The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1881-02-24
COLLAR AND ELBOW.

4
ion of any kind; but when Father Ryan
came there he seemed to know all about
it. He called the people of his faith
together, or visited them one at time,
and among the first things we knew, he
began with his own hands, assisted by
others, to grade a level spot on one of
the rock-faced hills surrounding the town.
When we stopped on our way to and
from work, and asked.
"What'r goin' to put up?" the father,
embracing his shovel handle long enough
to seem to be about to spit on his gloved
hands, stood up and replied:
ga small,edifce to the worship of God"
''Ohl church, eh2''
"Well, begging your pardon, hardly a
church, but a bit of cabin, just.
"What kindl"
"Catholic." And the father went on
shoveling the loose earth and small rocks
over the side of the grade, as if he had
no greater concern in the matter than the
employment of his time until sun-down.
By and by the chapel began to assume
the form of structure, which, like each
of the various hoisting works, looked
down from its stony eminence upon the
town of cabins clustered in the hollow of
the hills.
When the house was rooted IN and
externally complete, the irreverent wits
of the camp dubbed it "Purgatory Il is
tin Works"
This new title coming to the ears of
Father Ryan, he smiled meekly, and said;
"Sure, it's not bad name at all; and
glory be to God I've great hopes III be
the means of hoisting many poor soul
into eternal glory"
1t was no easy matter TO collect the
money to pay for the religious building
in our camp, because we had all been so
long away from what are called religious
influences, and free from the so called
restraints of divine grace, that we thought
such notions superf1uous. We had seen
our fellows sicken and die, or die without
being sick; we had cared for, nursed, or
E buried them without the "benefit OF the
clergy" Full many harsh refusal and
profane snub fell to the lot of Father
RYAN, as we went from mine to mine on
! pay-days, in his effort to gather into the
; treasury Of the Lord small part of ths
hard earnings, much of which otherwise
was destined to cross the green cloth of
the gaming table, or disappear through
4 the till of the bar room counter.
t The pay-days at the mines in our camp
= were from the 1st to the 4th OF each
month; but in the year when Father
5 Ryan was building his chapel, two of the
0 largest works announced that their mines
2 would pay off the day before Christmas
and shut down for repairs during tht
holidays.
I Now, about half way between thes'
!. shutdown mines and the town there wa
u a little swale, and on a level with th'
E road-bed, an enterprising spirit graded
: into the hill, forming a smooth, leve
space. On the front half of this level
y and occupying about half the space, tn
lle man of enterprise erected what the poet
s. call hostelrie, that is to say, place
refreshment-mostly alcoholic and nice
tinic-for the accommodation of the con
slant goers to and fro between the tow
10 10 and the mines.
&c 1t was a rough log on-end building
ae, e, rooted with willows overlaid with rye
grass, and weighed down with coatln
of earth. The two ends fitted up again'
T. the rocky sides of the graded recess. =
an The front was nothing imposing as
"A architecture, and the rear was like tt
pt front, only instead of facing any roa
= view, it formed one side of square, Ill
rooted theatre, the other sides of whlc
n we're walled about by quarried faces
N. the natural rock. The real theatre had
''o native rock flooring, quarried and chi
ped smooth, for no purpose original
other than for place of storage for EN-
ty barrels, boxes, etc. But shortly aft
the Inauguration of alcoholic entertai
;. ment in the house, and before the va
could be dedicated to its intended us
there was an impromptu wrestling abe
II. in this convenient but crude arena, al
from that day forward the house al
- place became known far and wide amo
n the silver hills as the ''Collar and Elbow
III On New Years Day the ''Collar a
III Elbow" was dispensing free egg-nog
- its patrons, and the low log house "
full of noisy, brawny men, talking, g.
lc. tieulating, drinking, smoking, and pl
flaming the Kings English artistically
Father Ryan came, beaming like ste
D eherub, into the crowd, and, taking
1V' his hat, said in a mellow, soft voice,
he laid his hat upon the end of the col
ter:
r. "A happy New Year to you, gentlem'
s' one and all, and many happy returns
@ @tles the same"
voc "Hello, padre! come up and take
5 in drink with the boys" said stout min
Wis in rough yet kindly way, looking
lern quiringly into the fathers face, and
iepa ime ing a hand gently on his shoulder.
g to "Well, said his Reverence, mot wi
ting
and ing to spoil conviviality in moderate
voc I'll do it,
- "Bully for you, old man! Yer give
J padre bumper o'nog."
Au "No, you'll excuse me" said the fl
er, "it's not egg-nog I'll take, but g
IL of wine. I've poor head for mixed
~ uors."
lions, ions ''All right, padre-anyt thing you lii
tion, The bar keeper quietly passed the '