The union Democrat., 1869-05-29
na,scr-Piain- Afoo,-snnil.-Irouins.

house moves with il. Il subsists Oh the coun-
tryn it goes along.
Having contemplated snail, determined
to emulate him. | would travel. | discov-
cred lad little cash and no she'll.
bought me blanket. Ipurchased can
teen and soldier knapsack. The knapsack
bad belonged to Company B. No. Is, Califor-
MIA Volunteers. Some loyal man once packed
it for Sl3 per month. Perhaps it had followed
the flag over the arid deserts Of Arizona.
God bless the flag which has waved in glory
over US from infancy and under whose pro-
tecting folds so many of us have safely rob-
bed and plundered the best government that
ever the sun shone upon. | paid p cents for
it, | disbursed another quarter for a canteen.
These with pair Of blankets constituted the
snai.'s she'll. In the knapsack deposited a
can Of coffee, n clean stocking leg full of tea,
three loaves Of bread, can Of butter, a box
of pepper and salt, a tooth brush, bair brush
and comb, another stocking leg full OF thread,
scissors, needles and pins, sock full of on
ions, three pounds of mutton chop and coffee
pot And thus equipped. the snail stole cut
of Stockton in the edge of the evening and
commenced his trip across the plains.
| know il is not reputable so to travel. One
is apt to lose respectable standing by so foot
ing it, A certain degree of immortality is in
volved in sleeping in the haycocks on Dry
Creek, and in stealing softly upon them after
sun down. fearing the inhabitants may take you
for a horse thief. Yet they make fine beds.
The substitution os the cricket and grasshop-
per for the domiciliory flea and the common
domesticated bedbug affords n change net
wholly disagreeable True, one experiences
slight twinge of abasement as the stage
trundles along and the hot ard wearied pas
sengers look down upon you, proud in the
consciousness of having paid their passage to
Sonora, and you a snail
Would nj we do lots cf things did we not
so fear peoples opinions? Would mt we girls
wear short skirted dresses like the acroha.ic
beauty at the circus the other night and not
allow our shapely development from the knee
downward to waste away in concealment for
life time were it not for "what people
would say?" How many things Of beauty
are sqne!ohed forever by the tyrant custom.
Style! fashion opinion! custom These are
the grooves we run in. | stood in the loco
motive depot at Sacramento the other dav.
In the centre of a great yard was turn table;
from that turn table there radiated line after
line of tracks, leading numberless locomotives,
each TO its own stall. 1t was the civilized
world in miniature. These human locomo.
tives have each their own track. 1t is not to
be deviated from an inch. Start them on il
in infancy aud from that period till youth and
from youth to old age they run back and
forth. All is proper. correct and precise, but
isn't it tiresome When we want to run up
the hills we're always switched back by
Whatll Mrs. Grundy say?"
This brings me to the second days Journey
from Stockton. That day on The hottest part
of the Copperopolis road a mishap befell me.
There was in my pack Tin can containing
butter and tin can containing coffee BY n
simultaneous conception and acting out of in
EQUITY on the part of these vessels, the covers
of each became detached, the coffee mixed
with the butter. the butter amagamated with
the coffee, the combination amalgamated with
all hands and for miles, unknown to me, a
scene of unparalleled riot disorder and nasti.
ness went on in the bowels of that knapsack
formerly belonging to private No. Is, Co. B,
G. V. Sir. all this time. my nostrils were
regaled bv the aromatic odor. similar to the
flavor of Mocha, which imagined to proceed
from the driving herbage of the plains. II
accompanied me for miles 1t grew more and
more punCent. | wondered if some neigh.
boring ranchero might be roasting coffee. Al
last, n suspicion Garted through my brain.
had so suffered before. l sat me down with
n beating heart and unstrapped my pack
Every letter of the suspicion was verified.
Woman. put the contents of your work basket
in mixture of melted butter and coffee ;
mix; stir we'll together and then imagine
what my eyes had to endure. The contents
of that bag we're of the color Of "chawed to-
HnrpN - hnhpl1 tho tinplar inf of Gro,
ly's coming man.
Anger is Improbable. | hunted my i'm
agination for appropriate oaths in vain. We
have sworn the language threadbare And
besides an oath IS hut an expletive, n sound.
syllable. | had sometime previously rea-
son"d myself into the belief tha: swearing
was not wicked, Aud sir. from the moment
Of doing this, all the charm of swearing has
vanished. 1t now affords me no consolation
whatever. have become irdferentlv and
involuntarily pious.
This brings me to the third day. | reached
Eyrne's Ferry. | looked down upon that Rip
Van Ninkleish camp. sleeping in the hot af-
ternoon sun, Table Mountain as ever frown-
ing grandly over it, the StaniSlaus swollen
by the melting mountain SHOWS roaring round
its base; there was a store. Ientered. Two
old "residerters" from q cabin hard bv came
III Huu SuTNeNfu me. strangers Steitl tl rare
occurrence at Byrues Ferry. 1t was asksd
where | came from. | satisfied the population.
1t was asked me whittier | would 60.
again satisfied the authorities | expected
next a demand for my passport. Meantime,
l opened negotiations with the merchant for
pound Of ranch butter. His acquaintance
with the English language seemed imperfect.
lie hesi,ated, and seemed at loss to compre-
hend NV meaning | said more mildly and
lnteihCibly than before ranch butter" +"
Those last words clinched nv fate He inti-
mated IN rulverized English, he thought
he could find httle-went down q hole in
the store toor-was gone few seconds-re-
turned with the artiele--flied nv can-as |
crossed the bridge on whose housed track the
dust ami cohwebs advertised dull times. and
As climbed the high, red. hot chappara! hill
beyond. mylinaginatinn smiled over the fresh
ranch butter for supper. Sir. an hour after
ward on closer inspection of that cans CON-
tents over my evening camp fire Idiscova~ad
how that ignorant and imperfect wretch in n
tnf Of ~, l.