The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-11-10
SHAKES.

shakes was every ones fafOrlJe, ana |
svery ones laughing stock. What his |
'eal name was no one on the Flat, |
excepting the postmaster, knew or
seemed at all anxious to ascertain. In
outward appearance he was specimen
Of debased humanity. DebaucheTy
was indeliby stamped upOu every fea-
ture. 1t was deemed a rare sight to
see him with a clean face. StTeaks of
gray forced themselves through the
accommodations that chung to his long
matted locks and untTimmed beard.
A course blue wooden OveTshirt, with
tattered sleeves, covered his back, from
whence many doubted it had been re-
moved since the day he first put it on
at Griffin's store twelve months ago.
His duck PANTS had completely lost
their original whiteness, and We're
tucked into q weli-WOrn, much-patch-
ed pair of gum boots. The veTitaiJle
felt hat worn by him in $50, still D1ain-
tanned its usual position on the side of
his head. The only change it had I'M
deTgOne since then was that of piece
of old rubber coat that now cODstitu-
ted the crown.
Shakes history, outside of the pre-
cincts of Norway Flat, was wrapped in
complete mystery. Even the time II
his arrival ia the camp was unknown.
Brown the proprietor of the " Occi-
dentaI"-NOrwsy Flats principal no.
tel, drinking and dancing saIoOn-and
also one of the pioneers Of the place,
asserted that "Shakes bummed around
here when ] fust rived III 1921 1t
was generally believed that he hailed
from the State of Maine. Shakes, how
ever, was no temperance man"
himself; on the contrary, he had
earned the unenviable reputation OF
being an inveteTate " whisky bum
mer." No one had known him to
pass o single night on the Flat "Out
Of his cups" 1t is true that these con-
slant 1mbibings had so enfeebled his
system as to cause him readily to sue
cumO to its influence.
A lonely IOg-cRbin stood on the hill
side. Shakes owned it, and prOfessed
to be its occupant; but seldom, if ever,
crossed its threshold. The bar room
or some other of the drinking bells
was his home; the floor, a, bench, or
q faro-tabie, was his e /.
Although a slave to his appetite for
Intoxicating liquor, none of the ven
ders on Norway Flat were much the
richer for having Shakes as their GUS
toner. 1t was seldom that a coin
used from his hands to a bar keepers
drawer; but drink he must have, and
somehow or other he always managed
to obtain it. The manner il which
it was obtained was but secondary
consideration to him. Nothing was
too humiliating or too degrading fOI
him to do for it. When begging fail
ed, strategy was Immediately resOrted
to, and in this way he was invariably
successful. He would enter the sa-
loon, go up to the bar, with his thumb
and fOrefinger inserted in his pocket,
and address the barkeeper thus:
" say, barkeeper, hurry up; give
me a brandy straight"
The baTkeeper would first cast a
glance at the position OF the hand and
then tender the bottle to Shakes, who
would uncOnceTDedly drink. Here's
luck" and retire from the counter
without paying.
HO, Shakes ~
"Eh 2"
Come and see me-"
No, thankee; don't feel like it
now; just had one"
And the barkeeper learned that he
was duped once WOTe, but dared not
attempt to punish his deceiver. The
indignation Of the entire camp would
most assuredly fall upon the individual
who dared to abuse Shakes. He was
Norway Flats "privileged character. /"
Likes his whisky, 1 know; but he's
a harmless, gOOd-natuTed old devil,
for all that" was the sentiment uni
versally expressed by the members Of
that little mining community.
Inebriate as he was, Shakes was not
indOlent. lie was always, in sunshine
or rain, engaged in chOpping cord
wood, or in driving shakes-IOng
shingles-from which latter he re-
ceived his nickname. The sun rose
on Shakes entering the woods I; it set
upon him making q Decline" for
the q Pony Saloon" Fire YOOd was
worth So a cord, and shakes SIS a
thousand, in those days, on Norway
Flat. Shakes always chopped from
two to three cords per day. Three dol
lars a cord, he paid " Billy the boat
man." for hauling it, which, Of course,
considerably diminished his earnings 4;
still, there was @ good margin left.
How 1t came to pass that he should
always be poor, could never De salts
factOrily explained. His condition of
being what he termed "fiat broke"
was patent to all, and was considered
aLOtherof the mysteries of hispeculiar
life that no one cared to solve, and ac-
cepted unquestiOned.
Norway Flat, since the time of its
discovery in 1852, has continued to be
prosperous mining camp. The fabu-
lOus yield Of many of its claims have
been reported in the columns of the
leading newspapers Of the civilized
world. Numerous opportunities had
been offered Shakes to become the pos
SCISSOR of ground of a promising cnar-
acter, subsequently proving rich.
Mining, however, possessed no at
fractions for him. There existed no
affinity between his nature and the
excitement of the average gOld-mi-
ner's life. He never owned foot of
mining ground, land didn't intend
to-" he was accustomed to say 81 go
for the sure thing" Even when the
WAX cup Jake Company struck a two
Ounces-tO-the-pan prospect, Shakes de-
clined stalking off the adjoining ground,
then vacant, and upon which he YVES
at that time chOppiDg wood. The
same piece Of ground afteTwaTd proved
the richest spot OH the Flat, nearly l.
200 ounces being obtained from it as
the proceeds OF one days washing.
This lack Of enteTprise-this disincli-
nation to venture-w as supposed to be
the morbid offspring of his disSipated
career. The only things for which
he appeared to have any care, were
his axe, his crOss-cut saw and tTOwel-
These constituted his entire stock in
trade, and for them hecherished some
thing bordering on affection.
Shakes was viewed as one of Norway
Flats fixtures. It had been settled
long ago in the minds of it's inhab-
itants that his bones would decay in
the little cemetery on the knoll over
looking the Flat. The idea of his re-
moving was never for a moment en-
teTtained by any one in that secluded
community. Shakes and Norway
Flat had grown up with one another
Norway Fiat was Shakes home. If
he possessed home elsewhere, he had
never been heard to speak of it.