The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-10-18
THE SHADOwGRAPHER.


IA dOuhNALIUTIC n~XFxRiENCGsj
| The other day, while rummagina throuR
bundles OF old letters, = diversion nom,
times pleasant, but often the reverse,
ran across two communications whicl
aroused a pleasant and interesting retro
spection.
} incidental TO tho reproduction Of thes
Q tiers there 10 a brief story Of explanation
Years x l had a boy friend who has since
made something of a name in his profes
sion, but for fear this story might fall il
his hands. and there might follow the nm.
pardonable accusation Of revealing profess
sional secrets. ! will simply call him Henry
Baxter. He was a curious genius. Wher
Il years old he could whip any boy IN
school, spell the defeated man down, re-
ceive the first card in the Sabbath school
for perfect attendance and good lessons, o.
no could write a poem. While this was re-
it is not overstated, and il necessary fur
Their evidence could be produced.
He lived with his widowed mother all
alone, much as poor but pious boys in
stories exist. The only difference 10 that
the young heroes in the circulating library
of the village Sunday school are very good
while this boy was, l fear, q triie wicked.
At least he would be regarded in that light
if on trial for communication. However,
at that time we did not regard a boy who
could tell a lie to a school teacher and get
away with it as altogether unworthy of
association with fairly good people. Henry
could do this if necessary, though it must
be said he never resorted to it until the last
extreme was reached. When a lie would
save him from the black bruises of an old
fashioned hardwood ruler he would lie, and
he was one of the cleverest and most artistic
liars for a boy that l ever knew. / recall an
incident u day when he did not reach
school until after recess.
Henry Baxter, come out here" said the
teacher, and Henry walked to the front.
why are you so late to-day"
my mother just had a stroke of paralysis
and ! had to stay at home" he %blubbered.
Don't tell that to me. / saw your
mother going down the street just before
school opened" said the teacher.
The boy then went ahead and described
the symptoms of paralysis with such accu-
racy and evident knowledge that he was
excused for the day. He was always eau
tious enough to fortify himself at a time Of
emergency. Th9 next day he brought a
note from his mother asking the teacher
not to punish her boy, as they had settled
matters between themselves. As the
Widow Baxter was OF a rather bellicose
disposition, and had been known to fight
like an Irish washerwoman, her explanation
was accepted. Whether the subsequent
death of the widow was determined upon
as a mattor of retribution to her son for his
catalogue of ~falsehoods, or whether il was
a mere providential occurrence, will never
be known. Anyhow, he continued to
follow along i'll his usual routine
except that he boarded at the restaurant
and played pool every evening, assuring the
proprietor that the 'estate'' would settle
for everything.
Thus matters ran along until the execu-
tor met the boy1one day and informed him
that after all bills, including the executors,
had been paid, there would be nothing left
but a few small debts. He informed Henry
that it would be necessary for him to go to
work if he expected to live. OF course this
was something of a surprise and excited
the boys curiosity to such an extent that
five years later he solved matters to his lat
isfaction by forcing the executor to bay
over 5000 which he had cached for future
use. At the time referred to the boy was
forced to go to work and he did not know
what to do. He did not exactly care to
work with the section gang on the railroad
at 80 cents a day and find himself, and yet
he was not fitted for anything better. as
matters looked then. He was bright and
had received the better part of a common
school education and very naturally aspired
to something higher. Finally he came to
me in consultation inc after a serious talk
decided that he would become a journalist.
He had correspondent several months for the
only county paper and in consideration
had received, gratis, a copy of that valuable
journalistic contribution. He argued that
if connected with a metropolitan paper he
might, at least. earn a living. He there
fore wrote three letters; one to Mr.. Dana
of the New York Sun, another to James
Gordon Bennett, of the New York Herald
and the third to Hon. Joseph Pulitzer,
whose fame had spread as the Lochinvar
who had come out from the west and made
an astonishing success out of the New York
World. If I remember rightly, the subject
was treated about the same in each of these
communications. In a modest way he re-
cited reasons for believing that he would be
n valuable acquisition to the staff of either
paper. He would do small editorial work
until a. vacancy occurred in either the
Washington or London departments, when
be would expect advancement. Two stamps
were enclosed in each letter, one to be used
in case the other was lost, and a postscript
was added requesting al immediate reply.
Several weeks passed away without reply.
Henry argued that possibly the editors were
out of town, it being the sunni per season, or
that the letters had been losg in the mail.
He wrote again with like result and then
disguised with the business meth
DDS Of the three editors. He failed to see
how they could have reached dis
in their profession. But his heart
%gladdened a few days later when he
around with a copy of a paper devoted
to the "crnft" which he had fortunately
in a local printing office. 1t
the following ''ad:'
WANTFD-A SMART YOUNG MAN TO DO
w editorial work on a newly established but
ready prosperous republican weekly. Good
salary assured, with prospects of quick advance
ment TO tho right party. Address Col. J. W.
williamson, Grand junction, White Pine county,
MINI.
Here was his chance, and how he would
make old Dana, Bennett and Pulitzer sweat
when he got down to work in the editorial
columns. He wrote Immediately accepting
fhn nfTnr md ~ n fouv dam