The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-12-08
A LEADVILLE SERMON.
The Discourse Delivered by a Miner
ina Variety Theatre.


At one of our evening entertain
ments Mr.. J. l., Dow. M. 7. (Vlc :
toria), a Scotchman Of excellent hui
NOR, who is returning from tour
in America. read US sermon which
he had taken down as he heard it IN
Leadville. The service was In a
variety theatre; some whisky bar
rels made tie pulpit. After the
singing of "a days march nearer
home," hard-featured miner rose
to address the hard featured con-
gre alton:
Friends, the regular preacher has
gone DOWN to-day among the boys
who are working the new carbonate
mines at Gunnison, and | have been
appointed to take his hand and
heaVt it fer all it's worth. To many
of YOU pIosent it won't be necessary
to tell you that I'm kinder new to
this business. out [ don't believe
there's a rooster in the camp mean
enough TO take advantage of my ig-
norance and cold-deck me on the
first deal. [ have been reading in
this yere book that yarn about the
pr0digai son, and [ will try to tell
you the story. The book don't give
no dates, but Z guess it happened a
considerable spell back in his
tory. It seems the prod's father
was pretty flush with the
stam.s, and real good sort
into the bargain, as he always
shelled out freely when the kid
struck him for stake, and never
bucked at the size OF the pile
neither, so long as the boy heaved
III hearty on the ranch and generally
behaved hisself bandsum. But by
and by the kid grew restless and
wanted to rustic out and travel; SO
he got the ole man to ante up In
advance of the death racket and
let hiA go. He no sooner got his
divy in Els pocket than he shook the
ranch and spread himself out to
take in some of the far-off camps.
Well, according to the book, he had
a Way>up time at first and slung his
coin around as if he had the best
paying lead within thousand miles
of Denver. But, my friends, this
game didn't last forever. Hard luck
struck him at last. and the prod is
found in one of his sober intervals
remarking in confidential way to
one of his cbums: 4 say, old pard,
I'm busted clean down to the bed
rock, and them's the cold-blOoded
facts The book don't say what
the prod went broke on, but prob'ly
he steered up some loe game. Be
that IS it may, however. he was so
beautifully cleaned out that he
hadn't two-bit piece left to go and
eat on. In this condition he struck
q ranch belonging to an old granger
who, taking pity on the poor, busted
prod, gave MIN job of herding
hogs. The granger wasn't a bad old
sam pie in general way, but he was
inclined to be kinder mean on the
feed, and so it came that often the
prod got so frightfully sharp-set for
a meal he had to go whacks in the
nOg-trOugu. Ou UoI tuo hiu WIZ
In his flush times had been b0ozing
round among the best Of every
thing like a silver king or big,rail 4
way monepolist, had now plenty of
time on his hands for doing tall lot
of thinking. and one day he said to
himself: I'll just ding this business.
WHY, even the meanest help in my
old governors hired service are
living on square grub and plenty OF
it. while I'm worrying along here
on a shook lunch. I know what I'll
DOLL just skip back home to the
Old man and ask for a new Geal. ssSO
away he went, but he had hard
time reaching the old ranch, and
don't you forget it. When you have
nlentv of coin NV friends. every.