Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-01-12
AN eRuo,rE neRM,T.


/ e"SAty MsiCS VI uOIc AIOui tuc low
of Granger. Wy. is singular
dwelling. Alphabetically it combines
the ding -out of the plains with the old
log cabin of the oak openings In its
isolsstion and security it is castle; in
homely simplicity and dreary sur
roundings it is howell From the out.
side you would call it potato cellar
or moorland stable, but once inside
the oaken door you pronounce it q
museum, Of natural history. The room
is a trif longer than it is wide. OPP
roSite the door is n small camp cook.
irg stove. f1anked on one side by a
Large packing-box. used for wash
stand. and on the other by plain cup
board.
Against one wall is rude bunk.
made of boards. filled with hay and
covered with coarse gray blankets.
Over this. pendant Dom a noble pair
of ant.erS. is Winchester rifle. cart
ridge-bclt and huntihg-knifc. o.
the other side of the room is rustic
bookcase. The floor is of clay. hard
:sud cold, save for the black bcarskin
in front of the bed and the tawny
coyote hide by the stove. Scattered
about are traps of various sizes
chains. fishing-tackle. pelts. bird skins.
groceries and clothing.
The occupant is evidently hermit.
HIS character. for he is not 1T home.
we will discover from = nasty perusal
of the books upon his shelves He
must be n man of education and refine
ment. Here is Shakespeare. Bacon.
NJ lton and Pope. Novelists are repre-
sented by Hawthorne. Cooper. George
Eliot. Thackerav. Scott and Ebcrs.
Kant. Newton. Hamilton and McCosh
have their place. Isis Unvailed' is be.
side atlantis. There are old maya
zines and standard works on hunting.
trapping and natural history. and in
its old leather covers is an edition of
Cicero's DE Senectute. the title of
which bears the simple inscription:
"----. Dartmouth College. 1873"
Evidently our hero has more of
history than many of the characters of
modern fiction. Here he comes now.
through the sagebrush-a rife slung
on his shoulder. the hind quarters and
hid" of IN antelope on bis back.
GriZz!cd and weather-bcaten, his
sixty-odd years have made him as
tough and sturdy rs the gnarled oak.
His kindly welcome assures us that he
does not regard all intruders rs cne-
mics. and we are soon eating vcnison
steak. using rocket.knives tor forks.
and drinking coffee from the common
cup After supper, rs we sat around
the warm lire and clouded the atmos-
phcrc with fumes from corncoh pipes
he told us the story of his life.
After his graduation he was smitten
with the gold fever. and after along
"trip around the Horn reached Califor-
mia in the spring Of 1850 The next
seventeen years were spent in pros
pecting. anu his fortieth year teUnM
him y disappointed and disl,cartered
man. so far rs wealth and wosidlp
success were. concerned. Tho golden
treasure was always in sight. but never
within his grasp. As in hundreds If
similar cases. others reapcd rich bete-
fits from his lslbOrs. Then he devoted
himself to hunting and trapping in the.
Sierra. along Snake river. and finally
in Wyoming. where he had been for'tlc-
last seven years.
His friends are dead. H. has no
love for the would from which he has
been so long an alien. and he expeois
to die as he h:ts lived. alone. He is
no longer poor Aut might live in conn.,
fort on the savings of the past twenty
years. But no.: re is too settled im his
life TO exchange it for the privileges Of
Coyote hides. beaver
pelts and the. skins of black bear and
silver tips" do more than support
him. and his spare time is devoted te
his copious notes on the
fauna Of the Sierra and the Rbcky
And so. unknown in life;
he hopes to. save his name from obliv-
ion by giving TO. the world of natural
lists the results Of his patient study and
We're his. case an isolated one. 7
should not have mentioned it,. But
such is not the fact The mountains
of the West are full of misanthropic
men who love nature with all the in
tensitv of Burroughs and John. Msnir:
who. foo her sake. make their homes
in the wilderness and feel absolute en-
joyment only as she reveals to- t,an:
her secrets and hidden mysteries
Their hearts ape the kindest and soft
est bat Mt tho. same time their natures
are W rugged and infexible as the
mighty peaks among which they I've.
and [ reverence them rs priests Of
those mysteries which ase. foreigH TO
The world of business and pleasure.
Their minds are far above. the shop
and the ledger. and if their refining
and elevatins influences are felt e.ly
by .he rude cowboys and sheep.
hesdsrs with whom they come in con.
tasf, their lives will not be spent il |
vSin. Cox N T. JouznG.