Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1880-10-13
INCIDENT OF WESTERN
LIFE.
The Four Bullwhackers OF Bit
ter Creek.


The Four Bullwhackers OF Bit
ter Creek.
Perhaps every person who is some
Vhat advanced in lie can remember
some incident oil his early years which
he would really like to forget, something
that resulted from the freshness and
vast inexperience of youth. / remem-
Der one which have spent good deal
of time irving to forget. lust before the
Union Pacific railroad reached the BIT
ter creek country made my first over
land trip To- the Pacific coast. / staged
il from the then terminus al the Union
Pacific 10 the Central Pacific, which was
pushing east. The stage broke down on
Bitter creek. and the passengers had To
walk to the next station. l grew tired
of walking before reached the station,
and coming, late in the afternoon, tn
where some transfers were camped, L
concluded to stop with them Tor the
night. On asking their permission to
ito so, they assented so heartily that |
felt at home at once. Life in the West
was something new to me. i was young
and buoyant, and Just out OF college. l
was fond Of talking. Thought 1t would
be novel and delightful to sleep out
with these half.savsge ox.drivers, with
no shelter but the vaulted, star gemmed
heavens. There were four teamsters,
and as many wagons, while thlrty-two
oxen grazed around in the vicinity. vi
the transfers, one was giant IN stature,
and wore bushy black beard; another
was shorter, but powerfully buiit, anu
one-eyed; the third was tall, lank and
hame-jawed; while the fourth was
wiry, red headed man. In my thoughts
| pitied them, on account oil the hard
life they led, and spoke to them in q
kind tone, and endeavored to make my
conversation instructive. / plucked a
flower, and, pulling it to pieces, mem
toned the names OF the parts-pistll,
stamens, calyx and so on-and remark
ed that it must be Indigenous to the
locality, and spoke OF the plant being
indigenous, in contradistinction to ex-
oyeuous, and that they could see that 1t
was not cryptogamous. In looking at
some fragments of rock, my thoughts
wandered of into geology, and, among
other things, spoke OF the tertiary and
ishthyosauruS and dinotherium. The
teamsteTs looked at me, then at each
other, hut made no response. we
sauatted down around the frying pan
to take supper, and as the big fellow.
with his right hand, slapped or sort oil
larrupted, "A long piece Of fried bacon,
over a piece of bread in his left hand.
sending a drop OF hot grease into my
LETT eve, he SAID to the one eyed man:
"Bill, is my copy Of Shakespeare In
yo' wagon? / missed it to- day..
"No. My Tennerson and volum' OF
the Italian poets is in thar-no Shakes
peare"
The lank looking teamster. biting off
a piece OF bread about the size OF . sau-
Ger, said to the big man, in a voice
which came huskily through the bread,
Jake, did yer ever read that volum' oil
po'ms that writ?'
"No, but hev often hearn tell on EN-"
"Yer mean 'Musin's OF an Idle
MAN, spoke up the red-headed man.
addressing the poet
"Ges."
"Hey read every line in il dozen
times" said the teamster with the rel
hair; and as he sopped a four.inch
swath, with Il piece OF bresd, across a
irving pan, he repeated some lines.
"Them's they, nodded the poet
"The emp'r or oil Austry writ me letter
highly comp imentin' them po'ms:
They've very techin',' added the
wiry man.
| took no part in these remarks
Somehow did not feel like joining in
The wiry man having somewhat salts
fed his appetite. rolled up q piece oil
bacon rind into sort oi single barreied
opera glass, and began ia squlnt through
il toward the northern horizon.
"What yer doiu', Dave?" asked the
stout man.
"Takin' observations on the North
Star. Want To make some astronomical
Civilizations when l get inter Sackry-
menter.'
"well. yer needn't ter made that tel
scope. could er tux 20 observations
for yer, bein' rs haint but one eye.
"i;it out thar, Yer darned old carboni'
ierous pterodactvl," yelled the hsme-
iswed driver 10 an OK that was licking
81 give a good deal OF my time to
s,ronomy when was in loorup' re-
marked the tall man.
"Oyer thar long," asked one.
Good while. Was minister TO Roos'
bv. Then spent some time down 10
Rome"
Rome" exclaimed the lsnk individ-
ual. "was born thar. My father was
sculptor"
"Good sculptors'
"Yes"
aWe.l, one wouldn't er thought it, to
look at yer." =,
al never was in Yoorup," remarked
the one eyed man. "When ocyPied
the cheer Of ancient languages in Har-
yaId college NV health failed. and the
felIers that had me hired wanted me TO
90 ter Yoorup for an out. but conciu-
| ded to come West ter look-Hold up
thar, yer internal ole flea bitten ichthy'
sarus," he bawled to an OK that Was
! chewing q wagon-cover.
/ felt hot and ieverish, and long way
from home.
IL got ready once ter 20 ter Rome
wanted to complete my studies thar
but give i, up" said the one called
| Dave.
"what ior?"
"They wanted me ter run for gunner
in Virginny."
"Yer beat emf?
Thunder, yes"
"Why didn't Yer stay thar
We'll. when my Job as gunner give
4 on, ,hav 'lscted me- 'PlscDral bishop an