The Russellville Democrat., 1880-04-29
THE HERMIT.
A Romance of Mining Life.

A
 Away LID on the man range--the Sierra Nadre-of the Rocky Mountains, I2OOO feet above the sea, rests little 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 and west, huge peaks tower in their massive grandeur and rear their stony heads to the rising and setting sun, and seem like grim old sentinels keeping watch over the little basin in which are the cabins, collectively known as Mineral City. The mountain sides are scanned and ribbed with the rich silver veins of San Juan, and scores of cuts, shafts and tunnels echo daily to the clang of drill and sledge as the hardy miners delye 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 it's carefully hewn door that speaks well for the patience, taste and skill of its builder. In fact, the cabin is pointed out as a fine specimen of frontier archl- lecture.
 The solitary owner and occupant of this little building was known through out the camp as 'the Hermit" Not, be 1t understood. because of his initiating those poor old beings of ancient story who dwelt ill caves and fled at the ap- proach of any one, but simply because he was 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 a corner and rarely, if ever, took part in the conversa- ton.
 He was vastly different from the rest of his fellow -laborers. He never drank; he never swore; but in his quiet, unob- tr1sive 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; long beard. plentifully streaked with gray, and pair of wearied, restless, nervous, yearning eyes, 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 W ould 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 missive 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 word. Every mall that went out carried letter from the Her. init, 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 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 lay 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 tue 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. nit, and, come when he might, he never found it occupied, nor when sitting there was he ever crowded. And so these rough frontiersmen showed in various ways their sympathy for their lonely andsilent companion, of whom they knew nothing save what his pinched, careworn face and yearning eyes told.
 One day the mail came in and the Hermit was not there. This was so un- usual that it led to considerable specula. ton among the boys. Then Roney whose lead lay near the Alice, remem. bered that the Hermit had not been to work that day or the day before; and when night came on and the keg in the corner remained unoccupied, the boys concluded that investigation was neces' sary.
 "Pards, reckon the Hermit may be 6 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 tc the Hermit's little cabin. A dim light crept around the edges of the old floui 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 peep be. fore making their presence known.
 Georgia put his face to the glass and peered intently within. The Hermit sal on the earthen floor enveloped in a torn and miserable blanket. His hat was of and his long gray hair was tangled anC unkempt. His eyes, which Georgis could plainly see, as he sat nearly facing the window, combined with their usua pleading expression sort of feverisf glitter, and the whole attitude of tho man was one ot despair. In his hands he held what appeared to be photo graph and an old letter, and he nevel moved his eyes from them.
 The rest of the room that came within Georgia'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 look, after which they both softly retreated some little distance into the timber and paused.
 "Well2" said Roney.
 "Durned queer said Georgia.
 HKtrIo, loelrf,na alDit