The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-03
THE STAGE DRIVER AND THE DUDE.
Teaching Burly Ruffian a Lesson in Po-
liteness.

Col. William Greene Sterrett of the
Galveston-Dallas Ne90S and | went to
the theater the other night. One of
the players impersonated a dude. The
Colonel is not dude, and has never
shown any especial prediction for
that particular variety of the genus
homo. When he saw this dude he
laughed. Between the acts he told me
why.
''Once, a good many years ago." he
said, Il was travelling in stage In
Western Texas. 1t was long before
snort of the locomotive was heard on
the prairies of that region over which
the buffalo yet roamed. At one OF the
stations young Englishman and his
wife got in. He was a little fell low and
dressed as a typical Englishman-What
we now call dude. The driver was
big, raw-boned six-footer. He was
a noted fighter. He had never been
whipped and was regular terror. He
seemed to take dislike to the little
Englishman from the start. Presently
he stopped the stage, got down, came
back. and threw open the door.
s.Here,' he said to the Englishman,
YOU come out of that and get up on
the seat with me; there amt room for
you in there The Englishman didn't
move. Come out. tell you. roared
| the driver. The Englishman just sat
still, If you don't come out I'll haul
you out by the legs shouted the Jehu.
| Then the rest of US expostulated with
the driver. was too tired to fight
and couldn't get at my gun, so l Just
expostulated alongEwith the rest. we
| told the driver there was plenty OF
room inside; that the Englishman
wasn't crowding US, that if he (driver)
insulted or injured any of his passen-
gers he would be discharged by the
| stage company The driver by this
time was wild. He swore he was In
command of that stage, and that he
proposed to run it to suit himself, and
if that blankety cuss didn't come out,
he'd pull him out.
call right said the Englishman al
last. Il will come out and when l am
out will whip you soundly.'
He got out slowly. We all felt
sorry for him and sorrier for his
wife. She didn't seem scared or wor'
ried, though. and all she said was:
"Charlie, don't let him scratch your
face
We'll, when the little Englishmar
got out he took his coat off and hand
ed it back into the stage. Then he
started toward the driver and the
driver started toward him. We hearc
a sound a good deal like that made BY
hitting a steer in the head with an ak
Down in a heap went the driver. HI
was up quick as a flash. Down hi
went again. Actually that little En-
glish dude knocked that burly six-foo
driver clean off his feet dozen times
How it was done none of US could tell
The big fellow would rush at the LITTLE
'un with his arms goin' like fails
Suddenly the little fellow would max
dash, his right arm would fly out
and down would 90 the driver. Afte
the dozenth round the driver cried out
"'Hold on, stranger; hold on, In
whipped and throw up my hands. Yo1
: can ride on this stage anywhere yol
darn please, outside or inside. or OIL
the horses. You're boss, now. but
t he added. glaring savagely at the res
{ of us, 4 kin lick anybody else on thi
stage
|We didn't expostulate. The En-
glishman climbed back into the stag
: as quickly as he got off. His wife wa
satisfied for 'Charlev's' face was nc
even scratched. At the next station
u the driver explained that if he'd onl
d have got hold of the little fellow he
hugged him to death like a bear, but,
he explained, every time just as | wa
It about to lay hands on him the ground
fly up and hit me on the back of tn
head.n
WHO was the little fellow? Oh,
graduate of Cambridge. and the bes
e boxer of his time at the University" u
e Washington Post.