New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-08-01
WASHEE-WASHEE.
BN JOAQUIN MILLER.

blows" had Dam60&nlm, $1,000 out on Tn
steps of his cabin ali the afternoon, lOoi
ing up the forks and down pc forks, an
wondering what in TIP world was the rea
son the "6oys" dit not come creakin95alon
and screeching their great gum boots tt
gether, with their extra s1(rt for wash wad
died dowp in one of the spacious legs.
Three days after the widow had arrive,
she had absorbed all the business. FOp
days after che had arrived she absorbed
Waahee- Washee. And now it was tn
brown hand Of little moon-eyed Eashee
Washee that reached through the door
took the clothes, and handed them Ou
to hand QUITO the bearded giants stand
ing there in line, .patientl y Weiting at Thu
door of the widows cabin.
entirely in vlsible.. 1t was as if there wal
no sun at the forks. and all the sky was in
perpetual eclipse of clouds. :,
Soon there was trouble. Clothes began
to disappear. One bearded sawyer, a eAl
liant man, who's refused to complain be.
cause there was a woman in the case, was
observed y wear his coat buttoned very
closely up to his chin, and that, too, in
midday in summer. This good maA had at
first lost only his extra shirt. He did not
complain, He simply went to bed on Sun
day'apf sent his Shirt early to the wash,
expecting to rise in the afternoon, "dress, -
md 20 to town., A week went by. The
man could not stay in bed till the day of
Judgment. So be rose gp, buttOned up to
the throat, and went down to buy another
supply.
Other circumstances not dissimilar in re-
suit began to question whether or not. after
all, the camp mad been greatly the gamer
by this new element in it's population.
One afternoon there was cOmmoti0n at
the door Of the widows cabin. Sandy was
n trouble with Washee Washee The moon
eyed little man tried to get back into the
house, but the great big giant had been too
to let him escape now, and herreached ia
his queue and drew him forth, as show
man does black snake froma cage.
The widow saw the great hairy tace of
this grizzly giant, and retreated far bac k
into the cabin. She was perfectly certain
she was terri bly, afraid Of this great big
awk ward, half-clad, exaggerated man, and
therefore, with a woman's consistency, she
came to the door, and in a voice softer than
running waVer to Sandy's ears, asked wh9
could be tAe matter.
Sandy was taken by surprise and could
not say word. He only rolled his great
head from one shoulder to the other, got
his hands dashed up somehow in his leath-
ern bell and greaj gum boots, and stood
there like born idiot.
But whoever saw an embarrassed China
man? The innocent little fellow, turning
his soft, brown alaond eyes up to the win
dow, told her, as poor Sandy started on
down the hill like an awkward bull, that
this dreadful "Amelican" wanted him to
leave her, to 60 home with him to be his
wife.
When Sandy heard this last he disap-
peared, crestfsllen an utterly crushed. He
went home. bat not to rest. He cold Linn.
Der Tin all about what he'd happened.
How he stood tAll in silence till it came to
the last shirt. How the Chinaman had lied,
and how he was now certain that it was
this same little Celestial who was boning
on his elbow, where he lag in his bunk,
and, looking at Sandy, struck out emphat-
ically with his hand and said:
LAY fur HIM"
Sandy drew on his great gnm boots |
again. Timber I'm rose up, and then the. |
two men kept creaking and seething and
theT great boots. together o they
went SILENTLY and in single file down the |
bill toward the town.
peace and tranquility upon the face of |
Wsshee Washee that twilight as he wendell |
MIS- way from the widows cabin to his own. |
His days work was done, and the little
nanS face looked the soul q repose. Pos
IDLY he was saying, with the great, good
poet, whose lines. you hear at evening time
IN the lips OF nearly every English ARTISAN:
"Some thing attempted, something done, I
Has earned nights reR0se."
Washee. Washes looked strangely fat for
. Chinaman. as he peacefully toddied down
he trail, still wearing, as he neafed his
,abin, that look of calm delight and perfect
innocence, such only as the pure in heart
ire supposed to wesr. His hands we're
ruding stomach, as if he feared he might
'ossibly burst open, and waited to be ready
o hold himself together.
In the great little republic there, where
IL had begun an even and equal race in thefI
'attle Of life, where all had begun as beg
ars, this tawny little man from the far off |
owery kingdom was alone; he was the only
representative of his innumerable millions
all that camp. And be did seem SO fat,
, perfectly full of satisfs ,tion. Perhaps
Q smiled to think how fat he was, and, too,
Ow he had tiorished in the little democ-
ICY. l.
He was making q short turn in the trail. /
ill holding his ClDped hands over his ex-
pded stomach, still smiling peacefully out
hie halfshut eyes.
"Washee! Wssbeer'
A double bolt Of thunder was in his ears.
tremendous had reached out from be-
nd pine, and chen the fat little China. !
an :quatted dew and began to wilt apd
elt beneath it . IL
..Washee. Vaehse, coD.s
WaAhee- WAaAeoWos snet at all willing 10 l {
NJ. but 49, Dade ~ tie aligAte9t dlf I
,onCe in tho fWesld 70 NnD1f. I'm Little X i
nosd-eysa man 80 MT .eesAn GhosyF. 7