The Aweful Bonanza

The Awful Bonanza.
32.4

The Friendly Club, which
hasn’t missed a meeting since the
fire, held its monthly dinner in
Washington street restaurant on
the day the saloons opened-a
saloon, by the way, being part of
the restaurant. “We are here,
” said “Billy” Burke,
the sire, “a the drawing of the cork.” Appro
priately “Wine” was the topic
and it brought out good talks
also verses read by Burke on that
terrible drink known as “bonan-
za.” The authorship of the
verses is unknown,
but the merit of them is unmistakable, as will
be seen by the following descrip-
tion of what happened after the
“bonanza” began to work:

“When next again we sallied
Into ye crowded street,
‘Twas arm in arm we wandered
And lifted high our feet;
The while ye gracious pavement
Rose up our soles to meet.
“The third time that we issued
From that accursed den,
A change was wrought within us,
Defying tongue or pen;
Each fireplug seemed a hogshead.
Each man looked like to ten.

“And still a fourth bonanza
Each poured into his face;
Which caused ye mighty build ings
All ’round about to chase,
And made ye streets and alleys
Tie up and interlace.

“Anon ye swaying sidewalk
Grew rife with wriggling things
With lobsters, pterodactyls
And toads with fiery wings;
With blue and greenish devils,
And sriakes with stings.” twisted

It was the first dinner held in
the burned district, and the law- yers,
custom house officials, and
newspaper men who make up the
club, agreed that the memory of
the unique and unparalleled sur- roundings
of their banqueting place would never leave them.