Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1883-10-12
rnE STORY OF A SHOEMAKER

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THE STORY or A SHOEMAKER
I was born in the Luxembourg Just
about fifty years ago. Goodness How
| used 10 work At the bench when | was
n lad. sewing and hammering. ham
mcring and sewing on boots aud shoes.
There was that lear old father II mine.
with his big stccl-rimmed spcctacles
pcrched on his nose. who set me an on
ample Of thrift and honesty. above
all he used 10 say TO MS. for n brother
then worked with me. ''bc Il good shoe
maker. Never scamp anything. DO
the best YOU can. aud do II all the
time" We would work from sunrise
10 far into the night The pay we got
was little enough. 80 small that we
used 10 watch the candle that nuttered
In the wind and worry over its cost.
II we worked very, very bard. and Gus
tom was good, we might count on a
gain II ten scts each. but sometimes We
would all stop pegging away because
the poor people in our village had no
money TO pay for shoes. Oh. how diff
cult il was To buy n sack of coarse Hour
or q little scrap 81 meat. We lived
from hand 10 mouth. Poor old father,
do what WE co,iis 10 help him. he got
into debt, and owed 81 one time rs
much Is thirty francs. What a huge
sun that seemed Ia me 81 bel what a
whole mountain OF embarrassment
| starved myself IN order 10 put n
little money aside. One day | said TO
father: This thing don't work. / am
going to clear ont. | can't stand it,
''fOu will leave me. my SOM Your
poor old frther Is an i~ncumbrance q
youg" mo, not at all. But | must 20
sway 10 work for him" 1T Is we'll"
replied my father. '.You are a good
shoemaker. Your stitches are strong
and even. You shape well. Go see
the world and Gods blessings accom-
pany YOU"
| went 10 Paris and lei a miserable
lie for time. | hardly gained ms bread
at first. The habits u the parisian
shoemaker horri6cd me. for / had been
brought mp BY n pious father. wa a
good workman. however. and after
4 while found steady employment. bot I
couhi help poor father out hot very little.
o. II usci 10 make my heart sore to
think Of him sramped up in his little.
dizzy room. working away for dear life.
With the meager reward % a crust II
dried bread. The habits % economy
he had Taught me helped me then. /
scraped together sOu by sou. and VI last
seEC MIN ten frances. lie wrot- me
thzf the sum had saved him from bring
turned out o: his poor old CHAMBER.
This will never do. | said II must
~ somewhere else. | am a COOL sbac-
maker, and experience in Paris las
given ms the finishing touch. mu.t
go somewhere else, where the arr 81
CrisPen viii be- appreciated One fine
day M 1870 i took a placc ~ landsman
on an English bark. from Havre 10 Bos-
ton. LANDED in the United States with
Just forty cen's 1.-TWO farhings) in my
pocket. | sought work az once. / saw
In n little shoemakers shop up n nar-
INV street a sign written o paper and
tuck on the glass with waters. 1 could
nos sad H. ! did not know a single
word If English then. but over the
door there was a German name. /
made bold 30 enter. and talked Ger.
man 70 the proprietor. "Sit down.
he said. ION that bench. aud sew me ON
that sole" Il am a fair shoemaker.
as you will see" | replied. II was a
pleasure 10 take hold Of the tools once
more; they seemed 10 know me. How
] blessed my father then. NV boss was
satisfied, and | got a job right on at one
dollar a day and my food That was a
fortune 10 me then. | worked for six
months steadily. and. save for a second.
hand pair Of trousers bought by me AZ a
bargain, | boarded every penny. | sent
the dear old father fifty dollars. and
back came his blessing. He wrote he
had ney seen so much money NJ one
time In his life. But | was ambitious.
just then the California fever was
raging. Something told me 10 20 TO
The Pacific coast. / took shin and
crossed the Isthmus. just before arriv-
ing nj San Francisco there was a heavy
gale; We came near being shipwrecked,
and ! lost my hat. | remember that
quite well. | landed in san Francisco
with one dollar exactly. On board
there was n carousing shoemaker, who
had been cent for from the East by a
men who kept a shop In san Francisco.
] heard him say that he had come be-
fore his time. and that. ANYHOW, il he
could do better h0 was not going ia
work at cobbling. lie mentioned the
nan g OF the man who was To hire him.
and had his consent TO apply for the
place.
vent 10 the shoe-shop at once and
asked for the position. 1T is given 10
another man, who ought to be here
soon, and | can't make use Of YOU. Be
sides, You have no hat" That makes
no difference" | replied. II sea shoe
makers wages are six dollars a day
II was the flush times Of California.
then-give me three dollars and feed
me, and only lot me stay until the man
you hired turns up, for | am indeed n
shoemaker The boss gave n kind Of
grudging consent. Then 1 set to work,
and slept that night in the shop. When
tee master came 10 the place In the
morning he found everything in elegant.
order, and had made five dollars be-
fore breakfast by mendhng n boot. |
suited him exactly--for / am a good
shoemaker. | lived with that man for
a year, and saved all my n | sent
the dear old father at home one hun
bred dollars. II you could only have
secn the letter that came back! The
blessed old daddy wanted 10 know II j
thought he was a sp%endthrift? That one
hundred dollars he was going 10 make
do for tho next three years There was
a chance / heard of in Sacramento. |
went there. my master giving me some
OF his shop-worn stock. | did n splen-
did business. In six months l had made
fer my share three thousand dollars.
My fortune wa before me-. Poor old
daddy was not forgotten. Igot a ros
letter from him this time. The poor
soul wanted ~ know whether /
thought he was going TO the dogs Did