Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-08-28

position. But | don't know any
thing about playing piano. said tn,
friend, " can only play the chorc
of q on the instrument"
! That's all is necessary for tn,
Montana variety theater in Por
Townsend, said Burgess, and be
sides the salary is $50 per week
III not mention receiving the tcle
gram to Bray at ALL You 90 owe,
to Port Townsend. tell the leader 81
orchestra, a violin-p player. (this was
variety that advertised Il SO. 0O(
challenge band and orchestra, which
during its existence ever employed
only violin and piano. that Bray sent
you over.
After some delay and hesitancy on
the cornet- players part, he took the
telegram and landed in Port Town.
send. He met the proprietor of the
theater, told him he was the pianist
that Bray had sent over, and was
introduced to the leader.
The proprietor of the theater told
the cornet-player that both he and
the leader were so glad he had come,
and that they would now have a
first-class pianist, and hoped he
would stay with them, as the fellow
who had just left the job, was a scoun-
drel, was no pianist at all, and the
performers could not sing or dance
after his playing.
Well, the leader gave out the music
and started to play. OF course the
pianist was not there The leader
stopped and a consultation was held
between him and the pianist with the
result that the leader was to play
everything in &c" songs and ali,
telling the performers that the piano
was wreck and so on, forming all
sorts of excuses for which in re-
turn he was to receive half the salary
of the pianist at the end of the week.
When the salary $3.50 was hand
ed the pianist the leader was home;
the old steamer Panama, which
plyed between Sound ports and San
Francisco those days, had just called
at Port Townsend, the pianist (0
having his money, purchased passage,
and was soon on his way to Frisco"
When night came and no piano player
showed up, the leader was fearful in
denouncing the pianist (?) who had
skipped out, and so was the proprie-
tor of the theater. But the prOprie-
tor did not know why the leader
loaned, cursed, walked the floor like
a raving lunatic, and berated the
pianist (O so much, and you can guess
the fiddle scraper" did not tell him
the truth why he did so, either!
Well, the proprietor was fighting
mad to think his good and trusted
friend, Bray, would send him such
an internal. nO-good, jumping piano
player, and he went at once to Sc
attic to see him and seek an explana-
tion of the matter. He found BRAY
at the bar in the Bank Exchange
saloon. Before Bray could say hello,
the proprietor commenced and up
braided Bray in everything but
words of love. Burgess, the bar
tender, who had jobbed Bray, by not
giving him the telegram was laugh
ing in his sleeve.
Bray denied ever receiving a mes
sage from the proprietor of the Port
Townsend theater, which he never
did.
The proprietor told Bray he was a
liar, and Bray struck at him, then
the theater owner of Port Townsend,
Washington Territory, gave Chas. E.
Bray a realistic exhibition as to the
way he handled drunken sailor in
Port TOwnsand, who ordered bottle
OF beer and refused to pay for the
same. In short he gave Bray the
most severe drubbing that ever a
received, l guess.
Bray had to engage a substitute to
take his place as leader of the Bijou
for the period of two weeks.
Bray never knew what the cause of
his beating was for years, always tell
lig anyone who asked him about it,
that the theater proprietor from Port
Townsend was crazy at times from
But when Burgess, who
was drunk one day, a few years after,
told him how he received the tele-
gram, opened it, and sent his friend,
the cornet player to the job in Port
Townsend, Bray was furious for a
time, but soon forgave Burgess and
all ended in:
What's yours?"
-Lue +. Vernon.