A Donkey Hero
ONLY A TIRED DONKEY
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YET IT TOOK ABOUT TWENTY MEN TO PUT HIM IN A WAGON.
New York Times
August 11, 1892, Wednesday
Page 2, 968 words
A diminutive descendant or Balaam's belabored steed blocked business at Nassau and Cedar Streets for a time yesterday afternoon. The little donkey, grown weary of packing his youthful master through the sultry streets -- to use a phrase of famous Wall Street, through which he had just passed -- simply "laid down" on him. This was at 2 o'clock P.M.
It was at first thought that the donkey had been sunstruck, and numerous buckets of water were poured over him and he was repeatedly urged to take a drink. The bootblack in front of whose place of business the donkey had lain down appealed to a policeman to remove the “donk,” and the policeman tried his best by pulls and kicks to get the little beast to move on, but all in vain.
In a few minutes all the small boys for blocks around, passing messenger boys, and scores of bankers and brokers stopped to watch the efforts of the policeman, or rather of the two policemen, for the officer on the Broadway corner had been attracted by the gathering crowd. The policemen, seeing that the “donk” would not move on of his own accord, pressed a light transfer wagon into service, and proceeded with the help of a half-dozen burly colored porters, to lift him into the wagon.
Wagons and drays were blocked clear down to Wall Street, and the crowd grew in numbers until men and boys jumped up into the wagons to look over the heads of the hundreds who shut out of sight the struggle that was going on to load the donkey.
When the donkey found out what was going on, he livened up somewhat, but still refused to “move on.” Nor was he willing to be put into the wagon. Half a dozen times the men had him nearly lifted into the wagon, but just as he was being shoved on out would spring both hind legs and knock his handlers right and left.
Finally he was blindfolded with a blanked, and, after four or five more strong efforts by fully a score of men, they got him sideways on the wagon, and, with one of the policemen holding to his tail, two porters glued to his ears, four men fast to his hind legs, and half a dozen more pushing him, he was put aboard. He didn’t like it and tried to jump out, but they tied him fast. And they gave him and his little master a ride home.
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Ah, the tired little donkey had had enough. So he sat down in the middle of the street and refused to work. And what happened next? The Freeloaders who had taken him for granted for so long picked him up, put him on a truck and drove him home. In short, this donkey hero got the Freeloaders working for him. Now that is a story the Tired Donkey can get behind.