Telegram-herald., 1890-12-02

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Froz fae Ss~ Tsrk Nsfslax gezraaL
fseIss nlles oal Ia Oran4 lrsverse
Bays lying eeseeea Akr.eu Islzad ana
TIE nz,n .2oa. = little lslznd ecn-
pFissaz sbeat "a sers q groana. sd
ap0n this isl2ad. f4E fron TIE nosse sna
tarneil q she busy soria, lses D.ek
k&ssest, ths hefm4I, says Neh gAa
eoFrespoaasnt
bss-rtt : a. ca gsnias. fond II qgieI
2a1 solitude yel 8ue ui kar alosi popu-
saf uen in as section. kao~u an1 likec
D. every body. Bey IA tes sitgeriBg
geaefAitles. nQta.ng ; kno~n ~ as
PasL HE, and tes sscapAde sAat lea 81
hls retirement ffom tne world is 3
ssefet knoan onIs ~ himself.
lie 5 a bachelor. apo2I - years Old,
good lsoklng. eel educated, nell read
aud wtl informed. an lnyeterate
smoker 4 strict teetota.eg, Jolly ana
Nitty in h's .nteFcoafse Hitn men, tAe
soul 81 honor in business transactions
and a confirmed fisherman.
Ca AS little stand home, whlch is =
ysTtAble paradise ln summer, he has =
small log cabin comfortably furnished
miniature chicken-c0op, al house
aud a vegetable cellar. The island s
b0rdered with a row OF fruit trees,
plams. peaches apples, pears aud cher
res, and ln the interior ls = garden for
potatoes, strawberries and other small
fruits aud vegetables. His acre s
higuly cultivated and very productive.
anu the crops ne raises more than suf-
hce for his simple wants. He sells
some OF the surplus and gives much
away.
HIS chief occups ton, however, is fish
ing. The waters about his island fairly
teem with whltensh and lake trout, and
he Is al expert IA pulling them ia both
with the net and line. he tlnds ready
market IN this city for the tish and IN
the summer sells many TO resOrters. In
the early fail he gets IN his crops and
then fishes until December, storing the
/ tish away IN his lcc-boxes for winter
Shipment.
In January he harvests his ice crop
ana then If he feels like taking a little
exercise and enjoying life on moder-
ate scale, he secures employment IN the
woods and labors in the lumber camps
until II Is time Tor him 10 return 10 m:
island.
Ills living expenses are merely nomi-
mai. and the money he has left after
/ subscribing for half dozen papers and
magazines he lays away where nobody
/ knows, and none know how much he
/ has.
he is honest himself, and he takes il
for granted that everybody else is the
same. He has no locks on his cabin
door, and frequently goes away foI
hours al time, leaving his money
/ loose on the table. He has never losl
anything yet by thieves, and apparently
| has no fears in that direction.
All that Is known of Bassett's life, is
that he was born in the West; that hi
! father was plainsman and rancher
and often left Dick alone or the prairlC
with the cattle, while he piloted travel
ers across the country. When the wal
broke out Dick was sturdy younl
man OF %, and his sympathies were
with the North. He en- listed in tn,
! Fifth Iowa infantry, and that he serveC
with galantry is attested by eight bul
let wounds IN as many different part
of his body.
His father and other relatives ad
hered to the lost cause, and when tn,
; war ended, nothing could be found o.
any of them. Bassett wandered arounI
+, the country, and finally, in 1875, can,
here. He found work at first among