Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1900-12-21

In a huge barn away out on Western
row, which seemed to have been built
to fit 1t. A good big room al parti.
toned of for me in one front corner.
The cages were ranged along the side
walls, with a runway behind them. and
in box stalls across the farther end
were the zebra, the elephant. the cam.
ell and the sacred COW. A monster red.
hot stove stood in the middle of the
central space, with a large bunch light
over it. Altogether it vas as warm,
, bright, clean and CHEEKY a place as
you'd want to see, as everybody said
who saw 1t, and we had a good many
visitors.
Gagged animals become restless II left
alone, and l never went out more than
an hour or two at a time. but even at
i that l took a good many long walks
Z for exercise and to see the city, leaving
4 black Sammy helper-and the two
= cage cleaners for the animals to look
at. But as time ran along to near
Christmas l seemed to lose heart for
going out much. Something in the
air made m feel myself. more than
ever before. a hopelessly lonesome.
homeless total stranger.
The stores were brighter and gayer
than l had ever noticed their being
before; the streets full Of happy faced
people carrying bundles Of Christmas
presents; the windows of homes adorn-
ed with evergreen festoons and Christ
mas wreaths; the shopmen's wagons
busy delivering good things for Christ
kmas dinners and Christmas trees.
The Lord knows l didn't begrudge
anybody's happiness. but it all made
me feel unutterably' sad. In all the
world l knew of no one whose eyes
would brighten or lips smile a welcome
for my coming. AS for sharing in the
{ general JOY of the Christmas season.
might as we'll have been that ornary
camel-the meanest dispositioned beast
alive. to my thinking-as a man with
q heart to feel his loneliness. Every
other man had friends, even poor old
black Sam.
And what made it harder to bear
Awas that home and love belonged in
nay past and l could not forget them.
When l came back to New York after
q winter engagement with "Bentley's
Aggregation" in the West Indies and
South America, l found my dear wife
Atzzie had been run down by a Broad
way stage and killed. And what had
become of my sweet little baby girl
Jennie, only 4 years old. nobody could
tell me. That al a dozen years back,
but never since have l felt any less
heartsick and lonely than when my
&rief was fresh, and in the winter,
along about Christmas, l always feel II
most.
The animals, as l sat brooding by the
BILE and feel sorry for me They would
stand still a long time looking at me
and the elephant, I'm sure, tried to ask
Ny his little squeals, what was the mat
ter. Only that mean camel screwed
up his nose ~scornfullike, as If be didn',
care a cuss who felt bad, which he Ger.
tainly didn't.
Friday morning, the third day before
Christmas, Jack Henderson, a young
reporter, dropped in. as he often did,
yand happened to remark: 1T seems
hard to be imprisoned for life without
an occasional happy day to vary the
monotony. Gagged animals ought to
have holidays"
That set me thinking after he was
gone, and ! made up my mind the men.
agerie under my charge should, for
+ once anyway, have a Christmas. | con.
sidered what every bird and beast in
the lot liked best and mostly never
got, and all those things ! meant they
should have on Christmas day. That
afternoon l went out buying and laugh
Led to myself when | thought | was ac.
~Rtually purchasing Christmas presents
for a lot of folks who would be sure tc
appreciate them.
l got for the birds all sorts Of choice
fruits, nice seeds, ants eggs, meal
worms, and so on, according to theil
several tastes, and for the monkeys
'more fine fruit, fig paste, candy and