, 1889-09-26

Ii was the fashion for miners in the
sery early days in California TO let their
gold-dust lie around loose in yeast
powder cans and buckskin bags, and
even in old boots, so honest were all
men and so prosperous were they all.
And have read that in the far interior
Of China it is the custom for the fruit
sellers to set down a selection of fruits
in shady place by the roadside in little
baskets, and at the same time set down
red earthen dish with handful of
small money In it, so that the passer-by
rnn make change if he desires to buy
fruit--the fruit-seller meantime being
FAR away ut work in his orchard OH the
hill-tops.
Well, have seen something much
like that in my travels through these
new states within the past few weeks.
The first 1 noticed was in Spokane Falls,
AZ the Grand hotel There | saw little
box with a few dollars of change in it
out OH the end of the counter in the
midst of "A dozen or two of the daily pa
pers from various places. No one, so
Tar as ] ever saw, was in charge of either
the papers or the money. Any man
who wanted paper took it, tossed his
money in the box, and took out what
ever change was his 1 set this down as
an incontestable sign of prosperity and
let us admit, as we bow our heads in
humility, TO the need of that portion of
the Lords Prayer which says lead us
not into temptation" of honesty, which
Is She first-born of prosperity.
l have not yet come upon the copper
rent In my travels toward the East 1t
may not be generally known that we
have never yet been able to introduce
The copper cent west of these mountains.
And now a solid paragraph or two
about the stock business in Montana. 1t
Is overdone, and is far from safe as now
carried on. There has been so much
said in the magazines and in books
about this region of "a romantic charac-
ter that it is high time to set down some
facts. In the first place, then, cattle
were frozen in their tracks by thousands,
If not by hundreds of thousands all
all along and all about here only year
Or two ago. OF course, the country
doesn't like TO have too much said about
this, but the fact is that every ten or iif-
teen years this country Is visited with
such terrible snowstorms that the old
fashioned way of turning cattle loose TO
SHIFT for themselves the year through is
folly that amounts almost to crime.
Yes, 1t reads very fine in books; and
the dashing cowboy looks well in pic
lures. But at the close of the winter be-
fore last when this poor cowboy crcpt
forth on foot to see how his cattle Jared
after the blizzard was nearly spent, he
found his once fat herds standing brisket
deep IN the SNOW, frozen stif Us stone
for 1000 miles up and down the mount
aims of Montana. IL ~ but truth, and
true charity too, to recite this plainly
and emphatically and to condemn this
hazard of life and property which has
been so continually practiced here.
! remember that In the winter of 1862,
-rfIa
schoolboys went out to the foothills
more than once during the fearful cold
weather and gothered up bags full OF
quail and grouse that had frozen to
death and fallen from the trees during
the night. Indian horses were frozen to
death by herds. of course this was a
phenomenal fact. Had 1t been usual
thing these poor creatures either would
not have existed or else would have
been fortified by nature 10 meet the clc-
mcnts.
remember that in Idaho, ten years
later 1862 after the terrible winter was
over we had TO change the train by
which We carried the pony express in
more places than one to avoid the dead
euttle--the poor dumb creatures that
had crowded down in Il mate appeal for
help 10 place where man might pass.
Tho one great lesson was enough for
Uragon ana from that time forth the
old habit Of letting herds OF cattle look
out for themselves was forever aban-
doned. The same may he said, In some
sense, Of Washington and Idaho. But
the vast reaches and room in these two
last t-namcd states still tempt the gambler
IN forsunc-huntingto take heavy chances
and peril his herds aud all his hard won
wcalih rather than 20 the great cost oi
securing t,roverdor before hand for even
tithe of his stock. Notably is this the