his lemonade. he
turned and remarked: Il am just as
fond of settler lemonade as my brother
is. He was in here this morning and