The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1884-10-04
IN "O-BE-JOYFUL.o

~ J. l.. Harbour. in Chicago Current
Shorty was my favorite stage driver
Other name he must have had butt ha,
never heard it. He was an anomal
among stage drivers, for he did no
swear, he did not drink he did no
e boast, he did not lie; and with all hi
: rough exterior he had a fine inward
grace and manly dignity that lifted
him far above most men of his class
knew that day of pleasure awaited
me one June morning, when l had been
I'D. so fortunate as to secure for myself a
seat by Shorty's side fora ride.over Red
Mountain Pass.
In all my years of experience with
stage drivers, / had never met one who
could so quickly detect, and so fully
appreciate, the rare beauty and splen-
dor of a mountain road as this homely,
p, .uncouth, ignorant Shorty.
- He noted every light and shade, every
81 bit of glowing color, the flowers of the
rocky road, the golden shadows of the
narrow streams, the low-hung~ clouds
that flooded the hills. The sunshine
came slanting down among the purple
shadows or crowned the snow-white
s crests, the quivering leaves of the aspen,
~ the gloom of the pines, the foamy waves
of crystal streams breaking around and
over the gray rocks, the glowing splen-
dor of the aster beds; the tranquil
beauty of mountain lakes-tfiis man
Shorty saw and rejoiced in it all. |
His soul was lighted up by the ma
Jesty, the beauty and the. grandeur of it |
all. -
s..v'sWhy, sir, W he said to me. 1--WE |
lived right. in these here mountings
sence SO, and they're hot old to me Wit
No, sir, they amt, an l don't reckon
they ever will be. They're new every
mornin an every night. / see somethin'.l
in 'em each day that i never. noticed
afore; an | amt iyit seen any two sun
sets jest alike. There'll be a new kind
OF shadder or new kind of light in the
sky every time. There's a kind of a
Somethin' bout mountings that man
never outgrows, an some men can't oft =
long 'thout after they're used to it. t
Pm one o. them men. w :
81 heerd that them that's been born I
an raised by the seashore kin never +
outgrow the sound O. the waves. They q
Jest can't live 'thout the murmur an !
music o them sea waves, an the feelin' y
the sea breezes give a man. v
'Now. I'd Jest materially die if I had "
to go an stay clear out, O. sight, O. the s.
hills. l ain'tnohe oyer poeticky kind $,
O. fellers, but l heerd of a man oncet +,
a-callin certain mountings the hills of h
his his love,a an sir, that's Jest what
these hills air to me-the hills of my W
love- y
I've tried goin' away to what some, o,
folks call a civilized country, but L W
didn't stay long; an when 1 die I want th
to die right here an have the hills fer w
my tomb, as they writ bout Moses. -" -.
Shorty was garrulous man, butnever 60
talked when you wished he would not. 40,
He would stop short in the midst of the W.
most animated discourse to enjoy in -,
silence any special beauty in fgulch or f g..
valley, or far up the heights -,
was sure that the man must have x
lad many adventures, but he said little a..
bout them. He never spoke of any of
lct of bravery or skill on his part. u;
One gloomy day when a, mist hid the t tii
anges and gulches from our view, / ~ Wv
sked Shorty to tell me some of his ex- foo
eriences. II am sure you must had iee
nany strange Ones" | said. lne
''Oh, don't know,n Shorty modestN III
eplied, 'none to speak of, l reckon. / ,I -,
ever killed a bear nor fit a red-skin. oes
or nothin' o. that kind. never even e,a
ad highwaymen or foot-pads try to On On
old me an my passengers up" A., m'
but your story need not be about Jun ui,
ny OF these things to please me, / W. W.
3-st io
''Well, then, sir, will tell YOU bit ~ sna
yarn. You see the mouth o. that uos
ulch square ahead of us an not more'n . H.
hundred yards off, You kin Jest make 5nt =
out through the mist. The sight of " ~
reminds me o somethin'. That's 10,
DOR Mans Gulch There used to be a ene.
urty big camp bout two miles up that con con
llch. 1t was called O-Be-Joyful, bul G T ~
got to be kind of an o-be-sorrerfut NJ, 10
ace to some O. the boys fore they got NY,
1t o. it.
"At one time 1 reckon they was as t ,in
any as two thousand people in and IN; ;r'e
)und O-Be-J oyful 1t had a re6'lart u u.
ON fer two or three months, an folks Wv ~"
ought it was goin' to put Leadyille l..
AN in the shade, an there amt a , . n''
ng on earth there this day but lot sUa
old tumbledown cabins an shanties So go =
prospect holes, shafts an tunnels in 81;
ich many poor devil has buried the ~ ~ NJ
ength of his life . S' STA etAst. N o,ai
i driv stage from the South Park up "a .s ,
O-Be-Joyful all through the gay -
es; an many an many's the load O. S6 6a' "
py, hopeful young an old fellers S jnv $
, hauled up there, an them a-singin' 6Un,n
+ gay songs an crackin' their Jokes Srnil;,
1 ev'ry mortal man of 'em thinkin' (iut,;
was goin' straight to fame an Will; Will
p't .ou Won -. :. Lover
ths ,forai T 80 'ns : !. van !. slS Cleft
= w.. Ill. asone y sober
= po -, IL; % ~ io'hin pu. ehe awful
=, ~ D. M ''i ~, a-Soin a-ioo. home
their lips an only sorrer in their ieie
Is. y