A GOOD YANKEE STORY.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3612, 8 February 1883, Page 4

A GOOD YANKEE STORY.

c There was fun as well as fighting down ' in the neighborhood of Rio Grande f last summer ;an inhabitant of that section, ■ albeit a tolerably shrewd specimen of the 1 genus, got " a fire in the rear " which raked " down and demolished tho best calculations 3 over made for a small fortune, and at the ' same time, raised a laugh which filled the 3 adjoining chapp-arral for a mile in every " direction. ■ Water was scarce, during the heat of ' summer, at Brazos Island, and the liquor D not so plentiful at times, as the necessities 1 of the sojourners required. It was at one ' of these thirsty seasons that our Yankee, by 1 some hook or crook, got hold of a barrel of '■ tolerably fair cider, and with this small r stock-in-trade lie at once "set up" in 1 business. To make and scrape together a s parcel of boards and odd bits of canvas 3 enough to build a small shanty, was the ' work of but a short hour. To set his barrel * upon a couple of skids in the back part of s tho tent, to tap it, and to commence rotail--1 ing the cider at a dime a glass, occupied but ' a short time more. 1 Customers flocked in by dozens ; the cider t went off at a rapid rate ; and the Yankee 3 was making his " eternal fortin "at a stride ' that would have elated John Jacob Astor in > his early days. Some of his patrons com--3 plained that a dime a glass for cider which - was not worth more than two cents at the outside, was an outrageous price ; but the times were hard, the retailer's conscience easy, he had all the cider in the market, and could not afford to sell any cheaper. This state of tilings went on for an entire j day, the Yankee's quarters being beset by j throngs of patrons. On the following morn- • ing, and before the cider was yet half sold, I they began to thin off gradually, and, hy i the middle of the afternoon, it was only now . and then a straggling stranger that visited ) the shade and cider of the retailer. What - was the matter ? What had caused this L sudden falling off of custom 'i The reader [ will soon see. L Towards iii-lit a. new fu.ee appeared in . the shanty and called for a glass of cider. i It Avas drawn, swallowed, and the customer ; took out his purse and inquired the price. , '' One dime,'' said the Yankee. '•' One what . ? " retorted the customer. ' ! One dime,'' coolly replied the Yankee. " Why, I can get just as good cider here at five vents a glass," snarled the customer.. " N-o y-o-u c a nt," drawled the Yankee ; "there aiut a pint of cider, 'cept ■ what I've got in that 'ere barril, this side of ■ Orleans. I'm darned if there is." ■ "I know better," ejaculated the customer, tartly, " I bought a glass of cider, not two hours ago, and only paid five cents for it." "I'd like to know where you effected ; that transaction r' queried the Yankee. " Right round here," was the answer. I guess it was "right round here." Right round where, I'd bike to know ? continued the cider vendor. "Why, close by here somewhere; just back of your place,'' returned the customer. " I'll bet you tv drinks you did'nt," spoke up tho Yankee, " and we'll go right round and sec." "Done!" said the customer; and off they started. . Sure enough, "right round here '* they found another cider cstablishmor.it in full blast. A second Yankee had ringed a small shade iv the rear of tho ni-st Yankee's shanty, had tapped the t/ther end of the latter's barrel of cider through a board and was retailing it at five cents a glass to a perfect rush- of customers !