The Lamoille news. (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1877-1881, 1880-04-07
THE HERMIT.

A PATHETIC TALE OF MINING LIFE.
Away up on the main range-the
Sierra Madre-of the Rocky mountains,
twelve thousand feet above the sea
rests a little mining camp of some
twenty or twenty-five rough log cabins.
Right on the edge of timber line! 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 cid sentinels keeping watch
over the little basin in which are the
cabins, collectively known as Mineral
City. The mountain sides are scanned
AID 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 delve
after the metallic treasures of these
great storehouses.
Near the blacksmith shop, where the
not unmelodious ring OF drills and picks
being sharpened is heard I'LL the day and
far into the night, little cabin stands
unobtrusively upon its rocky founda-
its hipped roof of nicely split shakes "
and its 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 archi-
lecture.
The solitary owner and occupant oi
this little building was known through
out the camp as &C. the Hermit" Not, be
it understood, because of his initiating
those poor old beings of ancient story
who dwelt in caves and fled at the ap'
proach of any one, but simply because
ne was taciturn, quiet old tellow,whc
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 conver.
sation.
lie was vastly different from the rest
of his fellow laborers. He never drank
he never swore; but in his quiet, unob
| trusive way would sit and gaze intently
ut the fire, unmindful of the stories, the
hearty laughter, the social drinking anc
the absorbing games of cards going OF
around him. Tall he was, with de
cided stoop in his shoulders; Ions
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 Minera
City, and the saloon was the post
Office. Regularly upon the carrier
arrival the hermit would join tn
crowd and listen with an eager, expect
ant air as the Cuperscriptions of tn
various letters were read out by tn
saloon-keeper, and then. when the las
missive had been reached and eithe
claimed or set aside, he would lower hi
head and slowly slip away to his seat a
the corner of the fireplace, with neve
d word. Every mail that went ou
carried a letter from the hermit, al
ways directed to the same party, an
every month he registered one to tn
same address, which the boys shrewdl
guessed contained such money as th
poor fellow was able to scrape togethe
from the scanty yield of his mine-th
Alice.
The boys had often debated upo
writing letter to the hermit, for hi
continual expectation and his regularl
bitter disappointment touched then
but they argued that it would not /
what he wanted and so the idea ws
abandoned. Several of them asked ii
postmaster to lay aside their lette
without reading aloud their address,
that the contrast might not be so pair
ful to the hermit, and none of the
gave vent to any joyful exclamation
when the mail brought them favors,
was their wont. The old whisky ke
at the corner of the fireplace, was 8
ways reserved for the hermit, an
come when he might he never found
y occupied, or when sitting there was
y ever lcrowded. And SO these roul
re frontiersmen showed in various wa
9 their sympathy for their lonely al
70 silent companion, of whom they kne
nothing save what his pinched, cal
worn face and yearning eyes told.
One day the mail came in and t
hermit as not there. This was