Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-03-12
up sPokE rnr rARRor
An Opportunc Remark Of The rird Evoked
the Tnhlnn nll.


An Opportunc Remark or The bird Evoked
the Taking nid.
"Goingl gOingl for the third and
last time, gentlemen Arc you an
donei Soldi Sold to the colonel for
$3.50. It was a good price, gentle
men, and wen all have n bowl"
These were the closing words Of the
auotioneer at the sale Of q parrot in
the apartments where the bird had
been q conspicuous figure for years.
He belonged to a man about town
whose best known nameis Captain. "
It seems an enormous sum to be paid
for a parrot, but this is no ordinary
bird, and the purchaser thinks he las
O bargain.
The captain has n reputation for
being one of tho best entertainers in
the city, and Is apartments have
been the scene Of many n merry
gathering of the good fellows Of
his long list Of acquaintance. They
have also been the rendezvous Of a
select coterie who have gathered
many times TO play draw poker. The
parrot occupied a prominent place
in the %cardroom, and when a game
was in progress and a player passed
dropped cut he usually gavo some
moments to conversation with him,
and it is reasonable to believe true
his statement that he has a vocabu-
larry that is a wonder"
Some time ago cap announced
ne was going to desert the ranks Of
the "undomesticated' and Join the
ranks of the benedicts. He also an
nounced that he would desert his old
quarters, and that if any of the crowd
whose faces were familiar in them
particularly desired any object con-
tanned in the room in the way of a
memoir or for q more practical rea
0 he might obtain the same by
making known his wants. AT this
announcement there was a general
request for the parrot. Everybody
wanted him. The requests became
10 umerous and decided that the
captain began to get worried. He
consulted one of the crowd.
You see, 1 can't give him to every
body, and n is as welcome to linn
as another" said the captain.
why not auction him off, thenf'
the friend suggested.
THE very thingl' cried the cap.
tain. "We1l do that"
He proceeded to notify the inter
csted ones to the effect that the fol-
lowing Friday the bird would he tue
toned of, the proceeds of the sale to
go to liqudate some outstanding in
d~ebtedness for wet goods used in a
recent memorable supper.
The parrot, whose name is Falstaff,
sat pompously on an elaborate perch
as the crowd assembled. 1t was the
gold end of what had been a gold
headed cane. Its ends rested on two
champagne bottles that sat ON a
champagne cooler, battered and look
ing the worse for wear. Poll was en-
gagged in dissecting an old cham
payne cork when the captain came
in at n side door, followed by his col
ored boy, who took Poll over to the
end of the room near q statuette of
Venus. The captain then turned
from a%sideboard, suspiciously wiping
his lips, walked over to where Fal-
staff stood, climbed upon a little box
and faced the crowd.
Then the bidding began. Poll chip
ped in his say every now and then,
causing outbursts of merriment and
a more spirited contest for owner
ship. Finally, just before the last
bid, when there was a lag IN offers,
he shouted:
Its your ante, colonelp nodding
sagely at a fat man whose bank ac-
count resembles himself. The colo
mel laughed outright. Then he said:
Il bid S450l"
And he took the bird away.-Chi-
cago Tribune.