Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-08-03

the brokers are afraid or what migh,
happen. The curb operators" stand
ing on the outside get their informa.
ton by means of signals given in g
kind of deaf and dumb finger code
from the windows. stood and watch
ed the mob Of gamblers for several
minutes, and except for the fact thai
I had long known otherwise, would
have thought that a riot was immi-
nent. The people on the outside are
no more noisy or boisterous than those
on the inside.
"Oh, you Coney!" That is the express
sion most commonly used in connec-
ton with a mention Of New Yorks
most famous pleasure resort. Mr.
Cozzens took me over to Coney Island
Tuesday afternoon, and I hesitate to
say whether the trip by way of the
subway, surface and elevated cars, OF
what was to be seen at the Island was
the most interesting. Leaving New
York through streets that are bordered
on either side with buildings that one
cannot see the top Of without getting
a crick in ones neck, pretty soon we
were rushing along opposite second
story windows, and after a while we
were overlooking three story houses
A noticeable feature Of the Harlem
district is washday appearance OF the
roofs, the family washing hanging
out everywhere, in court yards and
on lines strung from the windows
Brooklyn is like unto New York ex-
cept the buildings are not SO tall, and
the rush is not so great. We left FOL
the Island about o'clock, just before
the regular evening rush, Mr.. Coz
zens said; but In the long trains Of ter
or a dozen cars each following one an
other at two minute intervals, Mr.
Cozzens and I found it difficult to To-
cate an unoccupied seat. In most o,
the cars the people were hardly able
to find standing room and were pack
ed like sardines. The crowds at Coney
are estimated at from 100000 to S0o,-
900 each evening during the week and
from 100000 to 100000 Saturday nigh,
and Sundays. They are made up gen.
orally Of from 20 to 80 per cent Of New
Yorkers, the balance come from the
thickly settled outlying districts and
from the whole country. Most New
Yorkers of the more substantial class
go out once or twice season; but
there are thousands who go almost
nightly.
And what is Coney? Most Of the
readers of The Enquirer have seen
what is called a street carnival down
our way. Well, Coney is just about
the same multiplied by ten thousand
There are amusements Of every kind,
such as shooting the chutes, Of which
there are 80 many different kinds az
to be almost beyond enumeration,
moving picture shows, vaudeville per-
formances, Egyptian, Turkish and 9TH
er palaces, Filipino villages, Jack Binns'
own show, ferris wheels, scenic rail-
ways, scenic boat rides, trip through
Venice, Wonderland, restaurants,
drinking saloons, dance halls, sales
booths, ETC., etc. The most enjoyable
feature of the place. perhaps, is watch
ing other people make the fun. The
greatest place for this Is Luna Park y
Here they have the steeple chase, a
dozen or so horses running up and
down over steel tracks at tremend-
Gus rate, with opportunity to the rid
ers to develop considerable skill In
making a little more than the natural
speed. This the rider does by throw
ing the weight Of his body to the right
place at the right time. But this is
more scientific than funny. At one
Of the entrances just behind a screen
Of palm leaves, there Is small boy
in charge Of a great, movable funnel
through which comes a powerful rush
of air-a current In fact about ten
times as strong as Is used to elevate
a load Of seed cotton into the gin. AS
the crowds come in, this small boy sud-
denly throws the current on such vic
tins as he might select; women's
skirts go flying as If in a March gale
and mems hats are carried high In the
air, while the crowd Of spectators,
gathered for the purpose, almost split
their sides with laughter. Unable to
sit down to rest, they lean against
railings to find that they are in con-
tact with a pretty strong electric cur
rent that makes them take notice.
What is known as the soup bowl Is a
deep depression in the floor, construct
ed like bowl with sides as smooth as
glass. People go down into and then
try to get out; but unless they are on
to the game, which means that they
must run round and round at top
speed, rising higher and higher at each
round, they certainly find themselves
in the soup. There are number OF
expert decoys in the bowl most Of the
time to show how easy 1t is, and when
the green ones drop in, they make
fools of themselves for the amusement
Of the crowds. The human roulette"
wheel is a great disk, perfectly smooth
on top, which after it has been loaded
with men, women and children, re-
wolves at speeds varying from slow to
fast until everybody except the one
who happens to be in the exact CEN
tire, has been piled off by the way.
The centrifugal force developed is tre-
mendous, and people are thrown on
like shots; but great soft cushions
prevent them from getting hurt.
This is only a faint suggestion Of the
of Luna Park, could
not begin to describe 1t within the
limits Of a single letter and I fear that
I have already grown tt; esome.
The lunch counters, beer gardens,
restaurants and dinner houses are an
other great feature. People can sat-
isfy their hunger at from 5 cents up
to S., according to how hungry they
are and how much they wanted TO blow
in. Mr. Cozzens thought clam bake
would be novelty to me, and he or
dered that in a great pavilion where
acres Of people were eating nothing
else. The clam bake consists Of CLAIMS