New Britain herald., 1914-07-22

| the music grew louder and quicker | the sheet iron became hotter and the 1 turkeys feet began to scorch. The 1 pain caused them to jump and their l efforts to escape the torture was the l climax of the exhibition.
 Feet got kinder callous after a while,' said Old Bill to the writer some years before his death and long after he had retired from business. 1 "and they wore all the feathers off 1 their necks until they looked scan dalous I used to raffle 'em off, d {; dollar for the two, and buy new 1 pair about every three weeks. Tur- 1! keys 'ain't like four-legged animals; ] they ain't got no sense and burnin' 1 their feet don't hurt 'em.' The sacred dancing turkeys were 1 exhibited in seventeen states west of 1 the Allegheny river and killip had the audac city to give his show before an audience of ninety Indians in Indian territory. He not only got away with l the trick but he scooped in about SlOO and a number of valuable presents from the chiefs, who were greatly l mystified by the performances. His last exhibition was in 1876 dur ing the centennial in Philadelphia and he managed to hang on there for three weeks as one of the great col ony of side shows Bill had hired a young negro who, after being rigged out in a suit of yellow and covered with cheap gilt lace, was billed as the special attendant loaned by the king of Persia to wait on the sacred tur- keys" The principal business of the new hand, however, was to keep be- tween the spectators and the black muslin curtain that concealed the charcoal stove under the metal floor of the cage.
 Sold Hair Straighte1lcr.
 The negro was a bright chap about 19 years old, and he was possessed of an ambition to have straight halr .'Nke white folks instead of the kinky wool that covered his head. His frequent reference to the subject set old Bill thinking, and he remem- bered q concoction that he used many years before to make the coat of curly-haired horses smooth and glossy The basis of the preparation was carbonate of soda, which was no secret, but there were other ingred1- ents, the character of which Bill nev- CT disclosed. He bought them Tn Philadelphia drug store and made 8 quart of the preparation that was intended for horses.
 Jim Tinney, the colored boy, was more than willing to submit himself for experiment. To his great aston ishment and delight, and to the sur- prise of Bill, the liquid actually did cause the tightly rolled kinks to soft en and straighten out and lie flat to the head. Jim was as proud as dog with two tails. It took less than an hour to convert his woolly covering into straight hair. The experiment was made about 10 o'clock at night. When Jim awoke next morning his wool was as tightly kinked as ever-tighter, in fact. In tears he went to the boss.
 Need several treatments, I reckon" said Bill. "I'll put some more of the stuff on. Cant expect to change in one night
 A second application had the same effect as the first. Killip watched and found that the strong alkaline liquid kept the kinks straight for about five hours.
 The unkinking and the rekinking went on for a week and Jim Tinney
 
 pecially after Old Bill had outlined scheme which promised big monetary returns and which master and man were to divide equally. After the plan had been crystallized the sacred i turkeys were sold for a couple of dol lars. the cage was smashed and the old tent left as a legacy for any, body who wanted 1t.
 For the first time in his life Old Bill Killip made a blunder in judg- ment. He paid railroad fare to At lanta for himself and his assistant and there prepared about ten gallons of his nostrum. He bought ten gross of eight-ounce bottles and filled them. Then he had labels printed in red and yellow ink, and this is what they promised:
 Uncle Abe's Hair straightener. Most Wonderful Preparation in the
 Wide, Wide World
 $5.00O reward if it does not make the hair on any colored persons head as straight as white mans.
 Every free colored man with straight hair is entitled to bounty from the government.
 Price one dollar.
 With Atlanta as his base of supply, Killip visited plantations within l radius of 300 miles. Jim, the anil mated object lesson, accompanied him with his hirsute covering in it's natural condition. 1t was easy enough to at- tract crowd of field negroes after the days work was over with 8 banjo and song. A spirited talk on the generosity of the government fol- lowed, and the promise was made that every negro with straight hair would receive, after proving himself kink- less, bounty of $1O0 in cash and a
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