Pleasantville weekly press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1890-1911, 1897-11-17
A LETTER FROM THE
CITY BY THE SEA.
"Ar9us" Takes a Cunning
Trip Off Shore.
AND TELLS TIE truth" ABOUT HIsEypEDITIoN
HE CANNOT COMPETE WITH EXPERT
ROMANCERs-sOME POINTERS" ABOUT
ABsECoN GAINED FROM A NEW AC-
QUAINTANCE WHO DID NOT KNOW HIM.

ABsECON GAINED FROM NEW AC-
My last letter, / hear, has caused con-
siderable comment among the politicians,
some mutual recriminatiOns, and q de-
sire upon the part of one of them to
dump me endwise into Gardner's Canal.
Fearing that this patriotic intention
| might be put into execution decided to
| give my quarrelsome critics another
week to digest the meat in my last COM
munication, so that they may be able to
take some more bracing nourishment
which | hope to be able to administer in
| the near future. therefore concluded to
empty this goodly city of my presence
for three or four days and go off Shore
to chase rabbits, shoot few quail with
| my pocketbook, and then come back and
tell my friends the usual lies concerning
| cunning in the woods. l tried to think
| up" some new lie that would ego"
among unsuspicious friends, but when l
tried to do so | found that the ground
had been pretty well covered by such old
gunners as Mayor Stoy, "Dave" Mas
sano, "Shinn" Willitts, Stewart Shinn,
DR.. Reed, Cameron Hinkle and host of
other good fellows who pay the highest
cash prices for meat that flies or runs
through the bushes "off Shore" When
| I found what O hopeless task it would be
for me to compete with their shooting
romances, 1 Just made up my mind to do
as Old Grover did, "tell the TRUTH" even
| if it discredited my skill.
| As matter OF fact | tramped one
whole day through woods, bushes, and
underground, some of which was so
thick mouse couldn't bave got through
| it. l tore my trousers, scratched my
hide, and got back to the Shore Road a
little before sunset fOotsore, tired and
hungry, and with q consuming thirst
like that of an Ocean City resident when
a barrel of rum is floating ashore from
stranded ship. l was badly scared. in
the woods above Absecon, by a partridge
suddenly breaking loose, from a bush he
was caught in, and knocking my hat off
as he took his departure. l maintain it
is mean bird that will do a thing like
that to an Atlantic City gunner, 80 |
shot off both barrels of my eight-pound
breech loader just to show him that l
resented such unprofessional conduct.
| As am telling the truth about my trir,
" i'll remark, right here, that the wicked
bird did not discontinue his fight but
kept right on his course just as though
had not fired. l assume he did that
because did not find any dead partridges
in the vicinityAand in factnever saw him
at all after he knocked my hat off.
merely fired at the noise and at the place
in the atmosphere where l thought he
ought to have been. Later on | was
convinced he wasn't there. l have some
reason to suspect that hurt the feelings
of rabbit by sending some shot danger
ously near him, but he didn't stop to
complain about it When my raid was
ended l found l had two rabbits, and
lacked only twelve of having a dozen
quail. When ! landed back here, how
ever, l displayed seven quail, and had all
the rabbits | could eat in two weeks.
The prices l paid for them were quite
reasonable and, in fact, not as high as
some of Atlantic City's ''crack shots"
are in the habit of paying for game they
bring home. Altogether | regard my
cunning expedition as a great success.
I got home safely without shooting any
body, and didn't hurt the poor birds that
navigate the air rather rapidly.
Having an eye to business as well as
pleasure, 1 quietly interviewed" an un-
suspectingcitizen of Absecor, and tried to
get some pointers" on that beautiful
old town. "You amt one of them news
paper correspondents, are you 2" said
my newly-made acquaintance. II am a
gunner, in pursuit of game" remarked,
as lodged his leading question. ''Obl"
he said, Il was afraid you might be some
feller sent up here by the PLEAsANTvILLE
PRESS to pump US dry on the news" /"
"Is the PRESS read much around here"
asked. "Well, should say it was," he
said, ct has big circulation here, and
every body reads it. But we are pretty
careful how we talk, for the PREss
manages to get onto about everything
that is going on. There is teller over
in 'Lantic City that pitches into every
body and roasts them in great style.
He signs his name Argus but | s'pose
that amt his real name" Probably
not" causually remarked, newspaper
writers rtquently hide themselves behind
some assumed name." Eyes that's SO,
Well, as l was about to say, the PRESS
and that feller Argus has been a roastin'
the Board of Freeholders, for all they're
worth. You know Capt. 'Bill Cordery' e
one Of 'em too; but Capt. Bills a pretty
good old feller, and none of US think
there's anything crooked about him.
iii bet We he don't vote to pay no six OF
seven dollars freight on twenty dollar
desk. Seems to me there must be some
mistake about that-but the Press said
the bill was brought in at the last meet.
ing of the Freeholders and laid over"
"How do the people around here stand
on the question of removing the County
Seat ~ l inquired. ~Moet of 'em are in
favor of it; but they want it to come to
Absecon, There are lots of nice places
around here where the County Seat
would just fit in. Say, did ye ever think
what foe location it would be down
at the old homestead of the late Aaron
Steelman That would be a dandy
place for it-such high ground, beautiful
view of the Bay and Atlantic City and 9
railroad close by. "Will" Ryon own il
now, but expect he would be willing to
sell it for fair price. / hope the PRESS
will start the ball rolling again for the
removal of the County Seat, and give us
a chance to vote on it anyhow"
Having convinced himself that l was
not newspaper correspondent, without
telling him so myself, my newly-formeC
acquaintance then proceeded to unload
some information concerning the loca
political situation the substance o
which was that the contest for Post
master lay between Jerry Carton who
was Postmaster under Harrison's ad
ministration, and young Dan" Walters
who want to be under Mckinley 3
Both, he said were good men and th'
people would be satisfied with either.
then asked hims@hat was the secret o
Ed" Wilson's "pull'' in Absecon. sob
Ed is q bully good fellow" said be
| and ouorxhodu GIrou him Ho mokos 4