San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-08-24
PriYaIe Forest.

Ia nurcbase a fine building site III
northeast Laramie, improve It, ana sell
il at large profit. Being considera,
bly struck with the primcval beauty ana
solemn magpiGcence Of the evergreen
we decided at first to secure some
spruces and make that corner Aihu oi
n snruce yum orchard, which would
naturally be the envy and admiration
of the west. Acting upon this impulse
we nnrchased a load Of this vegetable
setting out the trees on two SIDES Oh
the plantation, and digging an irriga-
ton ditch 264 feet long by which TO
water them. For two weeks the irriga'
ton ditch failed to connect with the
central Office, and we carried water to
the trees through the agency OF a me
chanical arrangement known as the
patent pail.
All these trees died of the pinkeye
but one.
We sent east aud purchased 100 seed
lings of the Norway spruce variety, and
fringed the ditch with them, protecting
them from the hoI sun by means OF
wide shingles placed on the south sids.
These trees staggered along through
the summer, and when winter set In
were pale and maciated, but cheerful
and hopeful for the future. The winter
was unusually severe one, and toward
spring large, lonely COW, known
throughout the west as DR.. Tanner, in
an unguarded moment got over the in
closure aud ate the entire forest.
We had almost decided at that time
to abandon timber culture in Wyoming,
but when vernal spring opened we de-
cided to get some choice trees from the
adjacent mountains and make one
grand farewell effort One pleasant
day we consented to make a picnic ex-
cursion il to the Black Hills with
small party of friends, and while others
packed the large lunch baskets, we put
into the barouche a spade and some
other burglars tools. The picnic was
not financial or social success. Pic
MICS very rarely are.
A bottle of glycerine that had been
brought by one of the young ladies to
protect her hands from the rigorous
climate, got broken and worked itself
into the sponge cake, and a pint of
camphor got mixed up with the pie. A
rain storm came up also and created a
lunch basket full of chaos, which we
emptied out under tree.
While the rest of the party gathered
wood violets and a rare indigenous
plant vulgarly termed "beggar's lice,"
we skirmished around and gathered
small spruce trees.
1t was glorious day for all. The
sun came out just long enough to peel
the noses of the party and then went
under a cloud, followed by cold rain
and hail. All that had been brought
along to eat was spoiled except some
candy with notices on the side. When
you have been riding all day in the Wig
orous air of the mountains and have to
fill yourself up with drink of warm
water and a lozenge on which is printed
81 can never be thine, it tends to hush
the frivolous laughter of the giddy
throng and make people get acquainted
with each other in way that is not
pleasant. The mountain picnic has
broken up more engagements and shat
tered more loving hearts than grim Wis
aged war and the angry parent COM
bined
There are two prolific causes of crime
in this country. One is rum and the
other is the picnic.
But we defect from the original line
of thought.
Our trees were brought home and
planted in the same old hole where we
had been in the habit of killing ever
greens.
BY this time unemployed men had
learned to look to us for steady work.
One man wanted us TO hire him at
salary to replace trees and haul away
the deceased.
The new forest thrived during the
summer until August, when we were
called away from town to put up po-
itical Job for the good of the country.