Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1884-01-17
A LEADvILLE SERMON.
Tho Regular Preacher Goes 20 Gun
nison And one OF the Boys Fills
the Whiskey-Barrel Pulpit.
ILe.dvnle tcOl. Letter !

pulpit After the singing of "a Day:
March Nearer Home, hard Featured
miner rose 10 address the hard flea
tured congregation:
Friends, the regular preacher ha.
gone down to-day among the boys who
are working the new carbonate mines
at Gunnison, and l have been ap-
pointed TO take his hand and heave il
for all its worth. To many OF you
present it won't be necessary to tell
you that I'm kinder new to this bust
ness, but don't believe there's roos-
ter in the camp mean enough to take
advantage of my ignorance and cold
deck me on the first deal. I have been
reading in this yer book that yarn
about the piodigal son and l will try
to tell you tho story. The book don't
give no dates, but | guess it happened
considerable spell back in history.
1t seems the prod's father was pretty
flush with stamps 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
hoy heaved in hearty on the ranch and
generally behaved hisself handsum.
But by and by the kid became restless
and wanted to rustic out to travel, so
he got the ole man to ante up in ad =
vance of the death racket and let him
20. He no sooner got his dlvvy in
his pocket than he sock the ranch and
spread himself out to take in some Of
the far off camps. Wal, according to
the book, he had wap-up time at
first and slung his coin around as if
he owned the best paying lead within
a thousand miles of Denver. But, my
friends, this didn't last long. Hard
luck struck him at last. and the prod
is found in one of his sober intervals
remarking the confidential way to one
of his chums: Il say: ole pard. | am
busted clean down to the bed rock;
and them's the cold blooded facts I"
The book don't say what the prod
went broke on. but probly he steerei
up against some brace game. Be that
as it may, however, he was so beauti-
fully cleaned ont that he hadn't two
bit piece left to 90 eat on. In this
fix he struck ranch belonging to an
old granger, who, taking pity on the
poor, busted prod, gave him a job of
herding hogs. The granger wasn't a
bad old sample 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 60 whacks in the hog
trough. You bet the kid who in his
flush times had been boozing round
among the best of everything like q
silver king or big railway monopoHst,
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 ser
vice are living on square grub, and
plenty of it, while I'm worrying along
here on shook lunch. l know what
I'll do-I'll just skip back home to the
old man and ask for new deal So
away he we went; but he had a hard
time reaching the old ranch, and don't
you forget it. When you have plenty
Of coin, my friends, everybody's pleas
ant, but when you're on the borrow
you don't find it as good. Final, ne
did strike the familiar trial leading
down to the old home and while cross
ing some open lots, the old man, as
the book puts it, saw him a coming
afar off. Yes, that old mans eyes
were very dim, but he did not fail to
spot his boy afar off.
And what dye suppose that prod's
father did? Did he whistle the dogs
up to chase him off the ranch2 You
bet he didn't? Did he 90 and take his
shot gun and wait till he got good
drop on him? You bet he didn't No;
but I'll tell you what he did. He just
waltzed right out Of the gate to meet
him, and froze to that poor scarecrow
right on the spot. and fell to kissing of
him and weeping over him and calling
him his poor, long lost boy, until the
prod got broke all up and like sluice
dam when the snow comes down off
Pixies peak under July sun. The
old man then took him right away to
a clothing store and rugged him out
in the noblest suit to be had for coin,
and put an elegant ring on his finger,
ordered the fattest steer on the ranch
to be slaughtered, invited all the
ueighbors in and had the biggest
blowout that camp had ever seen.
Now it appears the prod's Oldest
brother was out at work with the
teams, when he came in he asked some
of the help what was the meaning of
the picnic they we're having inside;
and when he was told the reason he
just got real mad. The old man hearing
of this, went out to him and said:
"Come in, lad; your brothers come
back and we are having regular old
fashioned jubilee; now, you can come
right along like good fellow and
take a share in the breakdown
But the brother wouldn't bulge, and
said: "Look here, dad, have stuck