The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1857-06-11


cavernous depths of broad-striped, fashy
pair of pants, and brought up that great
red hand, as full as it could hold, of shin,
ing twenty dollar gold pieces.
"Don't yer think can stand these ere
Chicrgers for one fourteen hours 2"
A nod of assent from three or four,
and smile of curiosity from the rest, an
swered his question in the affirmative.
"You must have been in luck, stran-
ger" said an envious looking little man.
"You've more than your share of gold. +"
IL have, Ell? Well / reckon not |
came honestly by it, That's fact. And
there's them living who can remember
this child when he went round the prai-
ries trapping prairie hens and the like, to
get him a nights lodging, or a pair of
shoes, to keep the massasaugers from BIT
ing my toes; I've hung myself up more
nor one night in the timber, to keep out
of the ways of the wild varmints; best
sleeping in the world, in the crotch of a
tree-top! Now, l reckon you wouldn't
believe it, but I've gone all winter with
out shoe to my foot; and lived on wild
game, when | could ketch it. That's
fact w
didn't stunt your growth" said voice
near
"Not a of it. 1t brought me up
right These prairies are wonderful
roomy. l thought one spell would let
myself out entirely, but me and mother
held a corcus, and decided that she was
getting old, and blind like, and it TUX too
long, and cost too much to sew up the
legs of my trousers, and so [ put stop to
it, and concluded that six foot Ave would
do fer fellow that couldn't afford the
expensive luxury of wife to make
breeches for him. 1t was only love for
my mother that stopped my growth. If
I'd had had an idea of a sewing machine,
there's no telling what | might done"
"You have SO many gold pieces in your
pocket, you can afford to get your trou
sers made now. Why don't you and
your mother hold another caucus, and see
what you can do? If she would let you
expand yourself, you nigh sell out to
Barnum, and make fortune travelling
with Tom Thumb, and take the old wo-
man along"
Stranger" said the rough, great man,
and his whole face loomed up with a min
gled expression of pain and pride; "stran
ger | spoke word here [ didn't mean
to; slightly word, like, about my moth
er, would give all the gold in my peck
ct to bring her back for one hour, to look
upon this county as it is now. She had
her cabin here when Chicager was no.
WucIt, utIc slle ldiecu HcI pOgo-oHc
couldn't give them larnin', but she taught
us better things than books can give: to
be honest, and useful, and INDUSTRIOUS
She taught us to be faithful and true; to
stand by friend, and be generous to an
enemy. It's thirty years, stranger, since
we dug her grave by the lake side with
our own hands; and with many tear
and sob turned ourselves away from the
cabin where we had been raised--the In
dians had killed our father long before,
and we'd nothing to keep us-and so we
went to seek our fortunes. My brother,
he took down to St. Louis, and got mar
ried down there SOM ers and just went
where the wind blowed, and when I'd
scraped money enough together, came
back and bought few acres of land
around my mothers old cabin, for the
place where I'd laid her bones was sacred,
like. Wal, in the course of time it turn
ed up right in the middle Of Chicager.-
| couldn't stand that loved nay old
mother too we'll to let the omnibuses rat
tie over her grave, so | come back about
fifteen years ago, and quietly moved her
away to the huryin' ground; and then |
went back to Texas, and wrote to an agent
arterward to sell my land, What cost
few hundred to begin on, I sold for over
forty thousand-if I'd a kept it till now,
'twould a been worth ten times that-but
| got enough fort. | soon turned that
forty thousand into eighty thousand, and
that into twice as much, and so on, till
I don't know nor don't care what I'm worth
| work hard, am the same rough custom
er; remember every day of my life what