The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-05-01
SURE, DAVE ORR WAS 4 BUG
HELPED BUILD MONITOR, BUT
WHAT'S THAT IN A.. ID. 1908?
Or . stale Old Yarn About How the MerTl.
mao went - smaahf-DSVe Finally
Agreed With Greenwich village and
shot Himself With His Springfield.

shot Himself With His Springfield.
Old Dave Orr was a bug.
Anybody knows q bug when he sees one
at least anybody In Greenwich vilage who
talks the rough and ready slang Of the
street knows a bug when he sees me A
bug OF course Ia one Of those old dodoes
who always talks about something that
everybody else has forgotten. who fools
around by himself and don't know anything
about McManus picnios or Violet Social
Club dances or the triplets in Malucchi's
hat-anything up to date. And in several
cases out Of ten a bug goes and kills him
self; old Dave Orr tied a string TO the trigger
OF his Springfield and popped himself on
TO the Morgue with a wiggle OF his big toe
yesterday.
Old Dave lived over his machine shop
on Hudson street, No. 42s. Yes, he had a
machine shop where he used TO do steam
fitting and all sorts OF plumbing work,
although he didn't belong to the union.
He never did enough competing to get the
union after him; anyway the union didn't
want any old bug like Dave, and the people
around gave him a good reputation. He
was no scab, Dave wasn't.
Time was when the old boy used 10 be
popular around the village and everybody
cracked him up as a hero. That was be-
cause Of his bug. He was on the Monitor
when il smashed the Merrimac, or some
other old boat back when nobody worth
anything nowadays was living. Folks in the
old DAYS, 80 some Of the old folks around
the village say now, used to go around
to old Dave Orr's shop and listen to him
talk on Decoration Day or Fourth OF July,
or some Of those holidays,
And Dave certainly would talk. he always
talked. He talked about the Monitor and
the Merrimao to Gustave Schmidt, who
runs the delicatessen store three doors
down Just the day before he tried that
string TO his toe and popped himself on to
the murgue. Gustave knew the whole
story from hearing Dave tell it 80 many
times before, but he let him 60 ahead, be-
cause Gustave talks about the battle Of
Sedan, or something like that, whore he
fought somebody. Gustave is a bug, too.
Well, when you come right down TO IL
and stop and figure, why Dave was a pretty
good story teller. he used to sit on the
edge OF his bench. just whore the model
he made out Of gaspipe and sheet iron
I AhuIK ONEA Ilh NNfhA n ibNAN VI ~ AAAAAA
looking boat, all fiat, with 4 round sheet
iron box business on the top like the front
end OF warships nowadays. Dave would
sit there and tell that story OF his to any
body who'd listen, from the boys of the
street to the old fellows who used TO dodder
around to his place. He'd go about il his
way.
4 knew Ericsson" old Dave would say,
whoever that old gee0er might have been.
Il worked for him and ! helped him build
the Monitor up at G%reenpoint when the
fate Of the country hung on the WORK Of
his hands, Dave was always talking
about the fate Of the country like a SPELL
binder at election time.
Il took ship on the Monitor, old Dave
would say then, with his chest all filled
out. Il took ship as a mechanic and part
Of my job was TO keep the travelling gear
Of the turret oiled and tested so nothing
would 20 wrong when we started 10 turn
her. This was the finst time they ever had
a tLrret on a ship"-Dave always put that
in--1nd OF course we were mighty fearful
about things getting jammed by a shot
from the other fellows guns
Then Dave used TO go on and tell about
the tnp that funny boat had from New
York down TO Hampton Roads place
where the feet started from last December
where the rebels boat, made Of iron, was
PLAYING hell with the wooden ships. or
course everybody who's been to school
knows about those rebels. Then Dave
would sit up straight on his bench with his
hands weaving in and out and get night
down to cases,
we sailed in there" he'd say, knowing
nrettv we'll that we'd have a large con-
tract. And when we saw that shiny iron
boat coming up from Norfolk that's the
Mace Dave said) maybe some OF us thought
there wasn't such a muchness about the
new tangled boat that that man Ericsson
built at G%reenpoint.
The old boy used to get real excited
about this part and he'd take down that
model OF a boat he had swinging on wires
over his bench and point at II with his finger
while he was talking,
sThey hit us about here first" Dave
would gay. And honestly, II was the
funniest feeling. / was standing right
beside where the shot hit. being right there
In the turTet TO tinker up some OF the cogs
and things IL they went wrong. All OF a
sudden something bulged in like you'd
put your hand on a paper box and bulge
Il in. Then we keeled slowly over for A
minute and came back again. That was
adjust that bulged place
Dave would lean over when he said this
and hold up his hand as II you were going
10 hit him, Just like a fellow was making
a pass at you with a billy.
Well. old Dave Orr would run along like
that, telling about how the powder got In
his eyes and about the way those two guns
in the round box place on his boat used
10 lump when they fired OF, with everybody
straining on the ropes for the recoil. Old
Dave would take a hold Of his pants and
show how they pulled on those ropes. Then
he would tell about the spittoon; that was
really the only lively part Of the story.
Wed been firing for some time Dave
would say, "and we were so close 10 the
Merrimac that our nose was almost touch
ing. with everybody working away with
the sponges and the ammers trying 10
beat the rebels at firing. just as the boys
were loading and sponging, sponging and
loading for another try at them a red beaded
Irisher from Long Island City who had
shipped az a gunner on the Monitor went
dippy. Things were getting too slow for
him.
He'd come up from below, where he
vent TO have the doctor wind up a shot
mark on his arm, and he grabbed a spittoon
from the first mates stateroom on the
way up. He hit the round box thing where
the guns we're with a yell and he jumped
over TO where the gun poked out and
leaned out Of the gunhole and fired that
s~pittoon slam into one Of the gunholes OF
the MerTimac, cursing like a West street
horse car conductor all the time
Honestly, Dave used TO get like an actor
when he told that part Of the story He'd
the air, let something hy out Of IL which
wasn't there and then rubber across the
shop as II he was waiting 10 see that nothing
bit something. Poor old bug
And when that spittoon went inside
the gunhole on the rebels ship Dave
would say, we all cheered and plugged
more iron out Of our PARROTS Dave meant
- ~ L--- 3D. &C.,,