New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-09-24
SHAKES.
Prom the September Overland.

. or seemed at all anxious to ascertain.
outward appearance he was specimen
debased humanity. Debauchery was indel
bly, stamped upon every feature. 1t We
deemed rare sight to see him with clea
face. Streaks Of gray forced themselvt
through the accunulatiOns that chung to b
long matted locks and untrimmed beart
4 coarse, blue wooden undershirt, wit
tattered sleeves, covered his back, frOI
whence many doubted whether it had bee
removed since the day he first put it on, i
Gritfn's store. twelve months ago. Hi
duck pants had completely lost their orig
inal wilderness, and were tucked into wei
worn. much patched pair Of gum boots
The veritable felt hat. worn by him in ):
still maintained its usual position on tn
side of his head. The only change it ha,
apparently undergone since then was tina
piece of an old rubber coat now cOnsti
tuted the crown.
Shakes history, outside of the precinct
OF Norway Flat was wrapped in complet,
mystery. Even the time of his arrival il
the camp was unknown. Brown, the pro
prietor Of the .'occidental'-Norway Fiat:
| principal hotel, drinking and dancing
saloon-and also one Of the pioneers Of the
place asserted Shakes bummed around
here when l fust rived, in So" 1t was
| generally believed that he hailed from the
temperance State of Maine. Shakes, how.
| ever, was no temperance man himself to
the contrary. he had earned the unenviable
reputation Of being an inveterate whisky
hummer" No one had ever known him
to pass single night on the Flat "out
OF his cups 1t is true that these constant
| imbibings had SO enteebled his system as to
cause him to readily succumb to its in
fluence.
lonely log cabin stood on the hillside
Shakes owned. and professed to be it's occu-
pant, but seldom. if ever, crossed its
threshold The barrOOm of some one or
other Of the numerous drinking bells was
his home; the floor, q bench or a faro table
was his bed.
Although a slave to his appetite for intox-
lcating liquor. none OF its vendors on Nor
way Flat were much the richer for having
Shakes as their customer. 1t was seldom
that a coin passed from his hands to the
barkeeper's drawer: but drink he must
have, and somehow or other he always
managed to obtain it. The manner in which
it was obtained was but secondary con-
sideration to him. Nothing was too humil-
iating or too degrading for him to do for it,
When begging failed, strategy was imme-
diately resOrted to. and in this he was in
variably successful. He would enter the
saloon, with thumb and forefnger inserted
in his pocket. and address the barkeeper
thus:
Il say. barkeeper, hurry up; give me
brandy straight
The barkeeper would first cast a glance
at the position Of the hand, and then tender
the bottle to Shakes. who would uncon-
cernedly drink, Here's luck and retire
from the counter without paying.
"Ho. Shakes"
Eth p
Come and see me.
M Il. Ga. ~ =
had un.'
And the barkeeper learned that he was
duped once more but dared not attempt to
punish his deceiver. The Indignation of
The entire camp wonld most assuredly fall
lpon the individual who dared to abuse
Shakes He was Norway Flats ..privileged
character" Likes his whisky, know: but
le's harmless. good natured old devil for |
All that. was the sentiment universally ex-
pressed by the members of that little mining |
1nebriate as he was. Shakes was not indo- |
ent. He was always. in sunshine or rain
Engaged in chopping cord wood. or in irving
shingles, from which latter
he received his nickname. The
mn rose on Shakes entering the woods: it
ct upon him making a "bee line" for the
Pony saloon" Firewood was worth six
lollars cord and shakes sixteen dollars a
thousand in those days on Norway Flat.
'hakes always chopped from two to three
ords per day. Three dollars cord he paid
Billy, the boatman,' for hauling it. which
f course considerably diminished his earn
ngs: still there was a good margin left.
low it came to pass that he should always
e poor could never be satisfactorily eX-
lained. His condition of being what he
rrmed ''fat broke was patent to all, and
las considered another of the mysteries of
is peculiar life that no one cared to solve.
nd accepted unquestioned.
Norway Flat, since the time of its discov-
ry. in 1852, had continued to be a prosper
us mining camp. The fabulous Weld of
ANY of its many claims had been reported
| the columns of leading newspapers of
Re civilized world. Numerous Opportuni-
es had been offered Shakes to become the
assessor of ground of a promising charac-
r. subsequently, proving rich. Mining
,wever, possessed no attractions for him
here existed no affinity between his nature
ID the excitement Of the average geld I
iner's life. He never owned foot of {
lining ground land didn't intend to- he
as accustomed to say, II go for the sure
ing Even when the Makeup Jake COM
my struck two Ounces-tO-t he-pan pros {
ct, Shakes declined stalking off the ad-
ming ground. then vacant, and upon which
was at that time chopping wood. That I
me piece OF ground afterward proved the (
chest spot on the whole flat, nearly twelve :
inbred ounces being obtained from it as
e proceeds of one days washing. This u
ok of enterprise-this Discrimination to c
supposed to be the morbid t
spring of his dissipated career. The only t
ings for which he appeared to have anv |,
re were his ak, crOss-cut saw and frower Il
lese constituted his entire stock in trade. a
d for these he cherished something Dor
ring upon affection.
Shakes was viewed as one of NORWAY "
ats fixtures. 1t had been settled long S
O in the minds of it's inhabitants that his ! .
mes would decay in the little cemetery a
the knoll overlooking the Flat The b
"a Of his removing was never for a mo- S
mt entertained by any one in that Sc il
lded community. Shakes and NORWAY .
at had grown up with one another. Nor Il
" Flat was Shakes home. If he Dos ri
,sed home elsewhere he had never been h.
ard to speak of it. sc
The winter OF 1859 had set in. 1t was Iii
out the middle of November. The ground
= covered with several inches of snow
Q tinkling of sleigh bells was heard in liz
distance, and the little town on the N
! was instantly thrown into cOmmo- ps
n. 1t was all occasiOned by the arrival in
"Barnard's Monthly Express" The ar ds
al of the express was an important tn
mt in the otherwise mOnOtOnOus routine al
every day life at Norway Flat; for be it pc
rendered that the era of wagon roads tn
railways had not been inaugurated, in
communication between that mountain to
reat and civilization was, at best, infre- Pl
mt and uncertain. Among the anxious b
es, awaiting the opening of the little
ket Of the postoflice and the distribu>
| Of letters, appeared that Of Shakes bu
rtly afterward, he was observed intently Al
using letter. ms
Dam'd if don't make tracks for hum" trs