The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-10-22
LEN KID
Converted In a snowstorm-Au Incident o.
Red CllH Lilo,

"Ole Lem Shnderson2 You'll find hin
straight ahead up ssw,Mill gulCh,strangs1
Foller III trail bout half a mile beyon
the Mollis Brisbane tunnel-can't miss /
TIL tunnel-th' dump iest backs up owe
the trail like a bRlky hosS-sn' north o
tn trail, Direct under the shader ther' o
OF Horn Silver mount'n, you'll run Chucl
up agln LENS cabin. Is tn same ranCl
he ust'er have, unly ts irilled UNI fixed VI
with chromOs of augils an SIGH. An ;
ole Lem amt readin, bis bible or hummin
come new.fangled church hymns III Civ
We q~ult-Claim deed to q half int'reat in til.
Joe Boss"
"Rsading the bible? Singing hymnsI'
! echoed in amazement. My lank, web
footed informant smiled sardoniCally
nodded his head, and led me- across the
rocky street to q dingy cabin, distinguish
ed from It's neighbors by tho axle-gresse
legend; "Do-Drop lun,"
Lem SRnderson, grown religious, must
indeed be q novelty in Red Gilt,
thought, Five years before, when the
camp was founded, l had known him as
the most impious man in the Rocky
mountains, with q pronounced dis'esp0Ct
for all things divine, and g shocking de-
prRvity Of speech. No ono knew whence
he came, and the most adroit inquiries
or genuine expressions OF sympathy
rarely inveigled him into reference TO his
past, His eel-like movements, flaming
red hair and heGTd-unkempt and COmbsd
-steel.gray eyes and moody humors made
him repulSive to everyone who obeyed
the border social law Of taking people NJ
one finds thOm. He was u oil the frat
10 cross the anowy range after the IumOra
Of the rich carbonate discoveries OF Battle
mountain had reached the Arkansas val
Icy, carving his way through the thick I'm.
dergrowth and huge snow banks OF Ten
nessee pass and down the dismal lEsgle
river, which, only q few seasons previous,
had been the hunting ground OF Colorow
and his band Of murderOus Utes. Old
Lem Sanderson never fRltered
at the SHOWS and blasts
and beg1ma which impsGed
hia lonely invasion and impetiled
his life. He saw no suggestions Of a gu
preme power in the lofty Pyramid3 whose
white winding sheets reflected smiles
from sunlit spots, or In thu CavernOus "a
vineG, where tho gloom was almost Pleu.
tonian and where one talse step would
end with death in the rapids below. lie
only realized that III Was naL'ral." His
trust was not repoSed in God, but IN a su.
perannuated burro that, unaCCuotoMed to
tho Chills and ices OF the north, slipped
and staggered at every step. His anxiety
and fears we're alone concerned in o little
golden.haired lad who laid tightly though
tenderly, dashed upon the hammock Of
camp utensils end p~rovender under which
the donkey groAued and labored.
For many days the perllouss journey
WAS continued without mishap, and for
as many nights the queer trinity endured
the hardships Of the icy wilderness with.
out suffering y single Ill, old Lem Sander
son, his infant boy, and faithful four.
footed slave arriving At lonRth in safety At
their d%estitution, tho present Bite Of Red
Clih. The triangular basin at the CnBtu.
euCe Of Eagle river aud Saw Mill GulCh
rapidly filled up with log cabins, whisky,
and lawleesnees. Through all the trans.
formations old Lem remained at the head
otthe community. The rougher deniZsns
held him in awe and lear. They Affected
10 know him, but when pinned down
10 the extent Of their ~atquaint.
ance rarely went beyond admitting that
hs Sas.Irom Arkansas, Georgia, orsomein-
leinitd place at the South, and that really
they could tell no more about him. lie
newer manifested the ambition 10 become
q graveyard starter, o was II ever re-
lsIed Of him that ne made u conspicuous
pistol play, but somehoW-and | must
confess that l was a victim to the eensa'
lion myBeli-eVerybody got the impress
sion that old Lem would Kill on anything
Ike q reasonable prOVocation. found
him at this timU q queer completely. he
was hospitality %personihed. Unlearnen
himself, ns enjoyed the attrition Of intel.
lectual CONVERSE, but even the dignity Of
that indulgence could neither stay nor soft
en- the dreadful blasphemiGs which came
ever rushing TO his lips, and thrilled his
listeners with the vague dread that a light
mug bolt or paralysis might any instant
silence him. Old mountaineers, hAbitu-
ated 10 the vices OF the iG0ntier, Bhud'
dCred ~iusenaibly within hearing Of bis
| Trades against tho Creator, and turned
their backs upon him. HJ believed III
neither God, man, nor devil, scorned the
church in particular, and sCohed at
Christianity in general. His ltspinl
boy, then three years old, wat
the only living thing in whose
presence no forgot himself 30 far ~
10 ytitle his wicked speeches. II ever q
child was the exclusive custodian Of q
fathers hopeB and romance, 1t was Item
ssnderson's kid" the "%lunier. A gypsy
horn was never more indifferent or un.
trained to fear. PetChed on his fathers
back, the eCalipg OF q quartz blutr or
a dash down the mountain side on swift
Norwegian Bnowshoes vas tho keenest
enjoyment that he Craved. And Lem
SandeIson seemed to love his boy the
better for this strange passion, as II he
saw therein the reflection Of something
that touched his parent vanity.
Many times l endeavored to lift the
black mantle from Lem SanderBon's past,
but save the fact that he was q southerner,
and the intimation that his wife had
proved reCreRnt to her VOWS, my design
ing queries were futile. There YVES only
one conclusion to BIZ drawn: That Lem
sanderson was q name Of concealmentI
and that he had outwitted the legal pow
ers by stealing his own child. Once ! im'
plored him, as he loved his boy, TO re'
nounCe the evil habit WHICH must Ger
tainly be imported 10 the lad az
no grow older, but the mere sugges.
lion Of evil Detailing his chile
only served 10 invite o ireSt
yolIey Of his appalling oathB, and Rban
doned all hope Of ever being concerned II
Ike redemption. That the same Lem San
dervon could have been, by a human acct
dent or intervention, induced 10 Beel
comfort In q bible was almost inCompre
hensIble, l mentally argued, as my inform
ant, with q flourish oil his arm indicated
where I was TO OF al the single, log.top Ia
bic which grRced the corner Of tho aaloon
A grim.yiBSged bottle, that had at som,
period Of lie existence evidently done VII
tuous SERVICE 10 0 plpkel. receptacle, va
placed on the board between ls, and IN.
louuaClouB companion continued
hso YOU was q friend Of ole Lem Sander
aon, Tough ole sinner, wasn't hBl