The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1877-07-12
ELAM's ADVENTURE.
From the Argosy.

ELAM'S ADVENTURE.
- From the Argosy.
"Can't you tell us some vf your ad-
ventures PHI asked of my friend Elan.
who had Just returned from his many
years travels in the bush and other
outlandish places. and was sitting with
sent so long, he was, so to say. young
imam yet.
ss "Adventures! Well, 1 have had
.plenty. Rough ones, some of them"
"Please tell US one." chimed In
Mary. as 1885,.
: Eiam laughed. 81 can tell you Of
. curious one that met with In the
mountains" az
ooh, yes, do. Which mountains 2"
IN California up In one Of Its wild
sT:Thst viii be the very thing"
T. ',Well," said ELAN, running his
!. tapsring. angers through his hail, and
sSing a. my w iss,r~ so 1s; down
= blunt speech and unclvilised modes Of
thought will allow of, and you must
excuse the rest"
:, sob, III excuse anything. Please
6When started from home to settle
inss unfrequented districts,n began
Elan, "I set up theory that no young
man should ask woman to marry
him untfi he had prepared home for
her. 1t Is Surprising how much you
begin to think Of wife over yonder,
q arising, / suppose, from the extreme
loneliness Of ones existence. was
no exception. The land / took up was
! in the Rogue River Valley, and after !
Hell <~,t hst ohfv>ohov~o II xunrk cd
away with that object in view-to
y bring home q wife, ef-- ss'r
= : asBut Elam, had you selected
vifa?n I asked. ~
-. mo. I intended to do that as soon
- rs could, though you may say / was
fun young to be thinking Of 10. I
worked on and was pretty successful.
i built me house, got considerable
quantity of stocks. made flower gar
/. den for my wife, and even put up the
pegs and nails she would want to hang
her dresses on. intended that same
autumn to get on my horse, ride
nemy wife, marry her, and bring her
q .a'.At the notion of counting In that of.
- hand style, we laughed o little. Elam
p laughed too, as IL the recollection
pleased him. -A
-. "You think It strange, I see. It was
not 30 strange over there in those days,
where girls were rs scarce as angels.
There was not girl within forty miles
Of me; and assure you the very
thought of one, as / drove in those
nails for her garments to hang on,
. went through me like thrill. Don't
, you believe it, Go out yourself, and
try it."
1tD,,t r 10 t,oI;ax,a ,,
= .''"I had about two hundred and fifty
head of cattle, q good house, with q
garden, q young orchard, vegetables
- growing, sweet-scented fOwers-all In
readiness for the wife hoped to bring
home to bless me, and to take care of
this, my possession. And what do you
think happened toit?
: We could not tell.
"a ''There came such plague of grass
hoppers upon the valley that every
thing persisted. Crops, orchard, flow
: ers, grass, every green and delightful
/ and promising thing the grassh0ppers
second chapter of Joel?" d
: - s.The land is as the land of Eden be-
: fore them, and behind them desolate
wilderness. was ruined. My stock
died; at least the greater portion; they
= had nothing to feed upon. Yes, 1t was
complete and absolute ruin"
Elam paused q moment, mentally
looking at the past. ~
"I Considered myself disappointed
in love, too," he resumed in the
Quaintest of tones. Though i had
not yet been out to iind my girl, I knew
she was somewhere in that other valley
waiting for me; and when the greedy
grasshoppers ate up everything, felt
that had been Tilted: 1t actually
gives me pang now to think OF those
useless pegs on which my imagination
HAD 50 often seen girls pink cotton
dress and white sun-bonnet."
Elan gave great sigh. He was an
Seccentric fellow ~
az became misanthropic; said to
myself that between fate and the grass
hoppers / had been used hardly. Pack.
ing up my books and few other traps
/ babe adieu TO the Rogue River valley
forever, and started for the mountains
1t was longish journey, as had to
drive, before me the stock / had left. |
There in the mountains, ] settled down |
! again, built myself fort, and played |
hermit. No jilting girls should come
near me now.n
= IA fort?"
y "A regular fort. A stockade eighteen |
q feet high, with an embankment four |
p feet high around 1t, and with strong |
gate In the middle. My tent was in |
the midst Of the enclosure, with my |
= books and household goods, firearms |
D and all the rest of my property slowed |
s'Were You afaid Of the Indians?"
= sIndians and white tnen. Yes, I |
gawla good many Indians atfirst with |
In the range Of my rife. They learned |
TO- eep awsy nom my tqrt finding Il
did nocpayto aasmE 70 Invade It.
Down in the valley. below there were
I mining camps; and You perhaps know |
!, what some Of the .hangers-on OF such |
carnps are. / cold beef THAT is, heads |
I. Of cattle to the miners; and ~ I had |
sometimes tidy sum Of money by |
ME, Il was necessary 10 be CAREFUL
.0Sm.PPSb ySa, 1 9lsn ~ YYh young
"I herded my cattle, drove them to |
ktiuiged : inS LmlsanthFopy, combined |
with some rife practice BY the time
that 1 had entered upon the second
1stfAmer IN the mountains I felt quite |
at home and was getting rich. Afser
ALL the HE bad its charms. A man
Ss sna oS sE q Il Els Z sssn ss11s but
!. Lea And the gir1-wifef'
''' am coming to that. Having had |
t'%s e ye S1fss Ry sss sr al
!. i. must ride 70 the Wallamet tosee after |
I INV eirl. Bot 1 was not In the hurry |
over II that had been before. This |
Il Sifvery dull, you willsay, butthere'll
be some stir presently"
: effItfs not III dull, y 6 ~ at
i6he Sunday sftefnoon- How did 1
kpqy itxsss daday yo q sss' Bee Bscau Z,
along hiRt pP my d'.5y 1sga sIssiSy:
outSide writing, when 2 shadow isli
acroest the paper; and Looking Up tneF
stood . skSletdn. Aecustomed =