The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1873-09-26
JUSTIFIABLE FICTION.


old camp and mountain liteg Said a
English lady;h"Bnt you mustG hax
been afraid of wild beasts, alone /
the forestn ,s r4,.,s,r
1 laughed 2 manly laugh 9to deri'
ion. t~5 s,. .aEar .,r.i'
"Did you ever kill a wild beast
asked the tender Briton.
7nI have never Killed anything lal
ger than squirrel in my life. Sever
al times before had | been asked thi
question. With conscientious regaf
tor veracity, | had answered "Nay.
Al once l snhklnlpopular estimation
Herea was The crisis again. Tire
young ladies were anxiousiy awaitin,
my answer@apwo OF them llineal dc
scendants Of William the Conqneror
They expected mesto be Nimrodish
| II said then 10 myself ;rStrict ver
acity, and Imust part company 70
awhile. Strict veracily Keeps mi
from shining. The British public ex
pect bold, startling deeds from a dwell
Ter in the western wilds of America
The British public shall not be dis
appointed. must launch slail
wild beast upon them, II shall fgur,
prominently at all social gatherings
l win also hint vaguely at some darI
and dreadful deed, all my own, Ii
social converse countenance shall fal
suddenly; l shall hesitate; dreadfn
recollection shall, fora moment, seen
to overwhelm me; | will recover;
will shake off; Twill be myself ono,
again. 30 al3Id 10 sd, 2'''s aans.'
l commenced my new career thai
same evening. said l had once
killed acoynte. / brought the beasr
out modestly, as though to me there
seemed nothing particularly brave OIL
mysterious in the actgsa ,s9uia afa9l
sand what is coyote ~ asked the
lady.
Should l say it was mean, sneak.
ing, cowardly animal, and thus rob my
self of all my rising reputation? -
! said that The coyote was a great,
gaunt, powerful animal, with roar
like a lion, and more dangerous
even than the grizzly l said that a
single one had been known to put a
whole village in flight, and that in his
merciless career he spared neither age,
sex, nor respectabllity.oaI told her
that l had slain one after a desperate
fight | showed one scar, where. l
had run a jack knife in my hand when
a Toy. ~ ,,4
My success astonished and dazzIed
me. These innocent British maidens
are so hungry for stories Of this dis
cription- they swallow them with
such keen relish-lt is nnkind to de.
ny Them. / am now hero. | re-
touch and re-embellish them for every
new party. Eventually / am TO bring
out grizzly and an Indian-slain
both in single combat. These little
ficlions are justifiable. They amuse;
they interest; they are expected
The end justifies themeans. fp .1i
The American of the far w est, in
the respectable British imagination,
is a reckless, blood thirsty, impetu-
Gus, vindistive being, hung with six
shooters and bowie knives. Seated
between two gentlemen, one evening
at a social gathering, the conversation
ran thus: ,.,.o. ,o ,e,aga ,'t ,t.
"You are an Americana"
II am an American-a Californian, +"
"Ah and is it true that your peo-
Pile on the froutier have SO many
rows p
"Much that is said is true."
"And have you ever killed man ?'
started. / thought there was an
intent 10 quiz me. No, The querisls
were Two honest, innocent English
artists, who deemed that nearly every
thing in the universe worth knowing
or seeing was to be found in London;
and that all humanity living without
the happy, blessed boundaries Of Eng
land, led a vague, wretched sort Of
existence. q 99''efl 7ai s9Iag
i hesitated in nv answer. Perhaps
one of the gentlemen mistook that
hesitation for the monentary contus-
ion, remorse, as memory, agitsted by
such a question ran over lis long list
of victims He apologized. L said
then that / had never killed anybody.
I do not think / was believed. NV
DELAY in answering, and my apparent
confusion, however, raised me in their
estimation. They now held ME as a
western desperate. too modest to
confess his crimes. The English have
ouite a passion for the Occidental
rnffian. fo'' ' t
Tsawl now so yiyidlv how preat had
been INV neglect to have lived full is
wears in the toughest, widest, most
iawless camps in California, without
killing AZ least one man; to have
lived where the shooting scrapen was
semilweekIy institution where
every one went aheeI.dn with derrin.