Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-11-19

Always it has been my desire inter-
ally to follow the advice or ST. Paul,
but on one occasion at least suffered
the observance OF the rule to make
martyr Of me.
I was down in the southern part OF
Florida, going here and there as fancy
dictated, when came across friend
who persuaded me to take trip With
him in an OK cart He said that those
things were done there, and as hotel
life was becoming tiresome agreed.
We started across country. Our cart
was an awkward thing, having been
made to haul sugar cane, and, II any
thing, the OK hitched to 1t was aWK-
warder. We had negro named LII
jah" to follow behind, in case any.
thing went wrong with the harness,
which ave did not understand very
we'll. Of course, we knew good deal
about harnesses, but this one was
complicated by simplicity
We wore outing shirts, sombreros
and belts instead of Waistcoats. over
our cart was large parasol, after the
style of patent medicine vendors. We
carried canned goods, watermelons
and a key of water. When we reached
Dade county, wading through tropical
swamps midst palms and horrible ALI
gators, our provisions gave out, and
we found ourselves obliged to look for
farmhouse. We had eaten no din
ner, and coming to crackers shanty
by the trial, Lijah said that 1T mout
be de las place nyar heah," so we
stopped for dinner The man of the
house declared that we were welcome
to all he had, such as it was. He would
try to git somethin' extry."
While he was getting dinner we
glanced about us, and my companion
told me of a plan he had to drain the
Everglades. ~...
noticed that there were only two
rooms in our hosts house, one for the
bed and another for the stove; bare
floors, not an article of furniture but
an old rocker, and some boxes for
table and chairs. Watermelon seeds
lay strewn over the floor. The man
explained how his wife had run away
the week before, adding that he was
SILtih 1OAS vi dDI6 Inc
He set box in the kitchen and put
two blocks near it for seats. From
the door could see what we were
going to have for dinner, and / made
the most of my privilege, although it
made my heart sick. l watched pro-
ceedings with something of the curl
osity that condemned murderer does
the building of his scaffold. The
stove, a rusty, cracked, ash-bestrewn
piece of old iron, covered with grease,
burned bits of egg and bread, was
used as stand for gourd dishes and
the frying pan, the last containing diff
ferent-> articles of foodiin different
stages of decomposition-sour milk,
mush, boiled squash and succotash.
The flies that had not yet succumbed
sWarmed about, but a majority lay
drowned in the various receptacles. A
great mass of rice had been dumped
into wash basin on the floor, and
near by it was the dishpan holding a
few cracked plates and rusty knives.
Have you ever seen a pond covered
with stagnant, Shiny scum, or bar
rel Of vinegar coated with moldy
mother? If SO you know what the
dlshpan resembled. 1t was covered
with cream of sallow grease.
A calabash full of soup stood on the
floor When l first saw it the cat
was fishing in it, trying to get a dead
mouse which had fallen in at some
past period of the soups, history. Her
tail rested gracefully-is a cat ever
ungraceful?-on the rice. Finally. after
several unsuccessful efforts with her
paw, she plunged her head into the
soup and brought out the mouse drip
ping with liquod Ny companion
turned away and gasped as l wills
pered to him, We're going to have
some of that soup for dinner" =.
On the floor was a towel, used, no
doubt, for wiping off the stove, scrub
bling floors, and such purposes.
What did l see? You may not be.
lieYe it, but saw that miserable
man deliberately wash some plates in
the dishpan scum, wipe them on the
towel and set them upon the table,
che at each place. .-... -
Then he washed another plate, put
some of the rice in it, and brought it
to the table. More plates, bowls,
knives and spoons out of the unfath.
ENABLE scum. Then he took bowl,
and, spreading the towel over it,
strained the flies out of the soup: a
macerated ointment of dead flies,
which he threw into the woodbox.
Before putting the soup into our
plates, be sliced/some tomatoes for, il,
adding a chunk or so of rice.
Near the soup lay we'll nibbled
cheese, bread and cold baked potatoes
with the skins on. Opening Gag"
in the corner OF the room, he dipped
out some lard and set it on the table
with the rest 1t was not even clean,
but had in it multitudinous black