The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1879-01-24
THE nINERs, JULIET.
4 Remi.isee.e. Of . Festive Mining Camp.

"Reminiscences Of . Festive Mining Camp.
From tho Portland GOrcgon) telegram
In the early days theatrical treat in
the mountains was . rare occurrence,
and the troupe that had the nerve to
venture into the distant mining regions
was generally we'll paid for the long
journey and risks taken to get there. II
an actor could "run with the boys" al
night after the theater was out, sing
songs, and drink with them every time
they asked him to, he was sure to carry
away with him many golden souvenir
in the shape of rare specimens Just a.
they came from the diggings; while the
actress, If she touched tender cord in
the heart of the digger and deliver in the
ground, was certain to have her pockets
filed with the prettiest nuggets that
could be raked from the sluice boxes
l will never forget the first time saw
'' Romeo and Juliet Tor " Julio'' as the
miners put it) played in the mines.
was out of luck in the diggings, and had
drifted into newspaper Office, and was
then on the Ne,0 Northeast, at Deer
Lodge, Montana, setting type, looking
up mining news, and running to STAN.
pedes when the spirit 30 moved me-
There came one day from the railroad,
500 miles away, q solitary freight team,
part of the burden of which we're two
broken-down show peoples man and
a woman, or rather q woman and q
something resembling q man. the
freighter brought them up more through
sympathy than for compensation, for
when they landed in the suburbs of the
town they had but lone half-dOllar he
tween them to commence business with
The man looked anything but Snowman
"A little pinched-up fellow he was, with
q face that would drive away rather than
draw an audience. His stock in trade
consisted OF huge roll of flaming hand,
bills bearing the California imprint, and
some kind ota little jack lantern ar.
rangement that wouldn't work to the
satisfaction of an audience. The only
redeemiDg feature about the man was
his name, which was Church, little
church that looked as if it had been
around the corner of adversely until it
was about wrecked. But the rascal had
been fortunate in striking partner (the
ways Of an actress are past finding out,
sometimes), broke, like himself, it is
true, but possessing fair wardrobe and
any amount of confidence of her abili-
ties as player. This lady of the stage,
as she appeared when the kind hearted
freighter sat her down in the suburbs of
our town, was OF calculated to strike the
casual observer as star of the greatest
magnitude. Dirty aud dusty, her un.
artistic garments faded and worn, un
kempt hair floating in the evening
breeze, and her shoes too much worn to
afford her feet protection. from the
prickly cactus. she was more an object
of pity than of curiosity. Misery loves
company, and these two fallen artists
had cast their broken fortunes together
to take their chances on mending them
with the golden ''spelter' of the north
mines. There was no similarity in the
names of these show people. Professor
Church and Laura Agnes sounded
strangely when they Travelled as one
hrm, lived in one wagon, and owned
but one pair of blankets; but stage peo-
pie come and 60 in their own peculiar
way, and we must take them as we find
them. In giving their true names I take
desperate chances on meeting Laura
Stevenson Agnes somewhere on the
stage of life; but as for the Professor,
fear him not.
Laura Agnes made good use of the
river that flowed by their camping
ground; for in the morning, when she
strobe into the Office in good attire, her
brilliant as q rose and her
face full of smiles, 1 didn't at first rec.
ognize her as the woman who sat on the
ground by the freighter's wagon the
evening before, crunching slap jack and
slipping coffee from q lineup. But when
she inquired for the editor and began to
talk theater, I remembered where / had
seen her and what the freighter had in
cidentally said of his strange passengers
when called at the camp the evening
before to ascertain the nature of his
load, the condition of the roads, the
time he was coming up, the number of
teams he had passed on the road, and
so on, and so on, like any other news
paper fellow who has to sometimes
squeeze an item out of little or nothing.
Well, Laura Agnes found the editor
in his den, and bearded him She in
him as t. the prospects of
getting a paying audience in town, the
price Of handbills, local blasts, etc., and
was in ecstacIes when she learned that
no first-class troupe had played there |
since the immortal Jack Langrishe had |
swept the town of its last dollar. As
uck would have it, new hall had but |
been completed for banquet and ball
which innocent means of |
passing time pleasantly the Deer Lodg-
,rs leaned heavily-and altogether La1-
a Agnes's star, that had set in the I'M
Sierras, was beginning to
Use in its glory and shine forth mid the
alleys of the everlasting Rockies. She
made an impression on the editor,
hink Chose actresses are such winning
was bachelor, and q long
vay from home)-for he told Laura
Agnes that, if saying good things of her
Tould bring her good luck, then she
night count on house that would do
er eyes good.
When Lsura posted off to see about
he hall, 1 took occasion to mention the
tile history of her that l had from the
reighter, and that I thought it my
uty to inform him of the state of Laura
gnes's finances; that I believed she
wned just half dollar and half in.
crest in q small church. The editor
as man noted for his great kindness
heart and desire to see every body
rosper, and he only replied that il she
as down we must help her on her feet
gain, but that we must keep her mis-.
'rtunes to ourselves, for if they were {
lade public it might work disastrously
J her. had never thought of that be-