Books by
Michael Barr
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The
Menger
Hotel in San Antonio
was the most important boardinghouse on the stage line between New
Orleans and San Diego. When the train reached San
Antonio in 1877, passengers raced each other from the depot to
the Menger
for a room. South Texas cattlemen used the Menger
as headquarters for spring cattle drives.
Texas writer and folklorist J. Frank Dobie loved the Menger
more than any other hotel. He especially loved its proud history,
its ghostly ambiance, its proximity to the Alamo,
and its harmonious blend of Old South, Texas, and Mexican architecture.
The Menger
is still one of the great Texas hotels.
Stories about the Menger
fill volumes, but my favorite Menger
story is about a pet alligator named Old Bill. |
Menger Bar Sign
January 2016 photo © Michael Barr |
In
the late nineteenth century the Menger Bar was the swank gathering
place for celebrities, soldiers, politicians, cattle barons, itinerant
literati, and town socialites. Fred Lockwood, the bartender, told
the story of a man who came into the bar one day with a live alligator
named Old Bill. The man stayed at the hotel several days, but when
time came to check out, he was short of cash. Lockwood, who had become
attached to Old Bill, persuaded the man to leave the alligator in
lieu of his considerable bar tab.
For a time Old Bill lived in a tub in the Colonial Dining Room, but
when he began to roar and snap at customers, the staff moved Bill
to the lush tropical patio where he lived for the next 50 years. A
tradition developed that became a standard initiation for all new
Menger bell boys. At some point on their first day, the new guys were
handed brushes and soap and dispatched to the patio to "wash the alligator."
Thankfully, the joke was revealed before they all quit or someone
lost an appendage.
Old Bill lived a good life, lounging on the patio and swimming in
his pool, but a time came when hotel employees detected an air of
melancholy in his demeanor. Old Bill needed a friend, so the hotel
brought in another alligator named Oscar to keep Bill company.
The trouble started the day Oscar arrived. The two of them never got
along. Hotel employees built a fence to separate them, and for 15
years there was an uneasy standoff. Then late one night Old Bill could
take it no longer. He tore down the fence, and the fight was on. |
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Menger Hotel
January 2016 photo © Michael Barr |
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A
quiet evening at the Menger
turned into pandemonium. Guests came out in their nightclothes to
see what the racket was about. The palm trees shivered and shook.
Thrashing tails hurled water into second and third story windows.
Not knowing what else to do, someone pulled the fire alarm. The
firemen arrived in good time but too late to prevent the culmination
of a 15-year struggle for supremacy.
Old Bill was game but was outmatched by his younger and stronger
opponent. It was over in a few minutes. Bill became gumbo and cowboy
boots while Oscar the interloper, with nary a scratch, basked triumphantly
in the moonlight.
© Michael Barr
"Hindsights" March
1 , 2016 Column
Sources:
San Antonio Light, April 12, 1970, p 7G, "The Animals in Our
Lives."
San Antonio Light, August 23, 1936, "Gator Fight Brings Death for
Oldster." Section 2 pa.1
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