Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1889-12-06
SAVAGE GULCH.

l ing camp at Savage Gulch late on
afternoon in the early spring of "a
Where he came from no one knew
and no one felt sufficient interest il
the matter to inquire. 1t was an ev
ery-day occurrence for men to com
{ and go-to drift into the Gulch from
| points up in the mountains and drift
out again into the newer "diggins'
over across the eastern range, sc
that the coming of one man elected
no interest from the people of tn,
Gulch
He was n tall, raw-boned individu
al, with n careless, swinging walk
and great, long limbs encased in a
pair of pants that held themselves Sc
much aloof from his large cowhide
shoes that IA considerable portion OF
his lower limbs were left exposed to
view.
NO one knew his name, and no one
asked to know it, but as the DAYS
passed by and he continued to hang
around the Gulch, people began to
take notice of him, and when it be
came necessary to refer to him spoke
of him as "Shanks."
"Shanks" proved to be q very quiz
ct, unassuming individual, and cut
about as much figure in the move
ments of the society of Savage Gulch
as the proverbial wooden man would
have done. He might have seen
better days, and had once, perhaps,
possessed certain amount of self
pride, but he bore in his person and
habits no evidence ofsuch things. and
fthey ever had existed they had
completely lost their identity.
lie became a part and parcel of the
Gulch population, and floated along.
taking whatever each day brought,
with seemingly no thought for the
future and no regard for the past.
TO him time was nothing. 1t mat
tered not whether the sun shone or
whether it didn't. He made no
complaint, no matter what happened,
and when there was talk ofan Indian
outbreak and the people of the Gulch
were In high state of excitement.
he remained cool and calm us though
there was no thought of danger
Some people said he was a philoso-
pher, while Others, and the great ma
lority, said he was too indolent and
lazy to take interest in anything. 1t
it true that he never unnecessarily
exerted himself.
lie drifted along in this Clancy free"
condition for couple of months.
now and then, when hunger forced
to it, doing little odd jobs about the
camp, but never under any cir
cumstances taking steady work.
lie lived sort of Independent life,
mingling but little with Others and
soon came to be regarded as a non
entity by the people about him. In
1act but little notice was taken of
him, and he passed and repassed
almast unobserved.
One morning some one in
passing "Shanks" tent heard groans
within, and on entering found the
man twisting about on his straw
pallet with a high fever. For two
days he had not been seen about
the Gulch. but no comment was
made or his absence for no one felt n |
sufficient interest in him to speak of |
1t. The Savage Gulch doctor was
called on, and after feeling Shank's
pulse and looking at his tongue,
shook his head and said:
It's about up with him, BOYS. and |
he's in a fair way to go over the
"What'll we do with 'iml' some one
asked.
"Jist as well let him stay thar an
die, another replied. "He don't
know nothin' now, an he jist es well
Ole thar rs anywhere else"
Not while l got er cabin. he
won t, spoke up large man." who
had always been considered the hard
est character in the camp. Not so
long es Joe Biggs is able ter wiggle
no man won't be left here to die in no
sch er way es this. You felers fall
to here now an hep ter git the Teller
over to my cabin an I'll take keer NV
him Their best kim"
The fellows "fell to" at once. for
there wasn't n man in the camp who
didn't know Joe Biggs well enough
to appreciate the value of his friend
ship, and not a soul of them but
would have gone to almost any
engths to have avoided the conse-
]uences of his ire More than once
Joe had emphasized his dislike of a
nan with n six shooter. As long as
4 man treated Joe Biggs right and
'efralned from too close an intimacy !
with his affairs, Joe Biggs was a |
rlend to him, but the moment thar !
nan overstepped Joe's conceptions {
'f right, safety of person demanded
lis immediate departure from the t
iulch.
Now, doc" Joe said when Shanks i
vas slowed away in his own bed. q
you tend ter This man, and if YER
'ot any idee in medersin, an know v
low ter dish it out SOS ter pull him
utter the mire, | want you ter do if. n
il yer dom know whut's good fer
m. fill i'm up on sumthin' en-keeper k
ryin' fill va hit II Wbo., -,