Los Angeles herald., 1892-11-28
EAVESDROPPINGS.

My son and were going home quite
late the other night and stopped at an
all.night fruit stand to get some Malaga
grapes for the next morning's breakfast.
There was slight drizzling shower at
the time and, as we walked away, man
who was talking with the persimmon
sharp said: "Well, now that it's begun
to rain, them two Webfoot fellers won't
look so homesick.
x*x
But the way that the "Webfoot
felers' are focking down this way, not
to this place in particular, but seeking
new homes in various parts of Southern
California, is truly wonderful. In my
last l mentioned that Mr.. :. G. Reed,
who was associated with Capt. j. G.
Ainsworth and r. r. Thompson in the
Oregon Steam Navigation company,
had bought q superb villa at
South Pasadena and had made
come very valuable purchases of horses
in England to stock ranch near Mon
rovia, where he proposes to produce
thoroughbreds fit to 60 over to England
and run for the Derby. There is now
another addition to the ranks of the
Webfoot colony in this vicinity in the
person of Col. John Green, who recently
sold out his holdings in the Portland gas
company for about $400,0 The
colonel is very companionable gentle
man and very fond of driving on the
roads, and as you can have pleasant
driving weather here for FIVE days where
there is one such at Portland, it will not
astonish me if he spends the rest OF his
days in our midst.
x*x
They tell good one on the old gen.
tleman, as having happened in the long
ago, when he was just comfortably fixed
and by no means as wealthy as now.
He was fond of driving, as now, but a
$500 horse was as costly to him as a
$4,000 horse would be now. He had Q
fairly good horse, but Mr.. S. 6. Reed
got one up from California and gave Mr..
Green shower of dust. When they
got to the white house Mr.. Green eaid:
"Sim, its my treat, and you beat me
fairly enough, but that's a game two
can play at. You're the fellow Pm
talking TO now.
The next mornings papers contained
an advertisement to the effect that Mr..
Green would pay liberal price for a
good young horse, sound and free from
vice, not to exceed eight years old, and
capable OF trotting in three minutes.
Several days ran by without any re-
sponse to the advertisement, and the
colonel had about made up his mind to
send ty San Francisco for horse, when
a tall and ungainly looking man came
upon the scene.
"Is Mr.. Green in?" asked the new
conner.
THAT my name, SIR" said Colonel
John.
81 see you advertised for boss. I've
got one down here to Acker's stable" "
said the hungry looking man.
Mr.. Green took an umbrella from the
rack and followed the longitudinal per-
sonage down to the horse restaurant,
where the tall man stepped inside OF a
stall and led out rather fine-looking,
dark bay gelding with good, bony knees
and hooks. Mr.. Green regarded the
horse q moment and then the following
conversation took place:
x*x
Chow old is this horse?'
"Six year old, last grass"
"What do you ask for him?''
''I allow ter git 5000 or drive him
back to Ya-a-mhill," said the man.
"Does he kick ?" asked Mr.. Green.
"Never kicked mel"
'Does he bite ?"
"Wal; I raised him from a yearling
and he haint never bit me-"
"Well, can he trot in three minutes ?''
"Noo," said the man, she kin trot in
three and half, 'thout no trainin', and
l reckon he kin beat three minutes ef
he is trained"
"Well, you might have saved yourself
this journey down here, so far as l am
concerned" said Mr.. Green, very quiet
ly. 81 advertised for horse that could
60 in three minutes"
"Look a-hyur, Mister Green" bawled
the Yamhiller, 'you must be in h-ll
of a hurry ef you can't wait half a
minute to 60 mile."
x*x
This was decidedly new Way OF put
ting the proposition. John Green
leaned up against the side of the barn
and laughed till he was sore. 1t ended
up in his taking the horse on trial and
improving his gait 30 rapidly that he
soon made Mr.. Reed swallow large guam
titles of real estate. The last that l
heard of the old horse Ben Acker had
sold him to some man about Santa Bar
bara, and the old fellow was pulling a
big rockaway as though it were bicycle
sulky. The horse was called Mac
and at one time got record OF 2:491a
%*x
The "plain comedian" has passed on.
He was poor and friendless boy in
San Francisco, to my certain knowledge,
in 1872, when L came down from Puget
sound and it was only three years later
that found him convulsing the fashion.
able audiences at the Alhambra (noW
called the Bush) with his quaint and
original sayings. Charley was never a
very good singer, and absolutely nc
dancer at all. But as black comedian
he certainly was far in advance of either
Billy Emerson or George Thatcher
and in all my 40 years experience as
an attendent at that class of perform.
ances, | have never seen his equal for
originality, except in Frank Moran and
Eph Horn, the latter of whom died 1f
years ago.
~
A San Francisco paper has recently
undertaken to give his biography and il
got mixed up to a most fearful lot ol
anachronisms; and has likewise offended
good taste by giving large slice oi
Charley Reeds domestic life. The
"plain comedian" was public man and