Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-17
ON A FOOTHILL RANCH.
DELIGHT AND EXCITEMENT THAT MAY
BE HAD THERE.
The Original and Only Boomerangists of
the Pacific CONSTITUTING
Bee Tree.

a ranch about seven miles above Smarts
vile, in the foothills.
say have been ''roughing it" becaus
my old friend Jack had just had his hous
and all his other buildings swept away il
a jiffy by forest fire, and the accommoda
tions for man and beast at Jacks house ar
not luxurious just now. But the weathe
is extremely salubrious at present, ant
camping-out under tree, with an abund
ance to eat and spring of cold mineral
spring water, is state of existence fllet
with more than the average amount of en-
joyment, health and recuperation.
The forest fires which "swiped' tine
whiskers from the face of the earth from
near Mooney Flat to the Oregon House, il
Yuba county, burned several building
and totally destroyed the grass and all tn,
brush fences that it came across it fol
lowed TO their source and annihilatec
them. My old friend Jack was away from
home when the fire crept into his ranch
and reduced his wardrobe to two rough
shirts and pair of spring bottom pants
but he was not discouraged ''The fire has
cleared the brush from thirty acres of new
ground, anyhow" was all he said, and of
he went to get a carpenter, stove and
provisions, and just six days from the oc-
currence of the fire the stove was in opera
tion under fig tree and Jack was cooking
slapjaeks thereon; and the carpenter was
hammering and saving, and swearing and
sweating, like a parrot engaged in a
friendly fracas with a monkey.
Jack is fair sample of the average
Nevada county foot-hill rancher. He is
always at work, always cheerful, always
generous and big hearted, and ready to do
any reasonable thing to help and oblige a
friend, or anybody else. He never gets
very badly discouraged when the crop is
poor, but hopes for better result next
year, and he takes care of his dollars. But
be is not stingy. He is a fair sample, as
| said before, of the average foot-hill
rancher.
| sometimes wonder why young men,
like Jack, who have all the world before
them, are blessed with an abundance of
brains and muscle, are content with ranch
ing in the foothills. Jack and / were
both born on ranches, and we both had
the same chances, and we should have
both become ranchers, but we didn't, and
TO this day the fine points of Leghorn
pig, Berkshire rooster or an Angora trot
ter are things that / cannot see nor under
stand. As a rancher l proved very sue
cessful failure early in my youth, although
| had Jack near me as a pattern, and he
oil oIooI p,,t
those days neither of US had ever looked
for type-lice in a form nor been out on
wild-goose chase in search of nonpariel
shooting-stick. That joyous experience
was reserved for me, and to-day Jack is
the possessor of many broad acres, many
head of horses, cattle, turkeys, ETC., and
am just about as poor as a pint of chicken
soup strained through wool hat.
Camping out at Jacks ranch was very
nice. We had an abundance of fresh air.
We ate our meals Of fried ,apples, fricassed
cabbage, grilled biscuit, boned army
bacon and stewed ragout of jack-rabbit,
smothered in old-fashioned overall gravy !,
from the top of large box, once the
residence of famous old top-knot hen,
who Matched out fourteen ducks eggs, and
then kicked the young ducks to death
scratching for worms.
Our bed was a yoluptuous affair, COM
posed of eight straws and a feather, and in
it Jack and l passed many happy even
ings, smoking Blackleg tobacco and dis
cussing the best remedies for the turnip
scale, phylloxera among sheep, the ease
with which blackrot could be driven
from the poultry by free use of asa
fadita, The proper way to curry a COW and
other matters of thrilling interest.
Occasionally we helped the carpenter
lay the ioists on the rafters, or got the
slantandicular of his floor for him, or took
the wind ont Of the window casing, or
mortis.d eyhole or two for him, ground
his saws for him, oiled his try-square and
helped bin eass.
Some imes we saddled couple Of stout
cobs aud logged away into the circum-
iacent country and discussed politics with
the neig hbors 1t was in this way that
learned that the Chief Executive is not
the highest office in America. That old
warn about every boy being considered by
his parents as the President of the future
is all rubbish The greatest honor, find
lies in being elected to the Office of Road
Oyerseer. The President of the United
States may think he has reached the high.
est round in the ladder of fame, but there
is still another round above him, and un-
less he is willing to give up the giddy
Washington throDg, the spicy Washington
life and the exhilarating Washington ma
laria, and spread his blankets in the rural
districts of North-Central California and
get elected Road 0verseer, ne can never
expect to look Ger all the wide. wide world
and say that all that remains of fame and
honor is the editorship of country paper
/ find that the Road Overseer is mighty
man here in the foothills, where there are
roads 10 oversee, and the salary is not il
excess of the bounty paid quarterly by the
cosnty for coyote scalps.
In the language of Napoleon, when re
ceiying one of the new applicants for ;
membership in the old guard, Overseeing
is fat racket" and nearly nine-tenths o
the rising generation Of sturdy yeomer
who infest the foothills of Nevada county
arestriviug for the office. The other tenth
wants work on the road. and amuses itsel
bv clamoring for new bridges, bounty OIL
oophers and a -four mill for every quarter
section of land. | may be little "off,'
as they would say in Chautauqua, but
believe what have set down as truth viii
be accepted as such when the reader see
my name at the bottom.
Jack and / also made a pilgrimage (,
MarysvilIe one day, to pull the tail out o
the elephant, and lay in a new supply o
oyeralls, bandana shirts and syrup 0
souills for the blue jays that are eating al
the fruit in Jacks orchard
My appearance, Unexpectedly as it was
created no stir in the city of Marysyille
and the few random remarks had re
hearsed on the road were not required.
MarysyilIe is a very neat, progressive
city, and carries on quite a trade will
Yuba City, 0rovIlle, and the northern par
of the State. There are two leading or
paus IN the town-the Appeal and th'
Democrat, and ! strelled into their sane
tums with the intention OF grasping tn
horns of the altar and steadying mysel
while | listened to the music, but boil
the organists had gone out of town, some
.zhere, aud the boys who turned th'
cranks Of the bellows could not say wheI
they would return.
Marysville has Boomerang Club. Th
members Of this club speak of themselye
as the original and only boomerangists Q
tbe Pacific coast. The object of the club
so | was informed, is the furtherance o
phvsical development among the highe
and knobbiest knobs of Yuba county, anG