Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-12-29
BALLOONS PLAYING
BALL IN FAR AWAY
PHILIPPINES


CHICAGO, Dec. 16.-'There amt nc
use disputin' it. The constitution may
follow the flag. but basebalIs a close
third. I've been down in Mindanao in the
Philippines, nearly two years and know
/ amt set in the bleachers since '9S but
I've seen lot Of baseball
He was an elongated, rangy, sun baked
ex-volunteer, evidently just getting used
TO the town again after his service in
the army.
"Queerest dern game / ever see was one
we played We had two teams in the
company, which was M of the Thirty-first
two year volunteers. They showed us off
to Baganga, on Mindanao, where there
wasn't nothin' to do but eat and swim
and watch for the mail boats, which
come once a month or so. Course we had
guard duty to stand and all that, but
when we were there the niggers was
friendly and them Moros quiet We or
ganized a team I'm each mess but you
can't pick two good teams out of 100 men,
so lots of times we were short handed.
We'll. stree. Bob, one mornin' while we were
playing scrub the derndest lookin' babOon came
out of the thicl5et you ever see The monkeys
down there were so thick We d got SO we didn' I
notice 'em, but this a caution. He
looked like Cy Seymour when the other team
was hitting him, only worse. He sat around
and seemed interested IN the game Next day
that same old baboon was there again, watch
in us and seeming TO study the game. He got
so he came regular, and one day Lucas. that
our first baseman. threw the ball at him.
The old fellow sitting on his launches
half dozin', but when he see that ball comm
he stuck out one paw, grabbed 1t, smelled it.,
looked at it carefully and SHE'D 1t back clean
across the field. We all give Lucas the laugh
and We broke up the game tossing the ball
to that baboon. He caught everything that came
his way and the way he shot that ball back at
us was a wonder.
Every time we played a game that big
was there come sliDpin' nm q the
diamond. squat down and watch the game. One
afternoon some O the gang got leave and hiked
shorthanded We motioned for Cy, we called
the baboon to come and play and he came.
He didn't seem to learn the game fast but by
the time We got to the third inning he had
grabbed in two flies and got a base on balls.
After that he played with US regular.
We'll. one day Cy was missn and about the
same time every ball in the company disap-
peared. We had to roll balls out of yarn until
could send to Manila for dozen. All this
time never caught a glimpse of Cy. In
fact. we didn't see him until the day before
Christmas. 1 wuz sittin' up in the shade wOH-
derin' whether it was worth while to walk down
to Glad Hand Charles and get drink or
just sit still when 1 see old Cy kind O. lopin'
through the bushes. I hollered at him an he
came over. Seemed glad to see me and he
seemed so kind O. human l held out my hand
to shake. He reached out and handed me a
ball, and then he began to make signals. Took
me quite while to get onto what he was
ball He made a lot more signals and hiked
on through the bushes again.
Next mornin, just after we got off parade
ii bein Christmas we went out to plav q
game of bail just TO get up our appetites for
that plum pud. When we got to the diamond
the derndest sight l ever see was there. Old
Cy had brought down team from the hills
to play a game. He had his team out on
the field practicin. and settin' around the base
lines wuz about all the monkeys and apes and
balloons and chimpanzees in NindaRoa and
natives. We just stopped and hollered
from laughin', and finally Lleuty Fawner, that
he TAI Of f4lr hOl mt nd
says:
Come on. boys. let's trim 'em upr
Well. stree, We offered 'em about four men
before they'd accept one as umpire. but just
soon as we got one on the line that suited
EN- them monks on the lines began to crowd up
ana noid Out money c DeTn ,a II s1ey osgn
more and. then, seem as probably they d
stole that money. which was dobe money,
from some Chink, we just bet EN-, but they
bet us to a standstill
That game wuz q caution. Cy's team went
to - Arst. The first batter was a little old
grw monkey with a tail about seven feet
long. He wuz about two feet high and our
pitcher couldn't get 'em over and gave him a
base The arst thing he done when he reached
first was to lay his tail carefully across the
base and walk about seven feet down the line.
We kicked but the umpire said that II was all
right and that monk stole second and third
He'd play thirty feet up the line and II the
pitcher threw to the base he'd run back a
piece and swing his tail across the base and
It's derned hard to touch a tail swingin' through
and dern me If they didn't make two runs
that first innin'.
I'VE begin to see that we didn't have no snap.
but when we see old Cy go out to pitch We
knew we wuz up against it, He had all the
pitchers skinned. He pitched DIFF
ferent curve with each foot and I'm derned IL
I could tell whether he was going to use his
left hind leg his right hand. The only run
we got that fnnin' was on a man bein' hit end
goin' around on passed balls
We broke our necks after that trying to beat
them monks. Keller, called the little
monk that led of, made a run every time he
come to bat. The way he run bases was awful.
tried steppin his tail. but the umpire
called me down. Them balloons couldn't hit
much not bein' practiced, but they simply
rolled up the runs and we got ratified. It kind
o. confuses a man to slide TO second and have
the baseman touch him with any one Of four
feet. Any old time one of them monks fun
bled grounder he just picked 1t up with any
foot that happened to be nearest and SHE'D II
over to first base. tried to touch one Of them
at second and he leaped clear over me.
well, anyhow, them monks beat us is TO 5,
and they won all of our Christmas money.
NO I didn't smoke any dope over there.
I'm givin' you facts. I'm gOin' to get Ted
Sullivan to go back over there with and
organize a league, and you bet I'll draw big
crowds, for there's a population of 40 100000
monkeys Of all sorts over there besides Moros
and niggers, and II Ted can organize a club
in every different tribe Of monkeys and then
form a league he'll get more money than
Uncle Russ Sage ever See"
PhanonaenaI Rov