urn. He had got hold
of a phony five hundred dollar bill, and when he was giving his spiel
about how Fuzzy Wuzzy was captured upon a desert island, where he was
found chewing a human leg, and how he couldn't eat anything but raw
meat, and was always trying to get at his keeper for dessert, he would
wave his phony five hundred spot over his head and give it to 'em good.

"'Five hundred dollars, ladies and gents, I will give to any man who
will remain for the short space of two minutes in the cage with Fuzzy
Wuzzy! Five hundred dollars to any man who is brave enough to run the
risk of letting this terrible man-eating cannibal get his hinder limbs
about him, for then all would be lost and Fuzzy Wuzzy would fasten his
terrible fangs in his victim's throat and suck his ber-lud.'

"Well, it was a good spiel, all right, all right, and when Merritt
struck that part one of the supers would prod up old Fuzzy, who would
rattle his chains and howl for fair, and the audience would get cold
chills down their backs. We were playing to the S. R. O., and giving so
many shows a day that Merritt pretty nearly lost his voice, and Fuzzy
had been prodded so much that he had to take his meals standing up. We
ran 'em through pretty fast, and one afternoon Merritt was just going to
give the 'All out' signal, which cleared the exhibition hall for the
next performance, when up steps a big husky black roustabout from the
levee and commences to strip off his coat.

"'Jes' a minit, boss,' says he. 'Ah reckon ah needs dat five hundred in
mah bizness,' and Merritt looks at him in astonishment.

"'My deluded colored brother,' says he, 'Do you appreciate the fact that
you are going to a certain and horrible death? If this terrible Fuzzy
Wuzzy gets his hinder limbs about you he will suck your ber-lud.'

"'Ah doan reckon he'll git me, an' ah suttenly needs de money,' answers
the coon, and continues to strip, and Merritt sizes him up and sees the
finish of Fuzzy Wuzzy, who was shaking the bars and trying to get away
from the super who was prodding him; but everybody thought he was trying
to get at the coon to make a meal of him, and some of the women folks
were getting hysterics. One of the boys had put me wise, and I broke
through the crowd and called a halt in the proceedings.

"'Ladies and gentlemen,' says I, 'I didn't believe that a man existed
who was foolhardy enough to be tempted to certain death by the lure of
a paltry five hundred dollars. Bu