The age-herald., 1897-08-08
THREE NEGROES EAT
 FlFTY-TWO CANTELOUPES

speaking or watermelon stories, I'll bell you a csnteloupe story that takes the cake over anything you ever heard of," said young business man of Second ave- nue to an Age-Herald reporter yesterday
 Has the story got scales on ft?" quer- jed the scribe.
 NO. it is straight goods, yard wide and warranted not ito rip, ravel or run down at the heels"
 Well. fire away
 "A few days ago a coun.ryman who, among other products of the soil raises watermelone, canteloupes and fruits gen. erally. drove up in front of my place of business with a wagon load of cante- loupes. Naturally he was bent on dispos- ing of his stock in trade
 Jokingly I asked him what he would charge me for all the canteloupes I could eat. He named a small fee and, think ing had the best of the bargain, I took him up. found had gone up against it and had to acknowledge that had been worsted tin the deal.
 He gave me the laugh-one of those horsey ,osnesssI.Tand I determined to play for even.
 He drove tip in front of my place again in "a day oratwo, and in his peculiar style made me the same proposition as on the previous occasion. I asked him how much he would charge me for as many cante- loupes as three negroes in a nearby stable could eat He said 15 cents each. Not desiring to give chessnap away, haggled with him and insisted that he should make the price 40 cents for the three. He held out for the cenIts and l finally con- ssented on condition that he was not to interfere with the negroes until they cried out enough. He then added proviso that the negroes should eat every canta- loupe as they came to il. This was agreed upon and the negroes told to pitch in.
 ss'WelI, sir wish you had been there with kodack. You could have gotten the finest series of pictures ever printed in a newspaper. Those negroes had been hard at work all morning, and that, aoo, without breakfast. It was near the noon hour and they were in prime condition for feast of the lucious fruit.
 stOne by one the canteloupes began ito disappeaf, the negroes eating square down to the rind. F'lfteen, twenty, twen- ny-hNSy piiil LlCiOihS hdQ dlSdPpCdlSd The countryman began to grow uneasy. It really looked as if the gluhtons would eat everything in the wagon, and then go over the dashboard after the lamk, hungry looking mule between the shafts.
 "One of the negroes struck "a green canteloupe and hesitabed. The country man seeing an opportunity as he thought to choke off at least one of the negroes, orderad flirn to eat that one too. This is green, boss, and I can't eat it,, said the negro. tEaIt it. said the farmer. Or quit All right, sir,' said the negro. and 1t, too, went the way of many others.
 By dihis time a large crowd had gath cred around, and having caught on to the sttuation, tfsy began guying the vendor in cante1oupes. Some of them suggested that he call the negroes off, but he stead fastly refused to do so.
 '4T'he fortieth canteloupe had disap- peared and the negroes had shown no sign of abatement, and the old fellow be- gan to grow nervous. He walked back and forth behind the fast disappearing fruf; and he wore a weary look
 '"The negroes continued eating without seeming to weary, and finally the old fel- low threw up the sponge and cried out, H=re, you durn niggers, git away from dat tailboard fore knock you away and jumping into Ghe wagon gathered up the lines and drove away amid the shouts of laughter of the cnowd.
 By actual oornt of three gentlemen besides myself thoSss negroes had eaten fifty two of those canteboupes and were kicking because the councryman would not lst them finish. Tt was the grandest feast ever witnessed, and knowing was getting revenge on the fellow 1 en- joyed it hugely"
 ! Did you pay the f4llow?' innocently inquired she reporter.
 Ibid l? We'll I should say not, and the best of it is when he came back the next day made him treat besides"
 IA brother of the gentleman who mar rated the camteOupe eating was standing by at the time, and when iuhe narr'atof had finished, put in ais oar and remarked bhat if the old fellow had allowed him to enter ith= arena the coroner would have had to set on his corpse as he knew the man would have died of heart diseaseA