Ben Bowyang on 'Rastlin: Bill Smith Goes Berserk

Publication: Melbourne Herald
Date: 27 September 1926

september 27

to the editor of the herald

dere sir
we been to the stajum an got
out a eyeful
ive seen modrin rastlin an
awl i gotter say is that men oo
wud do that for a livin wud go
an get mixed up with the wurks
of a rock crushin macheen fer a
little gentil exercise.
i never thot that 2 uman
beans cud tie theirselfs together
in nots an git theirselves so
tangled up an cum out of it agen
still preservin ther own identy
an ech avin is own laigs an
arms
seams to me that to be a mod-
rin rastler a man wants to be
maid of inja rubber cask-in
wipcord green ide an fencin
wire with a concreet ed an
wooden face an flexabel steel
toes
e wants to ave no feelins no
nervs no pity an the stamine of
a elifint
an if e as awl these ad orter
go an git a job as a clark if e
aint got the art of a teem of
wurkin bullicks an a big in-
shurince policy
the things them two men sam
clapam and ted thy done to wun
another satidy nite i cudent tell
you if i ad the pen of shakspeer
an the flooncy of bil smith wen
is bullicks git stuck
them 2 men dun awl they cud
to tare wun another lim frum
lim to scrue the uther fellers ed
off to pull is tose out be the
roots to squeez is ribs in to ty
im around is own neck an ram
im down is own throte
otherwise they behaved like
perfick gentilmen
an tho i ave a gentil an cum-
pashnit nacher an a tender art i
injoyed evry minit of it an i aint
got over it yet

* * * *

wen bil smith an me got to
the stajum i thot for a minit
that the day of jugement ad
cum an the nashins of the erth
was gathered together
at leest wun arf of em but I
aint goin to say wich
we rekined awl the peepil in
melbun must be there
but we forgot awl about the
peepil as soon as the rastlin
started an i got to admit i got a
bit excited an dun a bit of yellin
but bil fare lorst is ed wen
sumwun behind us giv a cheer
for thy
bil stood up an slung a chal-
lenge to thurty thousan peepil
to cum an try a fall with im
tork abowt ajacks defyin the
thunder
bil sed e wull taik on any
three of em at wunce wot sez
clapam aint the best man an e
as muney to pruve it
is eyes was glarin an is wis-
kers brislin an i ad to cach old
of em an pull im down i never
see ole bil go so crook
e adent ad nuthink eether

* * * *

owever i wished i cud discribe
the rastlin fur you round be
round but i was to excited an its
all mixed up in me mind
arms laigs eds feet awl
tangled up like a bundil of
snaiks thats the picher i got
of course me an bil was solud
fur sam clapam being british
ourselves an wen thy got a holt
on sam an starts trine to rench
im apart it was almost like e
was doin it to me an i found
meself strainin an pushin to get
out of it
wunce wen thy got old of
sams laig an tride to brake it off
short my own laig begun to
pane sumpthink orful an the
arder thy squoze the wurse my
laig got an i thinks that this ere
simpathetic feelin is sumpthink
wunnerful
bine by the pane in my laig
got neer like i cudent stand it so
i puts me ed down to rub it an
cums up agen bils airey paw an
es got a and ful of my laig an is
squeezin it to a pulp
an wen i trys to taik is and
away e goes crook agen an
thinks i want to rastle im
bil smith adent awt to go to
these raslin machees e as to
mutch of wot they calls temper-
mint
i got a greeny blu pach on me
laig now big as a sup plat

* * * *

anyway when 10 rounds ad
gon an them 2 men ad rastled
an straned an squosen an tumbled
like a whole meenagery of wile
cats snaiks dawgs roosters an
evry other fiting animile on erth
the re free sez thay aint dun
enuff becos neether aint got a
fall an orders 3 more rounds
well it seams to me an bil
that sam clapam aint lookin to
good an we begin to git reel
worrid an wen in the nex round
thy gits sam down an is shol-
ders gits neer an neerer the
mat i cud feel me art goin down
an down an i looks at bil an can
see e is suffrin to
e looked like sumwun ad tole
im is favrit bullick ad the pleuro
an i seen sumpthink wet roll
down is beerd an drop off the
end
it mite ave been presprashun
but it looked orful like a teer
annyway sam got out of that
but things dont look to good an
at the beginnin of round 12 i ad
giv up awl ope
sam was borin is ed into thys
chest weary like as if e ad lost
intrest in the gentil frolick an i
was lookin at bil thinkin wot a
study is face was wen suddin i
see evry single air uv is wis-
kers stand out strait like a
peace of wire an is mouth opens
like a yornin cavrin an is yell
neerly bust me err drum
i looks quick at the ring an
wot i see is this thy in the air
gittin tossed abowt like a sheef
of ay
nex minit sam as im down an
its awl over.
wot appened was that clapam
ad dun wot i ad been tellin im to
do ever since it started.
e jist slung the uther bloke
down an leened on im. it was as
simpil as fallin off a aystack an
i dunno wy e dident lisen to me
at the beginnin

Dont arst me wot appened af-
ter that i dunno
if you aint ever erd thurty
thousand peepil yell at wunce
an go mad you aint seen life.
bil shuk ands with duzens of
perfick strangers includin 2
ladies oo i ope ther ands is bet-
ter by now
we awl sung rool britanier an
danced an lep an waved an sam
cride an i lost me at
i dunno ow we got out becos
bil smith was trine to show me
olds an e kep on trine to show
me awl the way to our otel.
wen we got up into our room i
starts trine to show im an e sez
no clapam dun it like this, but i
sez wrong e dun it like that an
nex minit we was all tangiled
up an we was rollin on the floor
an i ad me mouth full of bills
wiskers an e ad a triple rist lock
on me an i ad im in a dubble
revers sizzers with a toe old on
is nose an i erd a cupler lowd
crashes an bil sez wud you ye
cow an i sez yes i wud an we
rolls under the bed an out agen
on the landlady cums in with
sum of the borders an sez wots
this ile bring the pleece
so wen they undid us the lan-
lady sez that will be 12 shillings
for the water jug an 2 pouns for
the lookin glass an 7 an 6 for
the wash basen and would we
pleeze pay now
so me an bil carmed down an
looked sorter foolish

* * * *

but rastlin is a grate game an
ime goin to lern bil sum holts
wen we get ome
but this mornin i ant feelin
quite up to the nocker
hoppin you are the saim

yures truly
BEN BOWYANG

p s you awt to see bil