Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-21

how the boss OF
the show toted the
alcoholic bear around town in an auto
mobile and led him into various down.
town groggeries and lined him up at the
bars with the rest of the chirk-inhalers
and caused sundry and divers libations OF
the old stuff TO be eased into the bears
system, thus developing a we'll dehned
souse in or on that animal.
All of which harked the undersigned
back to the recollection OF a drunken
bear he used often to see In San Fran
cisco.
There is something even more unpretty
about booze-fighting bear than there Is
about a rumiferous human being. and
that is saying very great deal.
This drunken bear of San Francisco
spent nearly the entire year OF le'1'
sozzed considerably above the eyebrows,
in Al Whites place. -.
AL Whites place wasn't what you
could call either a neat or gaudy rum
orium. either. Al Whites place was
doggery. and then plus.
II was on San Franciscos water 'front.'.
opposite the old Clay street wharf. IL
was a rendezvous for soldiers and men.
o.waf's men. The key had been chucked
into the bay when Al White, himseii an
ex-man-o'-war's man from the BRUSH
navy. had opened the place. 1t was q
scene Of tumuit. bordering close upon
riot, for twenty-four hours per diem.
"a
You would have deemed ii odd If, In
putting your foot over the threshold OF Al
Whites place at any old hour Of the day
or night you did not see half a dozen
or SO men rolling ignobiy around in the
sawdust of the floor. punching and goug-
ing each other: men-o-war's men on no
erty, paid.off soldiers from the many mill
tary posts around the San Francisco mar
Dor: sailors of the merchant service. In,
Guiding wicked Lasears and olood-eyeo
Malays and Polynesians
Al White. a giant and in momen te Oh
wrath as nearly a devil as any human
being ever was. would view these rolling
around proceedings with TRANQUIL gaze
rough bar. until the knives began to NASH
But when the blades appeared he would
hurtle himself into the middle OF the
melees. and that would be the quick
end of the attempting cutting stun. OFTEN
I saw AL White pick up huge. drink
frenzied men in his arms. as II they'd
been babies. pack them deliberately
across the street to the dock. and incon-
tinently chuck them into the cold waters
Of the bay. thus to give them q chance
to cool out of their knife-wieidinE hunior.
Into this engaging environment came
the bear. He was cinnamon bear OF
the Sierras, full-grown. nearly seven rect
high when he stood straight and OF q
power almost beyond words to express.
Had he been disposed to exercise his
power after the manner of the less high
lv organized human beings who hung
around Al Whites place. Soak-that was
the name the bear gained for himself
could easily have torn the entire plant TO
the ground with his naked paws and
pulled 1t into matchwood.
-.
But Soak was good-natured bear.
Gentleness was a part Of his nature. He
had been snagged up in the California
mountains when a cub. A sailor, visiting
relatives inland had got hold of the bear.
and, on his emergence from the inland
country to the coast to get a ship, he had
brought the bear along with him and left
him at Al Whites place till he got back
from his cruise The sailor never got
back from his cruise. ana the bear stayed
along at Al Whites.
OF course. the shaggy beast was at once
taught to love liquor as soon as ne be-
came fixture at Al Whites. He took
most kindly to the habit. At first, for a
of beer per diem were enough for him.
They'd serve to pickle him quite COM
fortably Under the maltous influence
he'd sway around the place for q spell.
grunting in a sort of a horribly like fmi-
tation Of a drunken man chanting or in
toning; then he'd flop down in 9 corner
of the GROCERY, all Of huddle, and
sleep and snore, thereby making grfsly
picture, sight hideous to look at.
Presently. however, soaks appetite for
nv,S IA hrAn .
nosed barkeep Of AL Whites place began
to stake Soak to the hard stun. In time
Soak reached the point where he could
absorb about three quarts of horrible
barrel house whisky into his system a
day. not to mention the buckets upon
buckets of beer which the sailors would
treat him to as they swung along. just
to see the bear cut up and make sad
show of himself.
Soak would stand up at the bar with
the rest. When his regular allowance
Of grog wasn't forthcoming he'd exhibit
all of the pitiful symptoms of a creature
in dismal need of stimulant He'd
whine and whimper drearily. and feel OF
his stomach, and gaze pleadinxly into
the eyes of AL White and the broken
nosed barkeep. This was considered en-
PERTAINING. and SO they'd often keep the
bear for hours without his liquor. to
make laughs for the guests. The bear
would pound on the bar with his paws
in his desperation over the deprivation,
and then he'd make the rounds of the
barroom. gazing pleadingly into the eyes
of the sitters, begging them dumbly to
line him up at the bar and stake him to
grog
I can't remember ever having seen.
anywhere, anything more depressing.
anything more AFFECTIVE to the normal
human spirit than the sight OF this bear
when he was thoroughly soaked and in
the midst Of his alcoholic antics. That
which made it so horrible was that there