The Hickman courier., 1881-03-18
me FrOdlgaI Son.

| IHe ITOuigal son.
The superintendent of Sunday.school
out in the Black Hills happened 10 be
visiting some friends in Brooklyn. and,
ON invitation, attended the school service
of one oEthe popular Methodist churches.
| Invited TO address the children. he de-
clined at first, but finally consented. and
| to illustrate the welcome of the sinner TO
repentance related the following anec-
dote:
81 reckon most o you young ones
have hearn' about thet old feller in Egypt,
which was well fixed fer kids The old
man was heeled clear to his neck, and thar
wasn't a dip nor spur he wasn't onto,
and you bet he had his squar dose o.
sheers in every pay dirt claim on the di-
vide. He was a good old man. straight
as rifle bar1, and without knot. rot, or
woodpecker hole from root to crows
nest. For a long time he'd been full
owner o an eighty stamp NALL, and trax,
eiers IN them parts seen the smoke rising
from his chimney pretty steady, and they
knowed quartz was grinding and the
dust was good. Thar warn't no funny
business about the old man. He knowed
prime wash from salt by the color, and
1t warnt long afore the boys quit steal
ing his mules and set right down to the
levels and picked for trade. They
knowed he'd straddle any blind, but he
dealt fair, and they respected him.
Well, children, the old man banked
heap o quartz He had a big ranch,
and the sheep on it was as thick as
miners tents. Thar was antelope, and
prairie chickens. and jack rabbits, and
black-tail deer till YOU couldn't rest
And thar was lots of wheat and a blg
shack, built o logs, with parlor IN one
end. Now, tell You, that thar old man
was fixed up to the trap, and don't you
forget nothing. But one o his sons was
kind o restless. He wanted for to pros
pect for himself The old man give him
the racket straight from the hlp; told
him not to make dog-gone fool of him
self. Stay where he was. Thar was
more money in a stamp-mill than there
was in mines, and he advised the KID to
locate right thar. Why, children, thet
thar old man knew from the fust sour
tibet the short didn't have no show, even
for tailings, and what S tailings, even if
he played TO win, to a squar divide on
the regular wash?"
But the kid wanted long grass, and
and so the old man started him, and gave
him his blessing, and told him for to al
ways deal level with the table and never
let q man get his elbow behind his kid
ney on him, and so the boy got away
Fixed straight to his hair. All the dust
he wanted Best advice n boy ever got.
What do you think he did? He went
broke. I never knew whether he got
into n game whar they played straights,
or whether some fellow held over him on
a square deal, but he went clear 10 the
bottom o. his sock and struck bedrock.
Clean up dead gone. The yield didn't
pan a cent to the ton. Gulch dried up.
Dips crossed his angles. Blind leads 4
fetched the only vein he had, except one,
but that he didn't know OF. He was
digging for yellow in - -. end
couldn't see the . kply
yon wa1flI ISE ffbisSse -
money enough to bfiyS IS,
was driving whar thar wasas ys.ezite,
while all the sky was pouring out the
best color ever panned, and he couldn't
get onto it. Wall, thar was only one
thing to do. Prospecting was no use.
So he went down on ranch and told the
ranchmen he'd keep the coyotes off the
pigs. You know what an ornery derned
thing pig is. You've got to kill him
and smoke him and throw him away be-
fore you can eat him, and vet that thar
young man hived right down with them
pigs and drawed when it was his turn,
and if he got fair hand o shucks be
was goose on his luck. Bimeby the
racket got too stiff for him, and he
kicked. He made up his mind that he
would flock back to the mill and strike
the old man for another stake. Did the
old man 90 back on him? Well, not for
nf1 ha hr xr-aGr1ff hirfrrv
new hands. but the kid might get onto
work at Hamilton's Hollow? / reckon
not. SAYS he, Put it here, pard, and
he Just fell clean over him. Thet's style.
Thet's trade from the origin. Thet amt
ALL Thet thar old man fetched out a
buckskin trowsers, and an antelope
shirt, and some buffalo boots and camp
hat, and drawed the young feller right
in. Eh? How's that? Citing You now,
am L Begin TO hook on % my racket?
Know who the old man was? Yes, you
bet your life, and for you to come to Him
and be fitted out and started in the
again like you never hoped
The ti-ralu and hooked out from under
he family umbrella. Let up and be
saved For I tell you children, the
over level gets awful hot, sometimes,
md if you can do placer work with the
ky right around you keep away from
he tunnel business, for thar's no draw
ng after bet.
I'D like to have you sing hymn for
ne that we sing in our Sunday-school, |
Baby Nine do you know it ?"
And to the astonishment of the local |
they did know it, and he |
couldn't stop it.