Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-10-02
THE COTTON BLOSSOMS
gROTBER GARDNER HAS An ADVENTURE IN
THOMPSON STREET.
A Priss lsr ls Best Poem By Colcgsd Author.
The Rev. Psss1ek IS Again CVsrrnled-Ihs
Cseu Blcsscn Club VII Pay 70 AZ
.sniios 10 Comas-ANsw Branch
Chartered il Alabama
NJ Quad in Eas York World.

meeting had arrived, Brother Gardner
had not yet made his appearance, aud
great was the surprise and wOnderment
thereat. Sir Isaac Walpole, as lrst
Vice-Presldent, called the meeting TO
order, and opened business in due form,
remarklng that the President had no
doubt been detained somewhere by ur-
gent business, and would soon put In an
appearance.
Samuel johnson, Henry White and
Reduction Taylor were declared electcd
when the bean-bOX was passed, but
Uncle John Watkins, Hiram Lewis,
Greenback Scott, Old Man Jackson,
Col. Cassus Brown and Satisfaction
Jones were emphatically and unani-
lnously rejected. These applicants were
from Georgia and Alabama, and were
rejected solely on the ground Of "gwine
10 de Dossofis" seven or eight times
day TO dun see II date yer letter had
arrOye."
The constitution or the Cotton Bios
som Club permits any cOlOred man to go
10 the postofice once a day, even In To-
calities where the mail comes In only
twice a week, but the habit which
Southern negroes have fallen into OF
making every DostOfiice a rendezvous
will be discouraged at any cost. In the
case OF Old Man Jackson, of Selma,
Ala. 10 was proved that be had inquired
for mail i0rty-six times In one week,
and the others were only few jumps
behind him.
At this juncture Brother Gardner ar
rived, ;tad as soon as he had relieved Sir
Isaac WalDOle he explained:
only frens, l owe you an apology fur
de lateness 90 my sOOnness. / was on
nv way 20 dis hall when | was stopped
I'm Thompson street by Kurnel Sideoar
White, who was rejected yere about two
months ago on de ground dat he didn't
believe a whale e5er swallered Jonah.
1t seems he laid his failure all 20 me, an
dat he had made up his mind to git sat
isfackshun. He pitched into me afore
knOwed what was up, but l soon real
fed de situashun. TO' will obsarve dat
1 hev lost a small piece Of skin OIL de
bridge OF my nose, an dat, l ar happy
10 say, is de extent OF damages TO me.
As fur de Kurnel, smashed In his
parietal bone, upset his esophagus,
drehully injured him in de ibula re-
gion, an left him fur dead under pie
Ma
clavian artery would never be Of any
mo- use, an dat his radius on carpus,
and metacarpus war a complete wreck
We will now purced wild de reglar biz
ness same as II muffin had happened"
Waydown Bebee, poet OF the Club by
appointment, then reported that the
time set for receiving competitive poems
FOR the prize OF S. had expired. He had
received t22 poems IN all, and all COM
posed by cOlOred people. These ranged
from one 20 sixty-elght verses, and every
single one Of them had merit as poem.
He had always known that the race had
q streak Of poetry in IL, but be was sur
prlsed to discover how prominent the
streak was. He had carefully read
every poem forwards and backwards,
and while he had a word Of praise for
all, he should award the prize TO the
composition sent IN from Nashville,
Tenn. i. was written by barber and
reads as follows:
AUTUMN.
By COUNT De VILE.
De Summer days hev faded an the holiness has
An de Autumn winds am BLOWN cold an
De 'tater-bags am dying as de evenin' winds
am sighin',
An de housS-dy he am gittin' out O. yere.
De frosty nights am wild US, an h'ar de coon
an possum
AS dey play beneaf de ole persimmon tree.
De con leaves crack an rustic as some darky
makes @ hustle
Fur 90 an dc bushel basket brung wild he.
De luscious watsrmillyon an no longer yere to
cheer us,
But we 'v9 got TO let 'er 90 an be content;
De coon was nebber iatter fur an honest
darSey's platter,
An de yams come rollin' in wiIout cent.
The Rev. Penstock at once objected
70 the award. There was line in the
poem which reflected on the honesty OF
the colOred race-the one speaking Of
Colored gentleman filling his basket in
the cOrn-feld.
"Brudder Penstock," said the Presi-
dent, ''does dat poem specify whose
CO'n-feld dat was?'
II believe not, sab.
"Den how do yo' know whedder it
didn't belong TO de Guild gem'lan who
was hustlln' to fiji his basket?"
at doan' look dat way to me-"
''Wall, we can't help dat. Even If it
was a white mans CO'n-feld il wouldn't
make any difference. He might hev
told dat hustler TO go in dar an pick all
do con he wanted. YO'r objechshun
am oberruled, an de award as made by
Brudder Bebee will stand"
Elder Three-Ply Jackson arose to ask
for information on behalf OF the 7,OOO,-
600 colored people Of America. A po-
liceman had told him that half dozen
different comets were billed to appear
during the coming winter. As the OIL
Ger did not club him after making the
statement he felt called upon TO believe
il, and yet he could not Imagine how
such news would have failed TO reach
Watermelon Hall. Had il reached there?
III so, why had 20 action been taken?
He was not an alGrmist, but II seven diff
ferent comets were going to ScOOt
around he wanted 10 take lessons In
lodging.
"Brudder jackson, calmly replied
the President, 'dis am no comet club.
1t wasn't founded on comets, an it isn't
run on comets. Deed, it doan' keer
two cents wedder we hev seben comets
or none az all. We dun let Providence
take keer Of de heavens while we try 70
run considerable portion Of de airth.
Doan' 20 worry, howeber. If one of
dem comets strikes de airth Wen give
yo' ten mlnits start of Gle rest OF de
club. If she dOan' strike den yo' is jest
as we'll OF as de rest Of Us"
The Secretary then announced COM
munication from Decatur, Ala, signed
by the President and Secretary Of the
"Ysm Club" in which il was prayed
that charter De granted as branch OF
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