The Portland daily press., 1895-06-08
Especial to the PRESS. }

Biddeford, Me-, June 1.-THE soldier on
| the pedestal in City Square looked down
| this afternoon on a tangle of arms and
legs which looked like the long limb of a
great spider squirming about in the
midst of the several thousand people who
| filled the square. In reality, the wildly
waving limbs belonged to half dozen
athletic young men who were vainly try
| ing to capture well creased pig. His
Porcine Excellency could not be seen but
| he was somewhere beneath his would-be
captors. The occasion of this unusual
sight was the chase of the creased pig
advertised as one of the attractions of
the Merchants Week. Now it had been
intended that the pig should run round
| and round the square, in the centre of
which stands the soldiers monument,
| with the pig catchers in pursuit and the
square had been roped off for this pur-
pose. When, however, after many protest
ing squeals, the pig was induced to leave
the crate in which he had journeyed to
the arena, he spoilt this nice programme
by boiling under the ropes into the
persons, who in old overhalls and ancient
habiliments selected because grease could
not do them harm, made a very good
representation of a squad of Sherman S
Bummer's raidi ng barn yard on the
March Through Georgia. One of the pig
| chasers dropped on the pig like rush on
| a football. The others dropped on pig
and man and the party of Sherman raid
ers became at once realistic representa-
tion of a modern football game. The foot
ball generally escapes injury. So did the
pig. For which the competitors for his
carcass were struggling together and the
police were making frantic efforts to I'M
rayal the tangle, the pig wiggled out
| from under and started off in the direc-
tion of Biddeford Pool. His journey was
short one, however, for Thomas Camp
| bell and Thomas Quillan were close be-
hind and the Two Toms soon had the pig
in captivity, and hurried him from the
field. 1t was hard on the pig, but it
made lots of fun for. the people who had
| slipped under or climbed over the ropes
and crowded about to see the fracas. In
deed, it was a pretty hard day for the
porker for this morning, as preparation
| for his appearance as a public entertainer,
he had been carefully shaved and then
literally bathed in particularly
SLIPPERY BRAND OF GREASE.
When the pig had been guided from the
scene, the fellows who didn't get him
commenced to explain why each of them
should in all fairness have the prize.
Anius Davis, a stout young man, took
off his cap and indicated the spot on his
thick black hair where. he said, the
descent of an officers club in the melee
had caused him TO drop the pig, which he
was then clasping to his breast with one
hand while with the other he had a firm
grip on the animals tail Mr. Davis was
eloquently presenting his case when he
was interrupted by q tall young man,
who angrily exclaimed in an accent that
proclaimed that his ancestors once lived
in La belle France: what for you kick
me in the face? | get an officer and
| have you arrested" Mr.. Davis indig-
nantly denied that he had kicked any
body in the face.
George Ross likewise claimed the pig
and said that he had first hold on the
prize, but dropped it at the command OF
an officer. ''He caught m by the collar
and pulled me up and | held onto the pig
and pulled him up, but somebody kicked
my fingers and had to let go, was Mr.
Ross's account of his share in the scrim-
mage. One of his hands bore signs OF
hard usage. The judges declined to &c
behind the returns, as it were, and left
the pig in the possession of his captors.
The escape of that animal from annihila-
tion only postpones his end as he will
have to be converted into pork in order
that his new owners may dissolve
p artnership
THE MERCHANTS WEEK
of which this creased pig chase was SC
exciting feature is in reality not e
"week" at all but three. days during
which the people of York county flock tt
Biddeford to see the sights and patroniz,
the stores of the merchants here. To wei
come them the city has been gaily deco
rated and Main street is ablaze with al
the hues of the rainbow, the French tri
color being noticeable in the decorations
Yesterday was the first Of these trad'
days, and was devoted to baby show
. with which yerybody was satisfied, ex
cept the mothers whose infants did no
get the prizes. Indeed it is said tina
Tristrane Goldthwaite, the war eagle O
) York county, who acted as one of tn