The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-27
CORNISH STUCK
IN THE TRANSOM
Was Full of Christmas
and Wanted More
Turkey.
Imprisonment Followed His De.
liberate Slight of the Vel
low.Legged Chicken.
Now He's Sorry "He Gone and Done
It," AMI Wakes From a Fear.
full Dream in a Cage.

John Cornish-colored, or rather off
color-awoke yesterday morning in fine,
roomy cell in the City Prison. He had a
hazy recollection that it was Christmas a
week or month before; that he had be-
come full of the occasion; that he had
slipped from a ladder and had caught his
foot In transom that stin geth like SER
pent and biteth like an adder; that he
had been suspended by the ankle for sew
eral days and nights in front of tie door
of poultry-dealer labeled for sale as a
prime bronze turkey, and that the police
had rescued him from his uncomfortable
position before some thrifty matron had
drawn him out and stuffed his 1nwards
with mashed potatoes, stale bread, seeded
raisins and sage and onion.
1t was a horrible dream, but part OF 1t
was true. Else why was he in jailP And
then there was an emerald and purple
bruise ON his right ankle where the wicked
transom had bitten him.
After while it all came back to him.
He mad forsaken the faith of his fathers in
the fat, corn-fed chicken, with golden
yellow legs, and had allowed himself to
become infatuated with roomful OF
leaden-legged turkeys.
The aforesaid turkeys were raised on
Miller & Lux's ranch in Kern, Tulare,
Kings. Fresno, Stanislaus, MERGED, San
Joaquin, San Benito and San Luis Oblspo
counties, for it requires a whole tier OF
counties as big as the New England
States to contain the ranch of the great
cattle firm. The birds were sent Dy the
firm as Christmas presents for their
friends in this City and were stored In
room u on the third floor of sos California
street. This room had been occupied by
pair OF pretty typewriters, but they had
moved out some time before, and the
silence of death, or rather OF dead tur-
KEYS pervaded the apartment 1t was
filled with cases containing the juicy
alfalfa-fed birds OF the desert.
Cornish had ben assistant to Janitor
Wilson for several m tbs, off and on-off
in dull seasons and on in busy seasons
and he happened to be on during this
week and got son" to the fact that there
were turkeys enough for regiment in the
room.
Then the police got "on" 10 him, and
that's why he looked cross-eyed through
the steel bars OF has bird cage in the City
Prison yesterday.
How did you happen to get stuck in
that transom?" was asked of him yester-
day by CALL reporter.
Mr.. Cornish is about three quarters, or
maybe three-quarters and half, white,
and his com plexion is coffee and milk. He
is little fellow, not more than 5 feet 5
inches tail, and weighs ahout 120 pounds.
1t could be observed at a glance that ne
was good fit for that ransom.
swell" replied the turkey-hunter, II
was full of Christmas. Fact is, | was full
of whisky and was drunk, and didn't know
what l was doing"
"Why aid you try to get into theroom?"
~ suppose / was after turkey. Dat s
true. / was SO drunk | slipped, and my
foot caught in the transom. l thought 1
was gwine to fall on my head on the flo,
shua but my foot got stuck on the tran
som and l hung head down outside the
do for fifteen minutes. / holered till the
police came and took me up. My head
was gitttn' full of blood, and l nearly
choked. Say, what's the use Of putting
all these things in the paper?"
Cornish went back to his cage, to be
joshed by the hobos. He is 80 years old
and native OF Maryland, and says that
he was never arrested before except ior
getting drunk.
He will appear before Judge Low next
Monday.