Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-04-11

ton from whence tho voice came.
Most of the men rose TO their feet.
Jared Hale started quickly up ana
cried out:
"Well, who are you. and where are
youP' A man came slowly forward
and stood with his hat off in the full
light of the flaming fire. None of the
men had ever seen him before. H.
was tall and grizzled and uncouth; his
beard and hair had long been un-
combed and uncut, and were of I'M
usual length. He stopped little as
he walked; he had a care-worn, sober
face, and great, dull. dark eyes that
gave to his whole face an appealing,
pathetic look. He was evidently
about forty years of age. He seemed
somewhat confused as he stood there
with his worn old hat in hand, a tar
get for so many curious but not un-
friendly eyes.
'Tm Jasper Breene, eentlemin."
he said. slowly; odd Jas. folks giner-
ally calls me, an I come from no.
where an everywhere. The Lawd
only knows where I amt hung out
durin' the last ten years. an what l
amt done fer an honest livin' in that
time; but I've KEEP honest, gentlemis.
an Pm honest still. Your gold dust
an your purity bank bills .aint no
more to me nor the dirt under my
feet's longs as they Amt my own that ]
come fair by
How did you happen to come away
up here, so far from the main trail?'
asked Jared Hale.
SWELL, l see the smoke com in from
the trees up here on this here mount
ing when l was way down there on
the trail, an. thinks to me, can jist
about reach that camp fire by dark,
an l reckon they'll let me stay over
night. anyhow an if they don't. they
cayn't more turn me away, an it'll
be the fust time q miner. ever turned
me off when I was cold an hungry
an dead broke rs am this minnit;
yes, sir, boss, Amt cent on earth,
an I-I-wefl. boss. I've walked
more'n forty miles sence sun up. an
amt had bite to eat, not bite"
There was pathetic little culver in
his soft, drawing voice as he finished.
and the great mournful eyes glistened
in the freight.
You aint?' said Jared Hale.
''Well. then l reckon you re ready for
your supper, and you can Just come
right along with me and try your
hand at cooking by getting up sup
per for yourself-you can have full
swing in our commissars.
I'm a right good cook" said the
man as he walked with Jared down
toward the log cabin near the mine
Il cooked six months in RESTRAINT
down to Leadville. an was meat-cook
four months in Aspen. an alters did
the cookin' for the diff rent gangs T. We
prospected with. l wisht you'd try
me, an if you RELY want cook,
can beat the Dutch on sody biskits an
venison flour gravy"
Now ''sody biskits'' and venison
flour gravy" we're delicacies greatly
esteemed by the men of Camp Hilarity,
and their last cook had been lackino
in good biscuit and gravy making
ability.
you'll suit the boys to a dot if
you're an expert in that direction, -
said Jared. land I'll give you chan &c
to try your hand; but you want to tidy
yourself up bit, man."
So Jasper Breene tidied himself up
as best he could, and became the
cook of the Phoenix mine. He was
popular from the beginning. All of
the men liked him. 1t would have been
hard to find reasonable cause Of COM
plant with Jasper Breene H, was
so mild-mannered, so inoffensive, so
obliging, and so cherry, in spite OF
the sorrowful face and the dull eyes
that seemed to have been made for
tears alone. And then his venison
gravy and soda biscuits were beyond
criticism. The men vowed, some of
them swore, that ''Oid Jas,' rs they
called him. was the best cook that
the PHI 9nix had ever had or evc1
could have.
Jared Hale raised the COOKS wages
at the end of the first week, and told
him that he NIL ht consider himself a
fixture in Camp Hilarity for as long a
time as he chose to stay. He seemed
Indifferent to his increase of salary
and to the success of his efforts.
'Tm glad the boys likes my grub
was all he ever said in reply to their
hearty and extravagant commentator
of his culinary skill.
The fame of the PHI enix' rich Jun,
output was noised abroad. Othe,
miners came into the gulch, and faint
wreaths of smoke curling up among
the pines and drifting away with the
low-hanging clouds told of other camp
fires and other cabins on the mountain
slopes and in the ravines near Camp
Hilarity.
In j uly> there was a great rush to tn
locality, and by the middle of Angus
there was town of nearly a thousand
inhabitants at the base of the mount
ain below Camp II iIarity. The sur
rOundinpS were wonderfully nictur