Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1894-03-29
same slipping, humping down through
the branches 1t fell at my feet not

same slipping, humping down through
the branches 1t fell at my feet not
quite dead It gave itself sort of
shake, tried to roll over on to its feet
but:feu back, and then it opened one eye,
looked at me, and then said, in posi-
tive emphatic kind of voice as if it was
no use my trying to argue with it or
contradict tit-Ta-ra-ra-boom- died.
Bang went the gun again, and down
came another parrot.
with the same irritating irregulari-
ty, the same exasperatinR changes of
voice and direction, the pertinacious
parrots went on, while we all set to
again, silent, dogged and bad tenn
pered. There was no conversation.
Only an oath now and again, dropping
on the air in a sullen, shell-fire fash
ion, and contrasted queerly with the
idiotic gayety Of the parrots From
angry looks to words, and SO to blows.
Two OF the men began to fight. Tara
ra-booml cried the nearest parrot in a
voice of delight and the men went at
1t savagely, while the birds, with the
lucky way they have, hit in so pat
sometimes, with a boom, that
1t sounded like a 'Bravo! after we'll
placed blow. This made the men all
the madder. How it ended 1 don't
know, for l went away to wind up the
man down the shaft, who had been for
gotten all this time. He came up pro-
fame and furious. and insulted me. !
dismissed him on the spot, and then
there was another row, and somehow
the angry spirit spread, and Bob and
at last found ourselves looking on at q
general melee, Bob, with one eye only,
as 'phid' Of misdirected clay had tenn
porarily shut up the other.
I'm the middle Of all this rumprs
who should step out of the bush but
the inspector, and just as he did so q
chunk OF quartz knocked his hat of.
He insisted on the arrest of the
offender, but the order was too big to
execute, and the end of it was that he
and his posse went off back to town,
and reported a state Of riot at the Gilt
Edge. Next day, Bob and ]. tho
captains Of the shift, with half q dozen
other men, were on our way TO explain
to magistrate and pay the penalty
for an assault on the authorities.'
When it was all over and we had got
back, leaving three of our number be-
hind us in custody for contempt Of
court we found the place half de-
serted and the remaining men lying
about idle. playing cards and quarrel
ing, while the parrots overhead cried
Ta-ra-ra-boom In response to every
oath. When they heard Of tho men in
/ Jail, they went of in body to get
their chums out, and Bob and found
ourselves alone in camp with the con-
founded parrots After the excite
ment Of the previous day our nerves
were, perhaps, bit shalSy, but any
how we thought Ta-ra-ra worse than
ever. We stuffed our ears full Of wad-
ding, but the wretched refrain was
running in our heads, so that we found
ourselves humming 1t at every turn,
and when we took out the wadding to
speak to each other the parrots were
still at their Ta-ra-ra-boom! But we
got the camp into order, and, working
like niggers all the time, waited for
three days for the men to return, and
then we went into town after them.
None of them would come back and
face Ta-ra-ra- boom. So we had to get
another shift, and by and by we started
again.
But almost the same things hap
pened, though worse. For the men
after two days Of it were SO infuriated
by the parrots that they would not
work. They 9oafed about the bush all
day with revolvers and humps Of stone.
A passionate longing for the blood OF
the parrots possessed them. So over.
whelming was the mastery of this fero-
cious thirst for gore that, not content