Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-01-19
A GREAT BLUNDER.
It Was Dreadful But Then It
Won q Bride.
Drunken Eph's Mistake, and the Profound
Sensation It Created-An Editors
Life Endangered - The
Happy Finale.

''Gentlemen. said the Western
member OF the group of newspaper
men in the hotel rotunda, Il can't
brag of any such sensational scoops
as you have been telling of for the last
hour or so. My newspaper career has
been rather of the humdrum order.
never camped on the trail of county
'boodler.' l never reported secret
political meeting by crawling into the
drum of big stove and taking notes
on what l overheard. l have never
even solved the secret of mysterious
double murder. Hard work one dav,
drudging the second. unremitting toll
the third-that's about the story of my
life since l was the .galley-boy' on an
Omaha paper twenty-five years ago.
but there was one romantic Incl
dent in my career-just one. 1t oc-
CURED when l won my wife through
the CHASTITY blunder of Drunken Eph. ,
was running little evening paper
i'll Colorado mining town then. That
was twelve years ago. Drunken Eph'
was my right bower. was editor-in-
chief of the paper. managing editor.
news editor. telegraph editor, sporting
editor, business manager, cashier and
book-keeper. also occupied the re-
spOnsible position of the affidavit
editor and carried four routes on the
paper after my other duties of the day
were over Eph was city editor and
the staff of reporters. Besides that he
acted Us foreman of the mechanical
department. and when he wasn't en-
gagged in filling his notebook with
local items or his stomach with
whisky he would put in his time
swearing at the slow compositor or
throwing em-quads at the devil Eph
was a genius and no mistake. and if it
hadn't been for his habit of looking on
the wine when it was red-or any
other color-he might have lived to
manage one of your Chicago papers to-
day.
But to tell you my story. One day
] found myself head over heels in love.
1t all happened SO quickly that it al
most takes my breath away to think of
it even now. She was a beauty-a
dark-haired. dark-eyed. Greek-featured
maiden-frOm somewhere in the South,
! understand. Her father. ruined by
the war. had moved out to Colorado to
retrieve his fortunes at mining. Like
many another adventurer. the poor
man failed completely. Within two
years after he entered Colorado he was
in his grave. his daughter being left
an orphan. She took the matter ter
ribly to heart; but she was plucky.
high-spirited girl. and soon settled
resolutely down to make her own liv-
ing. which she did by keeping small
notion store. Well. l worshiped her
at distance. and it was long time
before 1 made up my mind to boldly
seek her acquaintance, WOO her. and
lay my somewhat prospectus fortune
at her feet. l delayed too long. Be-
fore could begin my wooing-before
4 SouAu cNou OcCouc 0CYu0tutcU Will
the lady-Charley Pate. mine-owner
and a man-about-town. stepped in and
married her. 1t was q hard blow for
me. For about a week l set aside
small portion of each day to cursing
myself and my coward,ce. However.
finding that blasphemy did no good. I
tried to forget my SORROWS by burying
myself in such problems as how to
make twenty dollars in cash pay forty
dollars in printers bills l still con-
tinued to worship the woman afar of.
albeit she was Mrs. Charles Pate. She
didn't know Augustus Jewett editor of
the Evening Star. then; I used to meet
her frequently on the street. but if
she ever bestowed more than . pass
ing glance upon me never discovered
the fact
..Pate was killed one niSht-shot in a
gambling house row. He was clever
fellow. well-known throughout that
country. and. being . man OF sportish
tendencies not at all unpopular.
.Eph. said to my city editor and
esporter's stat ths night before the