The times., 1901-06-23
OLD MAN BARNEY MORRIS
Claiming an Age Record of 100
Years, He Is Still Able to Work.
Gathering Leaves in Prospect Park,
BrookIyn-TeiIs of His Exploits in
Youthful Days - Could whip Any
Man in America when Youth.

i =
BrookIyn-rells of His Exploits fn
Youthful Days Could whip Any
Man in America when n Youth.
Though today marks the one hundred
and ninth milestone in Barney Morris life,
/ though he has seen and done more strange
things than any other man living or dead.
Barney was on duty with his spiked stick
in Prospect Park all day long. apparently
as vigorous and determined as ne was
| last year or the year before OF, for that
matter. score OF years ago. II Barney's
age or Barney's experience is ever called
In question his retort invariably is, why.
what do you know about such things7
That happened when your grandfather
was a baby and the world must take
Barney s word for IL, because there is no
other way.
With this understanding. Barney Morris
was born at Central Port. County Caven,
Ireland, June 1e, 1872. He came 20 this
country seventy-nine years ago. For forty
nine years he drove a coach. and for
thirty years ne has been laborer in Pros
pect Park. Everyone who has ever vis-
tied the park knows him, and many are
the tales of his earlier prowess and OF
strange adventures on land and sea that
Barney has told his wondering hearers. IL
these stories were gathered in a volume
they would rival the fables of Baron
Munchausen. Some of them lack eoher-
ence, for there is no denying that Barney
is getting old and at times his vivid i'm
agination supersedes his recoIIection- The
tales may have had an authentic founda-
tion, but they are strangely like to
dreams
Barney lives with his son-in-law, H. d.
Cohen al E>rafr
He was early at the park today, and be-
fore the heat had driven the wandering
denizens to the shade Barney had filed
his bag with the waste paper of Sunday
excursionists and was resting in the
straw-thatched shelter house near the
main entrance. An Eagle" reporter
found him there surrounded by dozen
or more persons of all ages. who were
listening eagerly while the old man
talked. He speaks in a low monotone, but
occasionally when he thinks his words
are doubted. when children smile and
wink at one another, mis- bent form
straightens. his eyes fash, and he makes
vicious iunges with the sharp pointed
stick. The children. young and old.
scamper from danger, the old man
chuckles. and. with the question. What
do you know about it?' continues his
story.
Eighty years ago I could beat any
man in the United States wrestling, fight
ing, running, jumping, or swimming" he
said today. There were no six men in
Brooklyn who dared to tackle me. But
I'm getting old. getting old; 100 today
You must have seen some strange
things in your time" said one of the audi
ence, evidently not new to Barney's
tales.
Strange things" said Barney, cycling
his interrogation savagely. There is no
man in the world. TO man that ever lived,
has seen the things that 1 have Why.
1 have seen three devils come out of the
body of a man. I've poled them with a
stick and watched them run up and down
the floor. I've seen a half man and half
woman picking huckleberries out in
Hampstead. I've walked with these feet
for mile over dead bodies. so that my
feet never touched the ground. Did you
ever see half man, half woman?" he
asked sharply, turning to the reporter.
NO. 1 guess not. You haven't lived 100
years You haven't seen anything
1T was about sixty years ago, while
was driving a man to Hampstead. He
said, Come with me and I'll show you
a wonderful sight We crept up over the
we saw this half man, half woman pick
ing huckleberries 1t was no farther
away than that tree. It heard US and
jumped over the bushes and trees and
ran like a deer, faster than any human
being ever ran, and dived into the lake
1t used to live there and we waited all
day for it TO come up, but it wouldn't
come up while we were there
Il saw the three iTnps of the devil in
ireland The brother Of a friend OF
mine was sick and the doctors couldn't
cure him. He thought he was going TO
die and he called in the priest. 1 heard
about him and 1 sent for a Protestant
minister When the minister came the
priest said: What do you come into my
parish for? Can you cure this man? The
clergyman said: don't know whether I
can cure him or not Leave me alone with
him and I'll see.' They left him alone with
the man and pretty soon he says, Come
ini and called in all the men and women
in the house. Now he says, all the
men stand in row along this side of the
room and all the women stand in row
along this side. and you, he says, turn
ing to the mans brother, come here with
me- Now he says. the trouble with this
man is that there are three unsanctified
imps of the devil devouring him and eat
ing his vitals. 1 have power to call them
out The first two no one but his broth
er can see, but the last one, the most dew
ilish unsanctified- one of all. you can see.
I'll have him run up and down the floor
and you can all take crack at him.
Then the clergyman, he held up two
sticks like cross, and he says: Come
out av him, ye imp of the devi1i Come
out No l.. And the first devil come out
And. turnin' to the mans brother, the
clergyman says: Did you see him2 And
the mans brother says: Yes, saw him.
Then the clergyman says: Come cut av
him, you second devil and the second
devil come out And he says to the mans
brother, Did you see him?' he says. And
the mans brother says: Yes. 1 sfw him.
Then the clergyman turned to the rest
of us and says: This last devil is the
worst one of all. He'll come hard, the
clergyman says. And he held up the cross
of wood and waved it around his head
three times and says: In the name Of the
Lord, come out av him. and while he was
talking the sick man gave an awful grOan
and little black devil, with red eyes and
a red tail. come running out of his mouth
The little devil looked up and down the
line of men and women and jumped down
on the floor. Then he ran at the line of
women and tried to get between them, but
they kicked him back, and he ran up and
down the line. a-bitin at our feet. The
men all had clubs and whenever he came
our way we hit him a crack, but he was
that tough that it took US half an hour
.o kill him And we hurled him and for