The Van Buren press., 1896-05-30
WANTON CRUELTY.
Bill Arp Speaks His Mind on the
Subject
His Opinion of the Man Who seedlessit
gisks His Life He Once shot
His Seighbor's Cow, Is Now
sorry for 1t.

And the sports killed ! 900 pigeons IN
Macon the other day. That IS awful
| did not know there were such unfeclf
ing people in this civilized country.
There IS nothing more harmless, moth
ing SO happy and 50 beautiful as the
pigeons that domesticate around our
homes and seek the protecting care oil
mankind. / thought that this cruel
sport had been abandoned and that clay
pigeons we're substitutes and were
thrown from a trap by spring. No
wonder the good people in Macon re-
fused to witness the unfeeling sport.
II is an honor TO them and il seems to
me they might have found some law to
prevent it. Where did they get so many
pigeons? 1t is possible that any gen
tIeman who had them on his place would
let his boys sell them for such sacri-
fee? Just think of it, \ thousand
happy, innocent birds torn and nangled
by shot and shell, legs broken or wings
and then dying a lingering death of
pain. This thing could not have been
done in Gainesville. The other day two
young bucks, who are proud of their
muscle, planned a boxing match to come
off at the city hall and our mayor and
council rose up in arms and called out
the militia and beat the long roll and
issued proclamation and scared the
young bucks so bad they left the town
Cor three days. Their boxing gloves
,sre seized as contrabands of war and
lave been filed away among the
s,Dphies. One of the bucks is from Eng
Ind and the affair may yet get up an
.ther Venezuelan complication with the
1onroo doctrine attached. What right
mas Johnny Bull to be knocking out an
american born citizen? No, We don't
believe in sports that are cruel or dam
gerous A man went up in balloon
nere to-day ard hung from it by his
toes on a trapeze and then cut loose and
came down with parachute and every
| body gazed and wondered, for it was
| free show, but he ought not to have
| been allowed TO do it. for they get killed
sooner or later, and it eXcites a thirst
| for dangerous risks and an Indifference
| to death. A man who will wantonly and
| foolishly put his life in Hazard is fool
| for want of sense and will never get to
Heaven, in my opinion. Many years ago
| / saw Blondin, little Ftcnchman, who
| was brought over by Niblo to dance the
| rope at his garden show in New York.
| The garden wasn't big enough for his
| ambition and he got to walking ropes
from steeples of high buildings and
leXt over waterfalls, and last over the
| great chasm below Niagara falls. The
last time | saw him he was walking over
that chasm on a rope that was 800 feet
long and was $50 feet above the surging
waters and he had a man on his should
1ers. Well, of course, that was very
wonderful and very perlous, but it ac-
eomplished no good to anybody and no.
| body would have cared if he had fallen
md killed himself Just another fool
| gone" the spectators would have said
And | have known my father tell about
Sam Patch, who astonished the country
by jumping from top masts of vessels
and from high bridges. lie jumped the
falls of Paterson, n. j., about 100 feet,
and then the falls of Niagara and Roch-
ester, and finally was found four months
afterwards and he was pronounced a
| first-class fool.
| But still / have more respect for
Blondin and Sam Patch than for any set
of men who will wantonly kill 900
pigeons just to show off their skill in
shooting. 1t is a bad sign in a boy to
lie cruel. We have pigeons at our home
and they give us pleasure every day
and sometimes the bad boys slip around
in the back alley with their sling shots
and shoot them from their hiding
places and we find the dead birds living
around, and it distresses my wife sore
ly. What makes boys do so? Why do
they love to shoot English sparrows?
The girls have no such desire. They
would rather caress them and nestle
them in their bosoms. Man is harder
hearted than woman and maybe the
maternal instincts has something to
10 with 1.-THE love of little helpless
creatures Maybe it is because she was
the last and best of Gods creations.
One day took down my gun in anger
10 shoot COW that was in my cornfield.
She had broken down the fence several
times, but old John Allan was a good
neighbor and had promised to fix his
renee and didn't do it, and he was away
from home q good deal, for he was a
! millwright. My wife begged me not
to shoot his COW, but / did it, and put
out one Of her eyes and tore her up
pretty bad. | didn't see John for some
lime and didn't want to. One morning
ne stopped at the gate and asked how
we all were and talked about the rain
: and the weather, and after awhile re.
marked that he had been right busy re-
pairing his part of that old fence, and il
was all right now. "My caows will not
trouble you hany more, 'ope," he said
in his English broguc Then, of course.
had to apologize for shooting his cow
! and to explain how much damage she
had done. WELL" said he, Thought
fully, when | came 'ome | was very
sorry for you and for the corn, but more
sorry for my caow. Hit was my fault
, and not 'ers. ! wouldn't av shot your
, caow, major, but hi am not complainin'
You 'ay been good nabor to me md
your children 'av been kind TO mine
Good morning Hive broke my hadze
and 'aV' 10 get new one"
GOOD old John Allan. He died the
, ether any and DIR. FELTON, preached his
funeral. lie was a good nabor and nm.
: hones' man. am sorry that | shot his
cow He loved IN TIT A..