Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-08-07
OCCIDENTAL LIFE.
Some California aud ArizOni
Vnrua

yarns
Fort TETON Correspondence N. Y. Tribune1
"That a new place like Bakersfield
should not have church is not surpris-
ing" said l to the Judge; but you
Havilah people ought to be ashamed
that your town has neither church nor
Sunday-school" We were lying about
the fire, after supper, smoking our cigars
with that lazy contentment which fol-
lows long day in the saddle.
We'll, said the Judge, who is one of
the leading citizens in that little minin G
town, i agree with you, and we did
make an effort to get up church, but it
did not succeed. My wife aud talked
it over; she preferred an Episcopal
church, and called meeting of the
most respectable men of the place to
choose vestry. They voted me into
the chair, and / nominated Mr.. johnson
for vestryman. Mr., johnson declined
to serve; he modestly said he thought
himself not fit for the office; he liked an
occasional game of draw-poker, he said j
he was given to some other worldly
amusements, like dancing, when there
was fiddler anywhere around; he
couldn' resist horse race, and, unfor-
tunately all the horse racing in Havilah
took place on Sunday, which was sure to
interfere with his duties as q vestryman.
| told him." continued the Judge, that
men are not expected to be absolutely
perfect in these days; that the chair IL
self was fond of an occasional game of
poker, aud that the Office of vestryman
was, in the judgment of the chair, pure
ly ministerial, but somehow he did not
see it in that light; he is modest man,
and he wouldn't serve. When he backed
out, everybody else did too, and so this
effort of ours to get up a church fell
through. I've always been sorry fer
it, added the Judge, frankly. for /
consider a church an excellent thing TO
have"
Now, though listeners may have
smiled at the Judges story, he, | beg you
to believe, was perfectly sincere in his
regrets, and we could do no less than
admit that he had done his level best >
in manner. The fact is said the
Arizonian, that Havilah is, like many
mining towns, rude place. | was go
ing down the main street there one eve
ming some years ago when | got among
crowd of rough fellows, and | hap
pened to say to Jack Thompson, whom
knew, that it seemed TO be very quiet
nowadays; / had not seen man killed
for long time" Haven't your By
the powers! come along with me, said
he, reaching around to the back of his
n
my arm. I'm show you how it's done;
there's a whole billiard-room full of
them up therel" and be waived his six
shooter over his head, and | believe if !
hadn't auieted him down he'd have gone |
up and shot into the crowd. But that's |
some years ago, snd they hung that
to a tree afterwRf1, and that |
scared most of his kind away. THE
same fellow told me once" said the
General, "of little disappointment of
his. He had a difficulty with man,
and no arms at hand but a shot'gu1i be
went for him with the scstter-gun," he
said, "and the contemplate weapon
missed, and he Just graEed him. - -
Your courts did not execute justice
very vigorously in those days" ! spg-
,ested. Well, nc" replied the Judge,
they we're too often like a Judge they
had in early days up in Tuolonne
county. The Judge had quarrel with
/ lawyer, and tho result was that be
lsed regularly to charge the jury sgaiaGt
any party whom this lawyer represented.
At last Tom said one day, with some
,exation when he heard the Judge be-
zin to charge against him again, that he
lid not expect TO get justice IA th9t
,ourt. To which his Honor replied
promptly and with contempt, that be
would take d-d good care Tom should
ret no justice ia that court. That
;ellow ought 10 have been a Tammany
Judge in New York" said s6ma one,
md turned the laugh handsomely against
he East. It's astonishing, said the
how rough and bow igno-
ant men are who 90 about these moaH-
aims prospecting for gold. Some years
.go. when the Temiscai Tin Mine was
opened, and found to contain some valu'
.ble ores. there was great excitement
.round San BernsrdiHo about tin.
Dozens OF people who knew nothing
lbout indications Of tin went ont TO
aud up in Bainbridge district
. fellow actually set up sn essay shop.
md made money for a month or two by {
pretended assays Of the rock which ]
.redulous Prospectors brought him. OF (
course he found tin in every kind OF /
'ock. Il was discovered afterEsrd that '
he scoundrel had stolen pewter faucet,
md made his assay buttons out Of that. /
When that was used up he melted the {
Iolder from old tin cans for the same
lse" tffHH tfLEl'
q He ought TO have been the man who
ola "a Fsgi;sh tourist near San Bernar.