The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-02-28
FRONTIER JOURNALISM.
An Old Journalists Entertaining
"reminiscences.
Tho cub and Trials Of q
Gus Tramp Typographor-The I'm
certainties OF Border
journalism.

~
II recall n time In tho earlier sos"
said On old newspaper man, when I
was working on the Las Vegas Gazette.
The paper is dead now and buried. I
wasn't getting the pay of q prince, but,
after oil, my debts weren't increasing
moro than ten dollars u week, and, as
that's low for me, l was satisfied. Ono
day, however, around came the grnsping
capitalist who owned tho sheet and said
that as times were hard and all the
other common usual reasons existed, no
had concluded to make n horizontal re-
duction on salaries. I took some time
trying to make clear to him why he
could not horizontal my stipend, but his
thick head refused somehow to grasp It.;
so | wound up by discharging him.
"Ihad just hung about three columns
of copy on the hook for tho weekly
edition and being i'll disposed to allow
such ingrates Us the Gazette people to
possess this prize, without money and
without price, l stepped into the COM
posing-room and tore it up. It would
have been better If / had stolen O.
horse, or murdered q man or commit
ted some more trivial o~ffcnsc. The
Il N0NSNS0 - WNo a. ~ LII ulQ LII
mere matter of taking this copy off the
hook and tearing it, it would seem from.
tho attitude and language Of
the printers then and there as
sembled, that / was, under the
rules of their union, guilty of ut least
Jeighteen different crimes, all punish
able by death. They al left their
cases md gathered around with eyes
q THAT BODIED evil, and it looked for o
n minute as though there was going to
be q lynching and tho Gazette would
aget q scoop on it. But the foreman in
8terfered and pacified them with tho as
3surance that the copy would be charged
i'm composition to the paper, just as If
~ had been set up, and tho amount
At this the flames died in
Their eyes and they returned to their
Penceful art ngain, while 1 escaped
81 Being now a person of leisure I re-
: paired to the plaza and gaining access
without trouble to one of tho many
fAfrinking shops which line this historic
51$quare, / became very merry nnd kept
go until about three o'clock a. IN. It
9$}7as q bad hour and being in no mood
or travel, I concluded not to go to my
E$S$otel, the st. Nicholas, away over In East
E44fas Vegas, and so camped down on an
nused monte table and slept very sound
until day.
The next noon found me still merry
&snd adjoining q seat in front Of Billy
elindy's hotel over in front of the de
fpt. l had just purchased q bottle of
re water from Mr.. Melindy, not boz
Ezauso l needed it, but on account of its
HHfing, rs he assured me, of n very par
E5fulnr and sacred sort and invested
HSBFth great power for good ind evil,
Ett8fhen tho passenger train bound north
&&2$lled in for dinner. This sight sug-
3 sted travel and / ut once climbed
EAoard In happy consort with my pint
E4bm Willow Run. l had no especial
Eg&&fvn in mind to favor with my appear
Il &c and concluded to get off ut Wat
Ef3ls, the next station. To make sure I
Ebuld get off and to invoke special at
g#fhtion to that end from the train off,
HBals, l declined to pay my fare. 1t is
#&edlcss to say 1 was very successful in
E3s, and when the train drew up ut
Mhtrous there were three brakemen
Ell the conductor all there to see thatI
not get carried by.
MWell,I got off all right md so did the
allow Run, and as the journey had
#gued me greatly l at once sought
Negligible nook in the scenery and lay
down to rest Some three hours
aaSed over my head when I was awak-
I'D by the rough tongue Of n tame an
HSPpo, who stood over me licking my
H]ntennnce, and with whom I had
wn very popular even in my sleep.
looked about at the collection Of
Ebe houses, with which tho plain was
#fsely sown, 1 saw u big sign which
saloon in large, calm letters. 1
"a glad to see this sign. No midnight
@iner when he sees tho const light
marks the harbor of his homo and
IA, feels any better. I resolved to go
ED for information. Inside I was de-
ted to find In the barkeep an old
&treasured friend. When l aw him
8eming some months before, he was
ED Black Jack and he told mo he
bore that name; although seeing
M he was going over to Wagon
S3nd in q few days he might change
Is q person bearing that name four
rs before had been the author Of
very lively history In Wagon
&hd which the inhabitants still re-
I'd, and he didn't care to DO mis-
"a by them for the historian.
Hghile conversing with Jack my eye
aon a handsome cight-page weekly
on a poker table which bore the
$: The Mora County Pioneer. Jack
led out the 'dobe from which the
E&ker had emanation, and I at once
over. Here I found two gentle-
named Alvah and Jackman, who
lined in their persons the editorial,