“Many a good story is told of the old bonanza days,” said a San
Franciscan. “I liked especially a whisky story.
“A tenderfoot, the story ran, entered a saloon and ordered
whisky. Whisky in those days and in those parts was a very weird
drink. Queer effects were sure to follow it. The tenderfoot
knew he must expect something out of the common, but, for all
that, he was taken aback when the bartender handed him a small
whisk-broom along with the bottle and glass.
“Tenderfoot-like, he didn’t care to expose his ignorance by
asking what the whisk-broom was for, so he just stood there and
fidgeted. He didn’t drink. He waited in the hope that somebody
would come in and show him what was what.
“Well, in a few minutes a big chap in a red shirt entered. He,
too, ordered whisky, and he, too, got a broom.
“The tenderfoot watched him closely. He poured himself a
generous drink, tossed it off, and, taking up his whisk-broom,
went over into a corner and carefully cleaned, on the floor,
a space about 7 feet by 3. There he laid down and had a
fit.”--Detroit _Free Press_.
(823)
See ABSTAINERS LIVE LONG; BEER, EFFECT OF; ALCOHOLIC BAIT.