The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-06-04


afternoon;
Twill carpet plain and meadow, common,
park and dale and lea,
In fact twill cover all the land not covered
by the sea.
If 1t keeps growing right along 1t shortly
will be tall.
It humps itself through strikes and legal
holidays and all.
'Tis growing up down all the streets and
clear around the square;
One end is growing In the ground, the other
in the air.
If earth possessed no grass, methinks its
beauty would be dead;
We'd have to make the best Of 1t and use
baled hay instead.
love to sing its praises In way none can
surpass,
And poets everywhere are warned to
"Please keep Off the grass!''
Nixon Waterman, in Puck.
Major General Miles doesn't play nor ap-
prove of poker. but he once saw q memoir
able game and. soldier-like. loves to spin
his yarn about 1t. at was" said he as he
lately told the circumstances to a party
comprising Colonel Tom Ochiltree, Henri
Watterson and several other noted South
ernors, at was In the spring of 1SG5-just
thirty years ago this week. when I come to
think OF it-when Davis, Lee, and the rest
of you Confederates, Colonel Watterson.
were in full retreat from Richmond toward
Danvile and we were pressing you night
and day, hardly stopping to eat or sleep.
on the eve of the battle of Sailors Creek
- II was there" said Colonel Ochil-
tree. at was In that battle that ! was
wounded" "That day." continued Gen
eral Miles. 1--WE overhauled and captured n
Confederate wagon train, and found,
greatly to the delight of the boys, that
several of the wagons were loaded with
Confederate bonds and counterfeit bonds,
and Confederate money in transit from the
Confederate treasury department in Rich
mond to wherever the government, now on
wheels, might make its last stand. The
soldiers simply helped themselves to the
bonds and the money, and the officers did
not care to deprive them of the spoils to
which they were richly entitled. At night
we knocked off work for supper and a few
hours of rest and sleep. l had occasion to
ride along the line and found, greatly to
my amusement. u poker game going on
around almost every camp fire. Stopping
to watch one of the games this is what
heard: 'Howmuch Is the ante| "A thOus-
and dollars And how much to fill?'
Five thousand Well here goes.
raise II ten thousand Good; I see you
and go you ten thousand better. Twenty
five thousand to draw cards' Then cards
were drawn and presently bet was made
of fifty thousand. Some one went hun
dred thousand dollars better, but was
ruled down. Fifty thousand was the limit.
However, there was five hundred thousand
,In1
by the winner, who had three treys and a
pair of jacks. / expressed my surprise at
the size of the game, and told the boys that
they had better 20 slow or their funds
would run out. Never fear, general re-
piled one of them. We will keep within
our means. You ought to have been here
Just now. Why we had n Jackpot of 81,
2OOCO0' ! think you will agree with me"
continued General Miles, that no bigger
poker game than that was ever played, and
for my part l am sure that Confederate
money never served a better purpose than
to amuse those Union soldiers in that rest
ing hour in that most wearing Of brief
campaigns"
SMALL BOYS SPRING POEM:
Say, isn't spring tn crazies' time?
Nothn' t do at all.
Tn felers don't do nothln';
Don't evenplay baseball.
Summers a good deal better,
Baseball-'n' ev'rything,
M when you're hot-go swlnnin',
Y'u can't do that in spring.
M winter, too Is pretty fair;
Y'u en- slide, m coast, m skate,
M paste man 18th snowballs;
1 say, the winters great!
M then there's fall-a right good time,
Footbal-'n' nuts to pick;
But all this stun bout beautiful spring
. Iii ~, olya i,ly