The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 6, 1898, Page 21

L w"’y T HENRY J. DECKER Trying to Win His Wager. From a photograph by Fowzer. e industry v J. Decker, who med knows what ng about. At any rate plan and came out d. He is now ocate of begging. 1 >wn and well-to- at any time and to make an experience s with a rparty of sing the organ on an having a good T de- manded to g into the organ-g g business. “After a time the toplc of begging as a profession came up. I maintained that it was an easy and a profitable case. ne of the party wanted to bet me $20 that I couldn’t go to the edge of the sidewalk with my organ, put my hat down, play a tune, and earn a dol- lar inside of an hour. “T snapped at his offer, for I thought I kenw enough of human nature and of begging as a profession here in San Francisco to have a mortgage on that twenty. Besides, I wanted to try the novelty and have a new sensation. “Inside of five minutes I was stand- ing on the edge of the sidewalk and grinding out ‘Trovatore’ on that thing of sound. Barring slipping a note now and then, for, as I said before, the in- strument was on the sick list, it did very well for a plea for pennies. Maybe jerky ‘innards’ lent an air of need to the both of us. “At any rate it started a chord of sympathy in the crowd. It even touched those callous, flinty-hearted, grinning specimens of Darwinism who had sta~ tioned thergselves Inside the music store to watch my artistic struggles to CC000C0OC0000000000C0000000000000000000 OME months ago a famous Oriental v r came to this country i challenged any man in An a to thro him. He der the title of Ismatel “Terrible Turk,” E his ability to frighten his opponent by his terri fac! contc ns as upon his knowl- After several encoun- with a number of our well-known ook passage for Europe on edge of the art. ters the ated steamer La Bourgogne, which sank after a collision on the banks ewfoundland. Yousouf was drowned, because, it was stated, he had incumbered himself with a large belt filled with gold coins. Another Turkish wrestler has recent- this country to win fame n dollars. He is said to be an unde ted champion in his own land His manager and backer, An- tonio P! that he defeated Yousouf nopolis in 1893, in a ter- rible struggle which lasted four hours, People who have seen Yousouf will re- call the neculiar way he leaned forward and cls the air with his baboon- like arms and gathered in his adversary as does the spider the flies that come within 1 web. 3ut Yousouf could not get his hands on Halil and hold him there. Yet he tried; tried so hard and valiantly that a great red biotch of blood on the mat near the Suitan’s win- dow In Turkey is still left as a stain upon the record of Yousouf—he who went down with the ill-fated Bour- gogne with $8000 in American gold strapped to his waist. The meet between Yousouf and is an odd story. It was at the tion of the Sultan that the two great men met. Yousouf was the fa- vorite of his Majesty, and Halil Adall was a carrier of pottery in the back streets of Constantinople. Many of the Su friends had seen him bear- ing his load along the thoroughfares, and it came to the ears of the ruler that a mighty man of muscle was in the city, and that he could lift a ton and set it down again without breath- ing hard. The Sultan, being weary of seeing Yousouf cast wrestlers dowm without effort, sent for Halil. The two men looked upon each other. Yousouf shook his peanut-shaped head derisively and strode awa But the Sultan gave the sign for the men to wrestle. Both stripped. The two largest men in Turkey faced each other. The Sultan walved his nargala stem and bade the giants engage. Slowly they approached each other, their long, active arms fanning the air as they came nearer together. The sneer still hovered around Yousouf’'s Iips. Halil smiled and bided his time. Suddenly they locked, and Yousouf threw his right arm under and over Halil's neck to administer the strangle hold. Whisk! Halll was free again. Once more they crept unon each other, and Yousouf embraced his foe with re- newed energy. There was a twist, a loud smack, as Yousouf’s hands slipped off-again, and then a quick return. Like mountains they crashed together once more, and from. Halil's neck flew his precious amulet, which Yousouf in his rage had ripped from his opbpo- nent’s throat. It rolled along the mat under the Sul- tan’s window, and the smile went out of Halil's eyes. It*was then that Yousouf found he had met his match, for Halil, with his arms open and his great chest heaving, wrapped Yousouf around the waist and, locking his arms behind him, let forth all his strength. An ashen wave swept up the body of Yousouf, his eyes bulged and with a moan he sank down as a torrent of blood gushed from his set lips. Halil dropped the limp form, and after picking up his amulet salamed low before the Sultan. It was enough. Yousouf was done for. Halll became the_Sultan’s favorite. Halil Adali does not prides himself so much upon his great strength, which was Yousouf’s boast, but upon his skill. He told me, through his manager, that since victory over Yousouf five years ago he has met and defeated every wrestler of prominence in Turkey. His record includes victories over Panall, a giant of the Sultan’s house guards, whose back he claims to have broken in a public encounter; Aner Malco souf, a gigantic Armenian; Kara Qs- man, Felix Nola, Ibrahim, and Kara Ahmet, all prominent wrestlers of the palace. Adali was waiting for another chance at the “Terrible Turk” when news arrived of his untimely taking off. Having conquered all rivals in his na- tive land he was easily persuaded to seek new fields in America. Adall’'s special patron is Achmet Pasha, a well known general in the Ottoman army. This officer gave him permission to leave Turkey for nine months, after which time he must again return to wrestle for the amusement of the Pasha, or be cast into prison for overstaying *is furlough. Adalf wears his national costume and is an extremely picturesque figure in baggy blue breeches drawn tight round the calves and ankles, a broad maroon sash and short biue jacket. On his head is perched the regular maroon fez sur- rounded by a multi-colored tur- ban, which ‘he wears with a 7 \ \) \\‘. T [jiny THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUND GROUND A HAND ORGAN ON THE STREET T0 PROVE , .NOVEMBER 6, 1898. That Begaing as a Profession Paus. Henry J. Decker, a well-known man about town, got iInto a discusslon with several frlends over anp old question: “‘Does Begging Pay?” Mr. Decker sald it did. A friend declared just as stoutly that It did not. To settle the dispute a wager was made, and Mr. Decker took his stand with Ipside of an hour he had collected $4 50 and won bis wager. an organ on the pavement. it /19 e 'luul[“"" capture that twenty with & wheezy hand organ. “One of them came out and in a melodramatic tone said: ‘Poor fellow, too bad, too bad. It's a sad sight to see a man like you reduced to such pitiful struggles to earn pennies. Where's your monkey? ‘He might earh more than you at this business.” “I took his nickel, but I didn’t say anything. I felt confident I would have my turn at the chaffing when the hour was up. “ “What’s the matter with him?’ asked one bystander, as he reached into his pocket for a coin. “‘Blind,’ said one of the quizzers, coming from the music store. _ **‘Deaf and dumb,’ said another. “ ‘Crippled,” suggested a third. “‘Supporting several relatives and a brood of children,’ said a fourth. They could chaff all right, but it forced them to drop a few coins. “The jingle of the coins and the ex- cuse for ‘Trovatore’ mingled their notes, but the other bystanders evi- dently did not like the sound, for they refrained from dropping any money. I stopped rattling the coins and bent all my energies toward making the organ squeak. “ ‘How are they coming?" called out one of the boys from the music store: ‘“ ‘Slower than cold mol s running up hill,’ I replied. For, save the coins the boys themselves had given me, nary a penny jingled in the cup. My arm began to ache and I wished the hour was up. I covertly glanced at a clock near by. I had been there just twenty minutes and had just 20 cents. “‘Hope was fast slipping away, when I heard a voice pipe in childish treble: ‘Oh, mamma; give the poor man a nickel. He looks so tired.’ ““Tired!’ snapped the mother; ‘he ought not to be, grinding away at that thing. Let him go to work.’ “They passed on and with them per. ished my last hope. I succumbed to that tired feeling. “I have heard ‘Trovatore’ many times and In many climes. I have heard it in Rome, in Vienna, in Paris, in London. I have even enjoyed it at the Tivoli. But until I stood on the corner of Kearny and Sutter streets, in the role of organ grinder, I never thor- oughly appreciated that there are times when ‘Trovatore’ becomes unbearable. “] used to believe that it was the best of Verdi's operas. Now I think it is the worst. In fact, I belleve it is the worst opera that was ever written. If you don’t believe it, grind it out on a hand organ for an hour and be con- vinced. “Time was when I liked tenor voices. Time was when I thought the most beautiful song for the tenor voice was the dungeon song, ‘Non te scordar di me.’ I no longer think so—I abomi- nate ‘Trovatore,’ I abominate tenors, I abominate above all the detestable strain, ‘Non te scordar di me!” “I consigned Verdi, ‘Trovatore,’ hand organ and wagers to purgatory. Much good+it did me, for I sizzled in the sun and gazed at 20 cents and ground that invention of the devil—a hand organ. “The bovs came out and jollied me along. They invited me to a banauet, the viands to be purchased with my $20. Then they departed in a body for liquid refreshments, leaving me to my fate. = “I think I fell a dreaming, when"I suddenly heard a gentle voice say, ‘My good man, take this,’ and a shining quarter fell in the cup. 'She was a lit- tle old lady, and she peered at me oven her spectacles with a look of commis- eration. I felt like a rascal. ‘How have you come to this? You look re- spectable,’ she asked. “I was rattled. Perhaps because I was not used to being called respecta- ble. I told her I had a wife and ten children; then forgot and said I was alone in the world and sick. So I had to kill off the wife and children. I for- get whether I burned them or con- signed them to a watery grave. In fact, in the course of my remarks I committed arson, murder, bigamy, matricide, fratricide and all the other ‘cides’ on the list of crimes. My story was so lucfd that, as the old lady walked off, I heard her say, ‘Poor man, he's crazy.’ 1 had already come to the conclusion that I was a blooming idiot, so her remark did not discon- cert me. “Five cents, 10 cents, another and vet another 5. My spirits rose 40 de- grees. I was really doing a thriving business. It all came at once, and when hope had well nigh entirely fled. The old lady had been the mascot. 1 counted my hard earned money. Just 70 cents and there were only ten min- utes lacking of the stipulated hour. Trade would have to be pretty brisk if I was to win that $20. “A young woman turned the corner. She was a swagger looking girl, correct as to collars, ties and cuffs. I eyed her and failed to see in her any sign of a prospective donator. My eye had al- ready become trained to the possibill- ties of the passers by. “She had a long string, at the end of which waddled a fat pug. I overlooked the pug, thought there was no money in him. And the pug overlooked me, but the music seemed to strike his fancy. He stood upon his hind legs and commenced®to antic in a manner that recalled the Midway. ‘ Here, Pet; stop,’ said his mistress. But Pet thought otherwise. He tugged at the string and commenced anew the per- formance. The girl dropped the string and took refuge in the musjc store. The little fat poodle commenced anew the canine ‘hula hula.’ The music was not exactly appropriate, but the dog did not seem to mind. Neither did the crowd that collected. They helped him out by whistling. “T have seen that dance many times, and have never particularly admired it. I do now. I consider it the finest dance on earth. “I have known many pug dogs. I never thought much of them. I do now. They’re the finest dogs that ever hap- pened. “While Pet was still dancing I passed around the hat. Coins jingled merrily. I =lanced at the clock. The hour was just up. I grabbed the dog. He dis- liked my interference and snarled and snapped at me viciously. I did not mind. He might have bitten off a fin- ger and I should haye still been grate- ful to him. He had saved my money and my self respect. For you hate to make a_fool of yourself and lose be- sldes. Winning takes the edge off the foolishness. “‘Let him give us some more,’” sald some one. But I thought they had re- ceived enough for their moneyv. So I held on to the dog, who was doing the Some of wiggle-wiggle to escape my clutch. “The crowd eyed me wonderingly to see what I was going to do next. I disappeared into the music store as fast as I could. “I gave Pet back to his mistress. She received him in stony silence. I tried to explain, but she swept out of the store without deigning to listen to me. I bear her no malice. God love her as the owner of ‘Pet.” “I felt pretty smaill when I looked at the money and reflected that some of it was taken from people who could ill afford it. There was just four dollars and forty-five cents in my headgear. Pretty good for an hour's work, eh? “What did I do with the money? I collected that $20 on the spot and took it home with me, and now it's doing a certain charity adl the good it can. the Contributors to Decker’s Silk Hat. At least I hope so. What tickles me, though, is that I've convinced those know-alls with $20 pieces to bet that San Francisco is a good field for an en- terprising and intelligent beggar. Four dollars and a half in one hour is good wages for such work.” SRk e In the rooms of the Society of Anti- quarles, Burlington House, may just now be seen, says the St. James’' Bud- get, some of the finds made last year by the explorers on the site of the Ro- mano-British town of Calleva, in the parish of Silchester, which is about ten miles from Reading, England. The archaeological value of the relics is great: At Burlington House one sees three venerable casks. Fifteen hun- dred years ago they held Italian wine. Some probes and other surgical instru- ments show that ancient Roman ideas on the form of such things were very klet and an eagle’s head of the metal from the top of a Romano-British staff. There are a few fragments of Samian pottery. The value of these potsherds lies in the clearn th which the maker’s name still appears on them. There is a piece of ir ation Samian “marble” which formerly decorated a mantel-piece. A stone jar, standing conspicuously in-the middle of the room, is supposed re been used as a store pot. found unbroken, built into the wall of a house. The col- lection also includes well-preserved portions of querns, fragments of flint glass, pestles and mortars. Q000000000000 00000000CODV000C0CO0000000C0000C000000000CO0000000C0000000000000000RCO0O0000O00O0000000 THE “SULTAN'S LION” HAS COME TO THIS COONTRY Defeated “The Terrible Turk” in the Orient, and Now He Has Challenged the Wrestlers of America, : His Wonderful Feats of Strength : Have Astonished Scienti:ts of European > B Claims to Be Able to Do Things * That No Maa Has Ever Done Before. rakish tilt. His hair is cropped sh He is 6. feet 2 inches in height and weighs pounds when in condition, though w him he was considerably above that figu ing to enforced idlenesss on boar He has, howev quarters in a g: rounding into shape. urement is 47 inche m and is rapidly His chest meas- his waist 36 inches and his thigh 27 in . The circum- ference of his neck is 19 inches, and he measures 17% inches around the biceps. Adali is a very good natured sort of a fellow, and seems anxious to meet op- ponents. He issued a challenge, of- fering to wrestle any one. He has brought money to America with him and is ready to back himself for $1000. He has come here to wrestle such men as Jenkins and Roeber and any one else who cares e him at his own game. With him js Antonio Pierri, who escorted him from the land of the crescent, whence Pierri himself comes. Already a match has been made with Tom Jenkins, who is regarded as one of Amer s best wrestlers. Jenkins is a much smaller man than the Turk, but is possessed of marvelous skill, and has a sort of courage that not even the ter- rible Halil can choke out of him. Leo C. Teller, Halil's American man- ager, says he has had several private exhibitions with Halil in the leading role, and gives it as his opinion that there is no man living on this side of the sea who can handle him at all. “He is as quick as a cat,” said Te “and for vast and comprehens - ety of tricks he’is a wonder. I doubt if our American wrestlers know as many deft movements as he doe I have never witnessed such dexterity in a big man in my life, and if he ever gets an opponent’s head below his waist he will make it so uncomfortable for him that the unfortunate man finding himself in that position will do some active work trying to get out of it.” Halil has a marvelous appetite, and eats six meals a day. He does not use any sort of liquor, except beer, and that in small quantities. He is an in- cessant cigarette smoker and drinks about two galions of lemonade a day. His Sultan has promised him much Jfreedom of action and large gifts if he comes back to Turkey record. Adall is a native of Adrianapolis and is of a family the male members of which have been famous wrestlers for with a clean many generations. During the time when the Sultan and his court are away from Constantinople and Adali is not required to be on duty he lives at his country villa, high up in the Bal- kan Mountains. I asked his manager how many wives he had, for, contrary to the teachings of the Koran, many wealthy Mussulmans practice polyga- my. “Only onefwife,” was the reply. told you he was a very sensible man, and I thought I detected the faintest suggestion of a twinkle in Pierri's eye as he said this. Adali has one son, a boy of 5, of whom he is very fond, and whom he intends to train to be a wrestler. Adali wanted to bring the little fellow to America with him, but was dissuaded from doing so. It is the custom in Turkey to call the famous wrestlers by some special title or nickname. Adali's is the “Sultan’s Lion.” He says that he is willing to meet American wrestlers at any style, Greco- Roman and catch-as-catch-can pre- ferred. Should he be successful in his engagement here it is his intention to make a tour of India. Many of the nizams, rajahs and maharajahs of that country keep wrestlers and strong men just as Is the custom in Turkey. Halil thinks he could make Jots of money and have a pretty easy thing of it against most of them. He may also make a trip to Japan, where there are many experts, for wrestling is the national sport of the Land of the Chrysanthe- Bp