St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-15

81 did il ali. Le salG. -'1he winter
nights are long, and when | work it
keeps me from getting lonesome"
Hearing me addressed by my compan-
ion by my military title, the old man
looked hard at me and then asked
quickly:
Are you a soldier? In what army
did you serve during the WARP"
gave him my name and told him
had served in the army of the Potomac
for nearly three years.
My God" he exclaimed. 81 was
there too, and remember you perfectly
well now. Well, WE'LL" he continued,
cit seems a long time ago since the war,
and / presume most of my old comrades
are dead.'' He then told me the num-
Der of his regiment and company and
the names of his officers. He had gone
into service from Philadelphia, and had
been all through the war. Before the
war he was furrier on Arch street,
Philadelphia.
What are you doing out here all
alone in this God-forsaken placer" l
asked.
Not God-forsaken," he replied, "for
here, general, amid these mountains we
are almost face to face with God"
But what are you doing here living
like hermit" persisted. Come, old
eomrade," l added. kindly. ''you may
trust me and give me your StOry.'
And he did tell it. 1t was one OF the
saddeSt tales | ever heard, and should
like to repeat it entire only don't
think he would like me to do so. Suf-
fee it to say he had family-a young
wife and two children-When he went
into the army and left them behind in
the great city. For year or two all
went well, and then he heard strange
tales of his wife's infidelity. He did
not believe them, and served out his en-
liStment and returned home, only to
find the stories he had heard were too
true ane his wife was living with an
other man. He took his children from
her, cursed her and left. His children
he left with his brother in Iowa and
then came to the Rocky mountains. He
had been over twenty years in the val
ley where | found him, and said he
never would leave it. | asked him if he
did not want to see his children. and he
said they were both married to good
men and would not want to see such an
uncOuth old creature as himself even if
he did want to see them. He had gwen
all his money and property to his
brother for them and that ended it. He
knew they were all right and was glad
of it. He preferred to be alone for he
had nothing now to live for.
lie cooked us some supper, and it was
plain enough but good. An ash cake,
some fried dear meat and baked pOta-
toes was all he had to offer, but it tasted
good. and we washed our food down
with draught of sweet water from the
beautiful spring.
After supper he took us into the ad-
joining cabin, and there l saw sight
shall not soon forget. The walls were
completely covered with heads beauti-
tifully done and wonderfully life-like.
There were elk and deer with great
antlerS, wolves, foxes, swiftS. antelOpes,
bears and Rocky mountain lions ex-
pressed my establishment
AT THE PERFECTION OF HIS WORK,
and he said, thine and care does it.
The winter evenings are long and |
spend much time at my work" l
asked him where he got his skins. and
he said he shot the animals. Formerly
he killed great many tor sport, but
now he killed only few for food and
occasionally one for its pelt. L asked
him how he tanned them, and he said
an old Mexican named Pete, who lived
over the mountain in another valley,
tanned them for him.
= Yes, once i'm while he sold some
heads to get flour, ammunition and to-
baccO, and once in while hunters
stumbled on his place and carried away
some OF the heads. An English lord
Capt. Grissell, or something of the kind
had come last year and taken away