The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-11-20
MisreHaneuns.
From The OrsrtdRd MonthIy.l
How BILL WANISHAKBN.

1
me, the remainder to the pack-mule-as
we journeyed, skirting along the base of
a range of rough peaks, which peaks,
like ourselves, were, and still are, in
that vast area of sage bush called Neva-
da.
1.-Two crazy men." repeated l, and ad-
ded, ''whereF
.'Why, up thereto the right hand. at
the end of that sort of IL road we jist
crossed-where the mule wanted to run
off, you know" and turning in his sad
die, he pointed; You see that high,
dark-looking peak, with the round, white
spot of snow Oh the north face, near the
top; it's the biggest peak of the lot, and
kinder behind the rest. Do you see itf'
Il think do" said l, shading my
ewes with heavy buckskin g owe 81 h ere
is something like a squad OF white-pine
trees Just below the snow spot"
..Yes, that's it. The white pines are a
little below, and little to the right of,
the snow"
| nodded my head.
"Sanch! Go on. Git. Just below
them pines lives the two craziest men in
this State"
why crazy-what have they done!'
.'Donel Why, they amt done nuthin'
but work up there, winter and sum
mer, OH little bit of a razor blade sill
yer lead thai isn't worth a hill o. beans.
Been a workin' there, jist that way for
three or four years-siukin' and sinkin',
and driftin' on nuthin'.'
"How do they liveg
"Oh. the little streak is rich enough,
what there is of it. They iist dig and
dig, and blast and gag-bustin' fellows
to work, you bet!-and they save every
ounce of it. Then you jist have to laugh
to see 'em. They've got sort of Span
ish raster, and an old blue mouse -colored
big mule, with a club foot, and rope
harness; and with such fixins they grind
out bullion enough to keep soul and
body together. The raster is right along
side the shaft of the mine, jist aside the
dump, and one of the fellers works on
the dump and hists it out, while the
other feller, and an IDjun, works below.
The chap on the dump hists out, sorts
ore. and SHES piece of waste rock at
old muley, now and then, to wake him
up. That old mule-his club foot is
mighty pigeon-toed, and they work him,
with that foot on the inside of the track,
so he jist don't walk, but sort o leans
round and round, all day-that old mule
has been kept goin' one way on circular
work so long that whe n he's turned out
TO feed they never miss his tracks, cause
he always graks in circles
'Who are these crazy men"
'.Two brothers, they say; name of
Rocksaw."
Where are they from-what race!
Dutch, Irish, French or English!" .
''More'n l know. Never heard any
body say they pretended to know much
about 'em. Ones older'n t'other; he
never talks, jist works ahead, with 'Yes,
SIR No, SIR Can't say, sir Perhaps
50, sir and SIGH like; mighty short, but
kind o. perIite and quiet. The other
one-the young one-iS always smliin';
and his eyes are always as blue as the
sky in spring time; little eyes, away in
to his head, and nearly kivered up with
long, sandy eyebrows, like harry rat
terrier dogs, and they twinkle like
specks of ice among dry grass on Il sun
shiny winter morning. And that young
feller, he never says nothin' to speak of,
more'n the old one, and hell look at
you like two bran new ginlets, while
you're talkin': and he'll stand, all nervy
ike, with smiles twitchin' round his
mouth, a-waitin' for something to laugh
at"
Il don't see anything out of tile way
in what you tell me about these men
''You don't! Well, you haven't seen
'em yet Why. told that young one
that old story about the broken winder,
and | thought first he'd bust, and then
wear himself ont n laughin'" ="
II don't remember any story about q
broken window. What was il 2"
Don't you know about the man who
was ridin' along the road, passin' log
cabin. where there was a SiX-pane win
dow-sash with all the glass broke ont,
and the old woman and four children
lookin' cut o. the five frames in the sai Ia,
and the man sand TO the Old woman,
How de do, ma'am. Have you Lad
funeral in your family latelyF No, sir.
Why do you axr says the old woman;
and then the man said, / see one sash
frames got no head in ii, and thought
t'other head might be dead." But that
man was on a good horse, and saved his
skelp."
10 laugh at that sort of story is
not good evidence of insanity" said TO
my p&Tu tts we spufItu OA iAbO a HAAOie
lcpe.
make note here of a fact. namely,
after a Joke on horseback. an accelera-
ton of gait follows. do not, however.
wish TO infer that the animals enter into
the enjoyment. In riding in the sage, the
horses are compelled by the punches of
brush TO perform a continual zigzag
journey, which interfercs with any pace
beyond a walk or jog-trot; so that we
were soon forced 10 give up our gayety
of motion and resume the slower pro-
gress. which seemed also to call for a
resumption of conversation.
From what you tell me, Bill. about
those queer fellows l feel inclined 10
ride back and see the men and the mine.
What do you sayr
Not bit of use. They won't let you
down into the mine-ashamed of it, l
reckon-and you won't think of stayin'
there all night"
"Why can't we stay there all night?
We've got our own grub and bed"
80, well, you could stay up there, but
you wouldn't"
Il don't see why"
s.You don't want TO be ct up with
m'skeeters. If you sleep out of doors,
and you can't sleep in them feller's cab
in: there amt room They live in a
hole in the hillside, and the hole is so
small that one of 'em has to go TO bed or
90 out while t'other one puts on his coat
or pulls off his boots. I've been up
there. Them little popplewood groves