The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1889-08-17
LITTLE JIM.
How the Pet Of the Galleries Pre-
vented q Tragedy.


vented q Tragedy.
"Rough" enough he looked, indeed,
the great black-bearded. grimy fellow,
with his greasy cap pulled down over
his hard, surly, bulldog face. And he
was rough by nature as well as by
name. Those huge bony hands of his,
which could swing the heaviest pickaxe
for hours without firing. and could toss
about great Jumps of coal which other
men could hardly lift, were always
ready to knock down any one who dis
pleased him; and many a sturdy fellow
in the Blackpool Galleries wore scars
and bruises enough to make him sorry
for having ever tried his strength
against the terrible Jack.
But there was one person to whom
even Rough Jack never said a harsh
word; and that was his little Jim, the
only child he had. Jim's mother had
died soon after he was born, and his
aunt, who kept house for Jack, was
big, bony, sullen-faccd woman, almost
as untidy and coarse-looking as the
rough collier himself. But no mother
could have been more tenderly careful
of the little fellow than they were.
However dirty and untidy they might
be themselves, they did their best to
keep Jim's face clean and his clothes
in order; and cross-grained Aunt Susan.
who was always grumbling at having
''sitch a power % work to do" sat up
at night several times. after her days
work was over. to knit little pair of
socks as birthday present for him.
Jim had been the pet of the whole
neighborhood ever since he could re-
member; and these savage, wild-look-
ing men, 20 fierce and surly with every
one else, always had kind word for
Rough Jacks little lad" as they
called him. Every day he used to
carry his fathers dinner to the works
in q little basket. going fearlessly
smong the GOLFERS savage bulldogs,
which seemed to know him quite as
well as their masters, and would wag
their stumpy tails and put up their
nat-nosed heads to be patted whenever
he went by.
Indeed. the sslittle lad'' seemed to
have such perfect trust in every one.
and to be 30 sure that nobody would
hurt or vex him, that it was not easy
for any one even to think of doing so.
The rough collier lads, whose great
sport was to pelt each other with
heavy Jumps of coal which made a
bruise wherever they hit. shouted to
one another to stop the moment they
saw the little fair-haired head in the
distance, and once, when Rough Jack
and his mate-who had been great
friends heretofore = quarreled about
something. and were going to fight,
little Jim stepped in between them and,
taking hold of his fathers jacket,
looked up at them both with an air of
such piteous establishment, that the two
fierce men. after cycling him blankly
for moment, turned their backs and
slouched on In shame-faced kind OF
way; and the next morning they were
a. good friends as ever.
/ But after while troubles began to
come upon Blackpool Colliery. Bust
ness grew slack and wages had to be
reduced, which bore very hard upon
these reckless fellows, who spent their
money as fast as they got it, never
thinking of laying any thing by. There
was plenty Of grumbling and growing
against young Harry Forester. the
great man of the district whom his
fathers death about year before had
left sole owner of the colliery; and the
quiet people Of the neighborhood be-
gan to fear a riot and to talk of send
ing for soldiers from the nearest large
town.
4 But amid all their troubles the rough
men were still as loyal as ever to their
little lad" Many . grumbler went
without his dinner to buy something
good for Jim; and Rough Jack, as he
dsnced the little fellow on his broad
shoulder, wore something Is nearly ap.
preaching to smile as his iron face
could assume.
At last it began to Be whispered one
day among the golfers that number
Of them were to be discharged. Nc
one knew how the report had arisen
or even whether it was true or not; but
the mere thought Of It was quite
enough for these Wild fellows, ripe a
they already were for mischief.