The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1901-03-09
Some Of John Alien Funniest Stories.
Tho retirement from tho hon.

4
Tho retirement from the hous,
of representatives at the close O
the present congress of John M
Allen, of Mississippi, will termi
\ nate all hope of Washingtonian.
to hear fall from his lips more OF
those humorous phrases Of this
wags invention which, like
the sallies of poor Yorick, wer,
wont to set the table on a roar
One of his good stories is tins:
Before my election | came
home one night, and found that
while | had been off on my cam.
paign the leaders of our party hac
organized Il Cleveland, Hendricks
and Allen club, and they we're tc
have meeting that night. j went
and when they got through speak,
ing they called on me. [ express.
my convictions, and said what
wanted them to do for me wher
the election took place, in abou,
two weeks. There were q good
many negroes present, and i want.
ell to get them interested; so
got the boys to call on Jim Cum.
mings.an old,sllm negro. Old Jim
got up and said: well, gentlemen
youse heard Mr.. Taylor and Mr.,
Andersen onthe politics OF day.
Thay''se told you what sort of o
man Cleveland is, and what sort
OF a man Blaine is, and it don't
look to me like no honest man
ought to have any trouble in
picking out between them two
You heard Mr.. Allen grated about
himself so much higher than the
balance of us can recommend
that 1t amt wuth while fer me tt
sayanythlng much about him. :"
MIR. Allen takes special pride
in this poker story, because,
says he, "the oratory employed
in it is thoroughly illustrative oi
Southern pluck, of which | claim
to be the highest type. There
w. lot of drummers in the smok,
ing car of a Southern train, anc
they were talking about the games
of poker they had played. An Ole
fellow was sitting near them
He wore an ancient high hat and
was smoking pipe. One of the
drummcrs said: Il played re-
markable game the other night.
We were playing jack-pots, draw
limit. A man across the table
opened the jackpot; raised him;
he raised me back; | raised him
about 81 times; then called him
He had a jack high straight flush.
Hereupon the old fellow addres.
sed the speaker; he seemed disap-
pointed at the story. And you
called hlm2' he asked. Yes,
'Ah' exclaimed the old fellow, with
a sigh times amt like they used
to be. Why gentlemen, j am bet
ting on a hand that was played in
1857. ! will explain how il, vas.
You see | am from Tennessee. In
1857 my father and old Colonel
Dobbins started into a game at
Murfreesboro, and they got &c
betting, 1t appeared like they
were both pretty well satisfiec
with their hands, and neither of
them was!willing tocall. They kept
on betting as long as they bad any
money; they got to betting niggers
and then they got to betting land.
They kept betting as long as they
had any land, and then they agreed
just to seal up their hands and
put them in the safe, and, AS they
got money along, to put it upon
them. That went on till the war
broke out; my father went into
the Confederate army and he wa,
killed. Old Colonel Dobbins died
But after the war was over the ole
colonels son, Jim and me, WI
took it up, and as we git money
along now we put it up on then
hands; and strangers, | do hope
to get them hands before / die.
"a colored orator can rise tt
very eloquent heights. l ono,
heard a pithy funeral sermon de-
livered by negro preacher ovel
a defunct darky. The dead mal
had been fond of attending gay
parties, where he whistled ant
danced, and these practices tht
preacher did not approve, so h,
said; my breathern and sisters
we are here to pay our last sat
respects to our departed brother
Some says he was a good man ant
some some says he was bad man
Where he has gone to we cam
tell, but in ourgrief we has on,
consolation, and that is-that h
I ic 1oadp >,