Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-14
TIE SIGHTS AT C0NEY.

of amused unmarried male and female
visitors, are lying in the sand in the pro-
tectfng shadow of the pier on the hot after
Moons Of August. Children from years old
to little misses of 10 are wading in the
oceans ripping margin bare-legged and
skipping gleefully up and down the sands,
and digging wells or building mounds with
little spades and buckets. Little sisters,
their skirts tucked up about the hips, lead
smaller brothers, denuded Of knicker-
bockers and skirts, into the shallow waters
and scamper out again laughing and shout
ing upon every approaching wavelet. A
stockily built 4-year-oid, with wealth of
sunny hair, walks bravely in until his
chubby white feet are just covered with
receding salt water and turns his sparkling
eyes upon his mamma standing out Of reach
as If to invite her admiration of his
bravery.
Loot here, mamma! I amt afraid! Des
loot at me! I'm-"
But cooling wave rulApg two or three
inches high catches him IN the sentence.
His childish brag dies on kis lips and he
rushes frantically for the protecting arms
with as much terror as if the wavelet were
a breaker five feet high. Then mamma
laughs and nurse laughs and everybody else
smiles amusedly. This is repeated by
dozen little ones with ever varying emo
tions and amid q constant clatter of tongues
and childish screams
cluster OF mammas form casual acQuaint-
ancesh1p there and exchange sage views
upon the weather and the management OF
children. In the midst of this q wavelet a
little stronger and little more far reaching
than the rest comes swiftly in until 1t runs
over their feet, catches the unwary nurses
where they sit gossiping and spreads dismay
in every direction. Those who see it COM
ing step slowly back at first, then retreat
more rapidly, falling over those sitting in
their immediate rear until a small panic
reigns Such shouts, and yells. and ringing
grandpa in his chair with his feet drawn up
ph1losophically waiting the decadence Of
salt water; while the bare-legged children
are ialrry w1ld with pleasureable excite
ment. This occurs time and again, now, for
the tide fs coming in and no number of such
m1shaps to other people acts as sufficient
warning to the venturesome.
After awhile one of the mothers the one
who has established herself as an authority
on management of children, calls to the
pretty little 4-year-old:
"Come out, now, Johnny-we,re roine
home"
Johnny don't want to go home" and to
make this more emphatic the little chap
moves out trif1e further from shore.
Come, Johnny-namma wants you-come
on now, that's good boyr'
There is world Of pleading in the voice
and deep appeal In the outstretched arms
for the other mothers are sitting and
standing around looking at the woman who
Knows all about managing children, and
dozen nurses are on broad, unfeeling grin.
The little fellow stands mute but defiant.
Even the increasing influx OF salt water
that drives mamma further in shore falls TO
move him. A stckly smile rests upon the
mothers face.
been in long enough. The boats comfng.n
Johnny's blue eyes sweep the horizon to-
ward the Narrows, and he decides that this
IS what the newspapers call "a fake" He
follows this observation by fiat contradic-
t1on of his mother. People begin to gather
along the water and offer suggestions, and
poor, humiliated mamma explains that he
has never acted that way before. And pos
sibly he hadn't, for the best trained children
kick over the traces unexpectedly. Then
possibly Johnny never felt so safe in defying
parental authority.
"shall I bring him out, ma'am?n asks a
tiInid 10year-old girl with legs like pipe
stems.
"If you please" says the mother, CRATE
gins to kick and splash and yell for all he is
worth. The timid girl stands off for q
moment to avoid wetting and then makes
O dash for the recalcitrant Johnny. She
sefzes him and lifts him bodily ont of the
water and bears him. kicking and struggling
and bowling to the shore. The woman who
knows all about managing children yanks
and he gets such a shaking up during the
process OF rehabilitation that his yells sound
like series of ki-yis from kennel. But let
us draw the veil.
washing a Chicago Belle.
Il took young lady from Chicago in at
Coney and washed her. She had never
swelled up the ocean before, and the s1tua-
tion was novel to both of us. Did you ever
wash sheep? 1 forgot-people in the city
keep goats. But sheep washing to q country
hnt fa q 1v1in h1I lone
remembered. At sheep-shearing time the
flock is driven to the neighboring creek and
the sheep afe taken into the water one by
one and soused and scrubbed until all re-
semble Mary's little lamb with fleece as
white as snow. A sheep must be taken out
beyond its depth to be washed, otherwise
you couldn't hold it still long enough. Even
then it will kick the bark of of o fellows
shins unless he has on good thick trousers
and a stiff pair of boots.
All this experience Is handy if not neces-
sary, when you take Chicago girl in for
her first ocean wash at Coney. She Is
kicker all the way through. she begins to
kick because the bathing suit DOESN'T fit
her-as If a public bathing suit ever fit any
bodyl Then she kicked because said that
she ought to be thankful 1t didn't iii her, as
nobody would think of taking snap shot at
her for Venus rising from the sea. She
kicked because the ocean was not as warm
but m TIT told % her c they'd have warned is up Il
they had known she was coming. She kept
on kicking when 1 got her in. never hand
led an old pell wetner who did more plung..
ing and kicking and swallowing water and
raising muss than this vigorous girl from
Chicago. She came very near drowning me
in three feet of water. Her Chicago feet
top. 1 had entertained the fond idea that
they would hold us down when we struck
roller, but they didn't. She was one
of these ssns ssRd ,, mean u0ss,
grabbed her right around the waist
and ohucked her in head irst-and then you
couldn't. / tried It. She wanted to learn to
swim in one lesson. 1 had promised and
found couldn't catch her low enough to
balance her feet and head properly. / tried
it and swallowed enough salt water to float
enough for US in the ocean. She was always
knocking me over the ropes or kicking some
other bather on the legs, or putting her feet
in somebody's ribs. or something. finally
persuaded her that it was unhealthy to re-
main in the wnter too long the first time, and
got her out. l felt like lying down some
where and never getting up again. But she
that she would like to have me bring her
down again. Then we went over to the
pavilion and ate "a worth. I promised to
bring her down to Coney ngain-ne1tyear.
Getting Her Moneys Worth.
The girl who wears spectacles and goes
down to Coney to lie in the sand in the
shade Of the pier and read novel till boat
time is sensible girl. If there are two Of
her together they bring lunch basket with |
pickles and sanwiches and milk. They have
come down to rest on Saturday half-holi-
day after pounding typewriter all the week.
They pay very little attention to the throng |
except to exchange sarcastic remarks, but
steadily pursued the william and hero OF the |
novel and lie there in the sand all the pre- |
cious afternoon. You may tread on her
the children kick sand over fer-but it
makes no difference. She Is there for her |
idea of recreation and she gets It. at the low |
a<zf5 20 ND an, fho