Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-09-18

the United States he has chiefly worked
the country from the other side of the AL
leghanies to the Pacific slope. His short
stop-off here was the first time he had
been in Washington, and he was bound for
New York, which queer town he has also
suffered to get along without his nightin-
gale notes up to the present. In the mat
ter of apparel. he was gotten up regard
less. according to the race tout stand, ard,
as he promenaded the avenue.
Il only wear sporty goods like these
when I'm making long Jumps" he said to
The Star reporter. when I anchor in a
town for business my makeup is :, rusty
black sack suit, a bum hat. skates out at
the toes, and hard-luck face. No crowdll
stand for 1t il you pass around the Jingle
hat when you're putting up good front
You've got to dress the part. They want
to see that you're on the hog before they
studied this thing, you see, and that's the
reason I've done pretty well at it,"
The final wcrd of Coleson's nickname
was bestowed upon him because his ears
stand out from his head like those of the
animal beloved of the government and be-
cause he can move them backward and fer
ward as easily as winking. He is red-nair-
ed, shreWd after the manner of the pave,
years old. His whistling is really remark
able. He told something of his own story
in an uncomfortable patois, both of the
ievees and of the pave
A Wharf Rat.
I'm st. Louis wharf rat said he, but
l never went over the road for swiping
brass fittings from the river boats, like
most Of the rats was raised alongside of.
1 took to whistling early enough to keep
out of any trouble like that. When 1 was
only five years old l could whistle pretty
nearly any old thing. Guess 1 got it from
my mother. 1 lost track of her when
was four years old, but I remember well
enough what fine whistler she was The
old man told me before he croaked that
she used to whistle US kids to sleep, in
stead OF singing. like most women do.
Anyhow, by the time was five and had
just begun to sell papers, 1 could whistle
anything that came my way in the shape
of tune and the bigger kids down on the
levee used to make me whistle for 'em by
the hour. When got tired and quit they'd
chuck me in the river, and when I got hack
on dry land was glad enough to whistle
until they let up on me. 1t was good prac-
tice for me. but couldn't see 1t then.
Il was selling papers out at Shaw's Gar
dens one Saturday afternoon. and whistling
TO keep on edge, for l was stuck bad, with
whole armful of first editions, and 1 felt
Weepy, like ten-year-old does. l noticed
a crowd gathering around, and I went On
whistling. 1t had never struck me very
hard until then that had a good thing in
this whistling game, although lot of peo-
pie had often asked me on the street where
I'd learned some of the things I whistled
But this Shaws Gardens crowd kind of
put me onto the thing, and l whistled for
all l was worth. I passed around the
jingle cap when was through, and it was
big pull-down. That settled 1t. didn':
sell any more papers. l worked the parks
and beer gardens for couple of years in
the summer time, and in the winter ! hit
up the hotel bars and the places where the
sports got together. 1t was a good thing
until the cops got to chasing me around. 1
had a-plenty of dust during those two
years to jam around and play the races
with. Play the ponies when I was only
ten years old? Well, I guess yes, and beat
em out often, at that!
On the Mississippi.
when the cops got on my trail for
whistling all the spare change out of folks
clothes in ST.. Louis. 1 took to the river
boats, doing the trips all the way down
to New Orleans. and made fat thing of
it. I worked the boats for two years. The
summer was the best time. I'd slip into
begin to whistle mellow things to catch
the ears Of the guys half Jagged. After
the whfstling had attracted their atten-
ton they'd ring me up for whole nights
soggy. rummy things that 1 knew. like
'Schubert's Serenade,' and such things.
They'd always produce up to the limit, the
pipey mugs, full of wine and stuff, that
I'd work this way. l had barefooted,
one-suspender makeup on the boat trips
that always did the trick, and when
was asked any questions 1 always threw
EN- ballad and waltz bout cumming my
to my sister in St. Louis, IL it was an
up trip. The officers of the boats never
gave me away-because why. 1 bought
EN- off.
well, after a couple of years on the
big river, the regular passengers on the
lines began to get on to me, and although
they continued to give up some when 1
whistled new ones all the time. the rake
OFF DIDN'T size up at all with that it had
been. The last trip l made on New Or
leans beat had queer sort of wind-up.
The old Robert E. Lee was the boat. She
was within an hours run of New Orleans,
giving 'em moonlight music. Among the
things started to whistle was that weepy
ballad. Marguerite hadn't gotten into
the dozenth bar of it before there was a
big yell from a swell-iooking guy sitting
by the starboard rail-; and he was Just
about to jump overheard when a couple
OF men with him grabbed him. He threw
such fit then that they had to tie him
up. His two friends explained to, the other
passengers that the man had recently
been let out OF an insane asylum at Men,
phis. and that he had gone daffy over the
death of his wife. whose name was Mar
guerite. And here was I. hd7like. (but
how'd knowD spelling off that moist
tune. for the sake of the quarters I got
from the mugs holding girls hands! I
shelved that song after that.
Down I'm Honduras.
1.-THE first time I hit up a foreign country
was when made the run from New Or
leans over to Honduras. and I. learned a
whole lot over there. ia have, starved to
death II hadn't. You see. the kind OF
music I whistled for 'em in this country
didn't go over there at ell. had been
working on the Sweet violets' and White
Wings kind Of trilling with variations on
the river boats, and sticking close to Amer
lean music with swing to It. But found
that my stock OF whistles didn't go at all
In Honduras. and It looked like q cinch
that I was in for hay-eating spell 4 !
didn't learn some OF the dago music that
drives walnut-hided people about eleven
miles higher than the moon. So went to
the opera in Teg,icigalpa and picked up
some Of their tunes. can whistle any
thing that hear once. without missing q
note. because. az I've said, was born
right for it: The first thing that ! picked
up at that Tegucigalpa opera was this
Here Cole9on puckered I'M his lips and