The Osceola times., 1880-05-08
THE HERMIT.
Romance OF Mining Life.

| 1000 feet above the sea, rests hlile
mining camp Of some twenty or twenty
five rough log cabins. Right on the edge
of timber linel Tall. spruce pines below;
bare. Jagged rocks above. North, south,
east ana west, huge peaks tower in their
massive grandeur and rear their stony
heads TO the rising and setting sun, and
seem ike grim old sentinels keeping
watch over the little basin in which are
the cabins, collectively known as Mineral
Cty. The mountain sides are scanned
and ribbed with the rich silver veins OF
San Juan, and scores of cuts, shafts and
tunnels echo daily 10 the clang of drill
and sledge as the hardy miners delve
after the metallic treaures of these great
store-houses.
Near the blacksmith shop, where the
not unmelodious ring of drills and picks
being sharpened is heard all the day and
far into the night, little cabin stands
unobtrusively upon its rocky foundation.
There is an air of neatness about his
hipped roof of nicely split shakes" and
its carefully hewn door that speaks well
ior the patience, taste and skill of Its
builder. In fact, the cabin is pointed
out as fine specimen of frontier archi-
lecture.
The solitary owner and occupant of
this little building was known through
ont the camp as "the Hermit" Not, be
II understood. because of his initiating
those poor old beings of ancient story
who dwelt in caves and fed at the ap-
proach OF any one, but simply because
he was q taciturn, quiet old fellow, who
worked his mine alone, and, when join
ing the rest of the men about the fire in
the saloon, always sought corner and
rarely, if ever, took part in the conyersa-
tion.
He was vastly different from the rest
of his fellow-laborers. He never drank;
he never swore: bot in his quiet, unob-
trusive way would sit and gaze intently
at the fire, unmindful OF the stories, the
hearty laughter, the social drinking and
the absorbing games of cards going on
around him. Tall he was, with a decid-
ed stoop in his shoulders; a long beard.
plentifully streaked with gray, and pair
Of wearied, restless, nervous, yearning
ewes, that somehow appealed to the
rough, but good-hearted miners.
Mail came twice a week in Mineral
CITY. and the saloon was the post-office.
Regularly upon the carriers arrival the
Hermit yuld j in the crowd and listen
with an eager, expectant air as the super
scriptions of the various letters were
read out by the saloon-keeper, and then,
when the last missiye had been reached
and either claimed or set aside, he would
lower his head and slowly slip away to
his seat at the corner of the fireplace,
with never a word. Every mail that
went out carried letter from the Her
nit. always directed TO the same party,
and every month he registered one to the
same address, which the boys shrewdly
guessed contained such money as the
poor fellow was able TO scrape together
from the scanty yield Of his mine-the
Alice.
The boys had often debated upon writ
ing a letter to the Hermit, for his contin.
ual expectation and his regularly bitter
disappointment touched them; but they
argued that it would not be what he
wanted, and so the idea was abandoned
Several of them asked the postmaster
to Law aside their letters without reading
aloud their addresses, that the contrast
might not be SO painful TO the Hermit
and none of them gave vent TO any joy
ful exclamations when the mail brought
them favors, as was their wont. The
old whisky-keg at the corner of the fire
place was always reserved for the Her
init, and, come when he might, he never
found il occupied, nor when sitting there
was he ever crowded. And so these
rough frontiersmen showed in various
ways their sympathy for their lonely
and silent companion, ofwhom they knew
nothing save what his pinched, cdrcwOrr
face and yearning eyes told.
One day the mail came in and the
Hermit was not there. This was so un
usual that il led to considerable specula
ton among the boys. Then Roney
whose lead lay near the Alice, remem
bered that the Hermit had not been tc
work that day OF the day before; and
when night came on and the keg in the
corner remained unoccupied, the boys
concluded that investigation was neces.
AIRY.
''Pards. reckon the Hermit may be q
leetle off and might kinder need help,
said Georgia, "an' 1t sorter strikes me We
might call in an see"
As this met the approval of all the
men Georgia and Roney started up to
the Hermit's little cabin. A dim light
crept around the edges of the old -four
sack that acted as a curtain for the little
square pane OF glass constituting win
dow, and, after consultation, the two
messengers concluded to take a peep be-
fore making their presence known.
Georgia put his face TO the glass and
peeTed intently within. The Hermit sat
ON the earthen floor enveloped in torn
and miserable blanket. His hat was of
and his long gray hair was tangled and
unkempt. His eyes, which Georgia
could plainly see, as he sat nearly facing
the window, combined with their usual
pleading expression a sort of feyerish
glitter, and the whole attitude Of the
man was one OF despair. In his hands
he held what appeared to be photo
graph and an old letter, and he never
moved his eyes from them.
The rest of the roors that came within
Georeia's field Of vision betokened clean
illness, but at the same time extreme
poverty for even that rough country.
Georgia withdrew his head and his COM
panion took a look, after which they
both soft.y retreated some little distance
into the timber and paused.
"Well?" said Roney.
"Durned queer" said Georgia.
"Kinder siek-looking, eh?"
Georgia nodded his head thoughtfully.
Lets see the boys about it," said
Roney, and then they both retraced their
steps to the saloon.
The boys listened with interest TO the
report and pulled their boards and
scratched their heads in attempts TO OBJ
tain solution to what allied the Hermit.
Many and various we're the explanations
given, and ahen they decided that Geor.