The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-10-26

pened that busted my bus1ness-put OF
that you'll soon hear.
MY show was beautiful one and
highly Instructive as it said ON my
bills. 1t was gmy pride to give an exer-
bition. With light rattan cane In my
hand I'd appear on the stage, take my
place near the footlights and relate how
I'd led the life of hermit six years on
Florida Keys and at Tortugas, ederca-
TIN my four turtles, which Id matched
out in my bosom from the eggs, and
which, as would be seen, had now at
tanned length of nearly five feet.
had long speech that a newspaper fell
Ter wrote out for me for six bits.
cat last, when I'd worked up the
audience to SIGH pitch that the cries of
'Trot out yer turtles and the whistlin
and stampin drownded my voice. I'd
face about, flourish my rattan and at
the word Of command two of the turtles
would come marchin in from opposite
sides of the stage. Then they'd lumber
along down to the footlights, run out
their heads and make bow. Then the
other pair would march in and take
their places between the first, likewise
bowin.
''Music then strikin up, the turtles
would get up on their hind legs, take
their places and dance French four
They'd also do double shuffies and pat
juba, which fetched all the nigs. They
played leapfrog, made pyramids and
wrastled; also their drill with wooden
guns was very pleasin. The big thing
after all was the boxin match at the
wind up. That alters brought down
the house, but it was that which at last
busted the whole business.
4One Sunday night, when two of the
turtles was boxin and the other two
actin as seconds, the glove contest all at
once turned into regular fight. To the
astonishment of all the whites, and to
the delight of all the niggers, the tur-
ties on sudden left off boxin and went
to buttin heads.
"Only few dashes was made afore
off went the head of one of the turtles,
and the other was butted clean out vi
his shell, exposin to view two little
naked darby boys.
ga howl went up from the audience,
and seein that rush was likely to be
made for the stage, gave the word to
my turtles and we all skipped by back
door, rippin the little nigs out'n their
shells with my jackknife.
'Next day the papers gave the whole
thing away. They told that to the back
shells of turtles had been added artif-
cial heads and necks, that the belly part
was too flaps of cotton cloth sewed to
the edges of the shells, and painted to
initiate shell, and fastening up in front
with small, well concealed hooks and
eyes. They had it about right.
"But for the papers BLOWN the thing
would have taken my show up the
river as far as st. Louis, and likely clean
on to New York.
SIN gittin rp this show the worst of
the job was findin little darkies of jist
the right build. They had to have long
necks and small heads to play the part
of turtles. The masks were all the skins
of turtles heads greatly stretched and
fitted with glass eyes, and the boys wore
turtle slippers tanned till as soft as a kid
glove. The animal suffer who got UP
the rig charged two hundred dollars for
it, and warranted that no deception
could be detected from the front, nor
would there have been any trouble but
for the fight between the two little nigs.
The buttin busted out the show.
"a curious thing was that in gittin
up the show, when first stripped one of
the little nigs to fit him into his she'll
noticed a peculiar scar on his back.
asked him how he got it, and he told
me by bein put onto a big hook and used
for catfish bait. Then he ups and tells
me the whole story of his bein swallered
by catfish twenty-five feet long; how
he was taken out alive and with but one
little scratch, all jist as Buck here has
told us. then thought him a awful
little liar, but now see that the poor
child was simply tellin me Gods
truth"
CLI DTEp TIT