The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-11-18
THE TURNING OF START.
From the San Francisco Areopaut.

he strolled out in front and talked to Pop
Rnford, the landlord, for half hour
or so. Next day he was mixing drinks
behind the hotel bar-was in possession
of a Job that half the men in Nitrate would
have jumped at. 1t was Shorty Long
mans job, but the stranger did not know
that, nor did he know Shorty either. Pop
Binford did, though. He had been get
ting onto Shorty for some time, and when
IL dawned upon him as an established
fact that that young mans ability as a
drink mixer was becoming secondary to
his mastery of the intricacies Of the cash
register, he suggested to him the advisa-
bility Of getting along for a time without
work. This suggestion Shorty took as a
hint that his resignation was wanted; he
therefore went off and got drunk, and
the next day the cadaverous-looking
mild-voiced stranger, with his soft south
ern drawl was filling the place of Mr..
Longman and his cockney accent.
His name he gave out as Van Sittart
which for convenience sake speedily be-
came abbreviated to start" That was
all we knew of him, and we weren't sure
OF even ludl IluCH- otllAOlu hIlGW more
about him than any one else did. The
man had asked him if he knew of a va
cant job, and, liking his looks, he had
given him one. That was all. For the
rest, Start was % or so, but looked young
or. and was one of the pleasantest, most
gentlemanly and oblging bar boys that
ever threw together the insidious cock
- 10 1ttI1 I'd
ingIy, on the shortest kind of notice. He
did not have overmuch to say to any one,
but that was nothing against him; so in
side of three or four days. the customers
of the Binford house bar voted him
white"
He was in a way to become one OF the
best-ltked men in Nitrate when something
happened that caused a shock of surprise,
not to say grief, to those whose hearts
had warmed toward him-and his pecu-
liar style of mixing drinks-at the outset.
Shorty Longmah, the loud-mouthed,
Shorty the buffer, had called down his
successor before "a large audience, and
that without display of arms!
shorty. it seems had gone down to
Denver to look for another job, which
failed to appear, and, after an unsucCess~
full search of two weeks. he filled up on
Seventeenth street whiskey and took the
train for Nitrate, whereupon he sat HIM
self down to brood over his wrongs, the
result being that when he arrived in camp
he burned with the desire to make it
disagreeable for the man who took his
Job. This he proceeded to do by going
in and ordering a drink for which he de-
clined to pay, and adding insult to injury
by fulsome application of his extensive
vocabulary Of vile eptthets, couChed in
Bow Bells English--to all of which, ac-
cording to all citizens there present at
the time, the new bar boy replied in hon
eyed accents and in words devised to
turn away wrath. He did not, it was
conceded appear to be badly terrorized,
but there could be no doubt that he had
taken water" and Start stock dropped
several points.
Hit pizens my cup o. joy-hit sho
does murmured Calhoun KERRY late of
Arkansas, who was sitting on a soap
box in front of the livery stable whiting
a stick. Hit do grieve me a hull lot" he
went on, looking sadly at his handi-
work.
What's troublin', Cal?" asked another
lounger. What alis breakin' y'r gentle
heart tday?"
Mr. KERRY sighed ponderously, shut one
eye and spat with unerring aim at fly
few feet away.
I'm grieved, am, at what we all jests
C'nferrrin' about-the fallin' firm grace
O this we're new barkeep at Binford's My
my! An a SOUTHERN gentlem'n, too! An
firm clost anigh oil Ahkansaw!
Seen i'm this mawnin'. s l: 'Staht,
I'm man o. sorruh, I am. IS he;
What's TIL matteh? s L. real solemn
like; 'Staht, I'm grieved copious, I am,
I year of a SOUTHERN gentlem'n strikn'
of is colahs to a bloomin' British blo1e as
can't even talk United States, an, Is
knowed as a bluffah on any proposition
firm bettin' two deuces in jack pot t
sellin a sailed mine
IS Staht: Referrin', 1 pehsoom t
that leetle episode O. last evenin'?
Yes S l. An he grins, kind O. pcu-
liah, and leans ovah tn bah, an says:
" Mistah Kerry, did yo' evan year tell
O tn wohm th't tuhned or tn wounded
doe bein' brought t. bay? They's limit I
everything, s he. An that's all l got out
o him.
In about two hours the camp was APP
prlsed of the fact that Start had given it
out that he was likely to turn ana that
he had set a limit to the amount OF IN
dignity he would put up with, whereupon
a large number of public-spirited ciuzens
set forth to find said limit
They would refuse payment for drinks
throw cards and poker chips all over the
floor poke holes in the cloth of the bill
lard table, break glasses, and insist on
staying in the barroom long after hours,
and singing ribald songs-and never did
he any more than mildly protest. How he
squared things with Binford was mys-
terry until it leaked out that he paid all
damages out of his not over large salary
Then some of the boys let up on him, but
there were still a few smaller souls who
went in more energetically than ever 10
make his life miserable.
Pete Gallagher came in late one satur
day night and asked Start, as specla
favor. to cash 81 check for him, and
being very busy and much hurried, thI
bartender gave him two $40 bills insteac
of two fves as he intended to do. Mex
day he called Pete's attention to the fact
and that gentleman while acknowledging
that he had certainly been benefited sly
worth, declined to make restitution, anc
asked poor start what he proposed to dc
about It,
Ambrose Newton and Count Won HON
mann took Starts dog-an unfortunat'
tramp cur that he aid taken IN out o.
kindness OF heart and made pet Of
one evening, fastened wads of paper t
his feet with shoemakers wax, tied Z