The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-10-05
RUFF elseLg,s BILLIARD BALLS.
they Were Not Ivory CeIiuIoid and
Were Never Turned.

"How does 1t come that you have red,
white and blue billiard balls:' asked
the whip salesman Of Rufe EiseIe. who
keeps the Brant House at SlOOp Creek.
IT'S kinder extraordinary, ain I it,
said Rufe. But somehow or another
extraordinary things happen down here
You wouldn't believe it if I told you
that ! had them balls afore had the
table. l bought the table for $40 from
Bart GreenIeaf, and he won IL at rattle
uTJ 10 Asbury. That tables with plum
$3.50, and the balls is just gift Of ma
ture-come by a special act of Provi-
dence, you might say. You never see
balls Just like them before. They amt
ivory, and they amt celluloid If they
was celIuloid, they wouldn't be here
now. They amt this patent putty com
position that they make cheap pool balls
of either Just what they are l ain
prepared to say, and 'spect that the
nature of the material these We're made
from Is changed from what 1t was at
first.
''I'Il tell you how come by 'em, and
you II learn what extraordinary things
can happen down hereaways. a year
ago the 18th of June there was party
of Brooklyn fellows down here, and
they set out for good time They
fetched cards and chips with them and
lowed TO play poker until o'clock in
the morning and then go fishing L sot
up with them and took a hand in the
game We were setting at that round
table, and it was pushed over In the cor
ner between them windows Long
about ID O'Clock I was mixing drinks
for the crowd, when I heard thunder and
mutterin and see flashes of lightning.
I told them fellows they'd better move
away from the windows, but they
laughed at me.
lone fellow had been winning right
straight along. He had a big pile OF
chips in front Of him, and they was IN
his way. SO he began stacking them up
according to color and laid % Of each
kind in stacks side by side on the win
dow sill. Meanwhile the storm broke
and the lightning played hob around
the house. The party got kinder scared
and jumped up promptly when | pro-
posed to all to go to the bar and have a
drink. I was Just setting out the glasses
when there was a swish of lightning
that turned the whole air blue. 1 didn' t
fire dancing round the room, and one
of them hit me right on the breast and
knocked me down behind the bar. Ev-
cry man in the room was hit plumb III
the cizzard with a ball Of fire and
knocked fat. don't know how long 1t
was before we all come to and took our
| drinks, but / do know that the storm
had passed. I looked round and was
surprised to find that nothing had been
hurt. After the fellows all took their
drinks they wanted to play poker again
and started for the table. There the fell
| low that had won most Of the chips put
| I'D a holler about them. He said some
body had got 'en.
IT didn't b'lieve that possible, and l
told him that the lightning had prob
ably knocked them often the window
| sill. Then he looked on the floor under
| the table and said, Il don't see no chips,
but here's billiard ball, and he picked
ND a red ball Now never had bill
lard ball in my house before, and l
thought that he was playing trick on
me until one OF the other fellows moved
his feet and rolled white bali out on
the floor. 7 picked it up and found it
was hot. a minute later Ike Hicks gave
a whoop and held mp blue billiard
ball, saying it was the first he ever seen
| in his life Then it come TO US all at
| once that the lightning had struck them
poker chips and melted 'em into sollc
balls. P'raps they amt quite as regular
as some, but they answer all our pur-
poses. New York Sun.