Samantha at Coney Island, and a Thousand Other IslandsHolley, Marietta
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Samantha at Coney Island, and a Thousand Other Islands
Holley, Marietta
Coney Island (New York, N.Y.) -- Fiction
On the left side, as I strolled along, I see a big butcher shop, with
hull sides of beef, mutton, pork, hams, chickens, etc., hangin' up.
And a long counter, piled full of invitin' lookin' pieces ready to
roast or brile. The butcher in a clean white apron stood behind the
counter. Everything looked good and clean, but I'd hearn of city meat
givin' toe main pizen, and knowin' Josiah's fondness for meat
vittles--I asked anxiously, "Are you sure the critters this meat come
from hadn't got cow consumption, or hog cholera?"
A friendly female standin' by said, "Every mite of that is candy."
And she offered me a piece of sassidge, and asked which I preferred,
wintergreen or peppermint.
I answered mekanically that I seasoned my sassidge with sage and
pepper. Agin she affirmed that everything in the butcher shop wuz
candy.
I didn't argy, but merely said, "It is enough to deceive the very
electioneers."
Sez she, "I spoze you mean politicians, and that's so, if they're
deceived anyone can be."
I wuz talkin' Bible but didn't explain, and walked onwards. The F. F.
(friendly female) come too, and pretty soon we come to what they
called a new-matic tube and the F. F. explained it to me, sez she,
"You are shet into a car made of iron and it runs with a deafenin'
roar into a dark tunnel, and all to once the car slides down twenty
feet and dashes through another dark tunnel and then comes out where
you went in. If it wuzn't for the dretful noise," sez she, "it would
seem like a grave. Don't you want to try it?"
"No, mom," sez I, "I shan't git into any coffin' and grave till my
time comes."
"Well," sez she, "I'm goin' into the Scenic Railway, won't you come
too?" And not wantin' to act hauty and high-headed I bought a ticket
and went in with her. It looked some like a great high rock with a
cavern hollered out, and a huge devil's head with a waterfall flowin'
out of its mouth. I knowed the devil couldn't hurt us as long as he
kep' his mouth full of water. So we got on a car with about ten other
folks and they locked us in and we went right up I calculated about
half a mild, though I didn't measure, and then we sailed off and first
I knew there wuz Havana Harbor, war ships, forts, etc., and the city.
But we didn't stop for refreshments, for all of a sudden down we went
probably half a mild right straight down. I ketched holt of the F. F.
and she ketched holt of me. When all to once we wuz to the North Pole,
ice, snow drifts, white bears, etc., surrounded us and a sign with Dr.
Cook on it.
The F. F. riz up and yelled to the conductor to stop. Sez she, "I want
to get out to the Pole, I want to discover it! I want to git my name
in the papers! I want to be talked about!" sez she.
We wuz goin' up a tremengous mountain, and he sez, "Set down or you
_will_ git your name in the death notices."
Whether he laid out to kill her I don't know, for she set down. And
jest then somebody yells, "Here we go down to the bottomless pit."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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