The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-10

hold of the foreman's dropper, emptied
it and filled 1T with chloroform instead
OF ammonia, and then kept the foreman
with him untiE the last minute. The
grasshoppers were brought forth and
Mr.. Mackay's flew through space, while
the foreman's only heaved and heaved,
finally rolling over and going to sleep.
1t was not until the third contest that
the foreman found out the trick.
One night last April a party OF rail-
road men strolled uD Broadway after
dinner. Near Forty-second street the
conversation turned upon the prices of
cab hire in different cities. William
Hayward, ex-Railroad Commissioner of
Connecticut, said that New York cab
fares were higher than in any other
city in the country.
Where are you staying?" asked a.
New Yorker.
within six blocks was the reply,
land a cabby will not drive me to my
door for anything near S."
The New Yorker made a bet OF a sup
per for the crowd that any cabby would
drive him to his door for a dollar.
Bring him along" was the reply.
The money was posted. the cabby called
and the address asked for. and given
as "St. Cloud Hotel, fourth floor. Drive
right up to the door," A merrier party
than the one which drove round to one
of the Tenderloin owl cafes would have
been difficult to find.
Of late the jumping bean has received
some attention. In the game played in
the downtown offices a circle with seven
divisions is drawn and bets are made as
to which one the bean will jump into.
Down at Panama the great holiday
game is cat racing.
BETTING ON CAT RACES.
In several Of the gardens there are
houses or sheds about one hundred
yards long, and in the center of these
are boarded off spaces like a bowling
alley hit wider From anN RI on6 Of
these are stretched tightly ten thin
steel wires, and at the extreme end of
each is a number. which, on being
touched. flies up.
When the races take place each cat
is fitted with a leather collar, at the
top of which is an eyelet, through which
is threaded one of the wires, SO that
each wire has one cat on it. Firecrack-
ers are attached to the tail of each cat
and fired simultaneously. The cats give
a despairing howl and rush away In
the only direction possible, namely,
straight ahead, guided by the wire. The
further they go the steadier the crack
ers explode. and the faster the poor
cats fly, until one of them passes under
the wire. or rather the eccentric which
works the numbers and sends up the
winning signal. Some of the cats have
splft-second records, but they cannot be
worked very often or they lie down and
let the fireworks have all the fun. This
appears TO De q moClTicaLlOn OF the cleo
trio spur and whip dodge used at Gut
tenburg some years ago.
A story is told of an actor who was
returning home rather early in the
morning and came to an early organ.
grinder. A piece of green baize was
stretched over the top of the organ.
while a miserable monkey gathered in
any receipts The actor saw the green
cloth. stopped and put down a silver
dollar, which was Immediately grabbed
by the monkey. The actor stared a
minute, rubbed his eyes and walked
away muttering:
Quickest game I ever ran up against
in all my life"
FOUR ACES KILLED HIM
Poker, the national game. has many
curious happenings. IN April % last
there was a game il. progress in South
Eighth street. near Walnut street.
Philadelphia. One OF the players was
Arthur S. Poulterer. Cards were dealt
and Poulterer held NJ three fingers and
received three cards. He picked them