The record-union., 1892-07-09
THE NAPOLEON OF CARIBOU. !"

SAiISteueQ JuQge WOODS Inc LlIlle y d
poleon of Caribou" As every man in
the crowd had a mine for sale, no one
questioned the visitors right to speak on
this subject, and when he followed up
the remark by saying lit was long tlme
between drinks,'' we accepted his invita-
ton and unanimously voted him high
authority on the personal appearance OF
Napoleon-later in the day the entire
camp accepted the name as singularly APP
propriate. The mild, harmless face of
Judge Woods, showing III every line a
decided antipathy to killing anything,
could not but suggest to our minds the
little General famous for killing every
thing. So he was christened Napoleon;
he reminded US of that singular man in
the same way Murdoch, the biggest liar
in Caribou, reminded us of George Wash
ington, The Vas so entirely different"
l think the Judge took kindly to his
new title, for in short time the walls or
his cabin blossomed with pictures of the
great General, and he fell into the habit
of walking around the camp with arms
clasped behind his back and head bent
forward as If he were burdened with great
cares Of the State. Entering his cabin
without knocking one morning, L found
ing to counterfeit .Napoleon's position, as
shown in one of the pictures on the wall.
CHANGING at the picture, then at his own
reflection, he burst out In the rough fash
ion, Hang me | think that New York
man was right" drawing himself up to
his full length he went on: But Pm
bigger man than Napoleon-a bigger
man." l did not contradict him; no one
in the camp ever contradicted the Judge;
we all loved him too much; loved him in
spite of his peculiarities; perhaps on ac-
count of them.
Judge Woods was privileged charac-
ter. in the little mining-campof Caribou;
nearly every one had commenced by
laughing at him., all, l believe, ended by
loving him, and in 1874, when the camp
was its best, he was the leading spirit in
our social and political life. Lazy and
good-humored, possessing happy fac
uIty OF parrying angry words with some
harmless joke, he slowly made his inhu
ence felt and power recognized by even
the toughest class of miners in Caribou.
he seemed to have no settled purpose, no
special object in life. He did nothing,
was nothing: but day by day he grew
more closely into the life of the place. No
event was complete without him, and the
appearance of his round, jolly face in any
gathering was always the signal for fu
sion OF cliqueS and a good time all round.
Every one in Caribou knew his history,
who he was, where he came from, why
he was here. You were sure to have
this information fired at you by the
Judge the first time you made his ac-
quaintance.
Yes, by Cad" he would begin, Il
have known life-lite, sir, repeat-life
in the very heart of the cultured Eastern
States. L have had my fling. Cad, boy,
1t was royal fling, too. Wine, you bet;
woman, should remark; gamble, why,
you benighted tenderfoot, thev don't
know the meaning of the word gamble
out here; in our game of poker we played
Tor stakes worth winning; if man threw
the banker $50 bill he got one white
chip, only half an antee," and here the
Judge would stop and wag his large head
from side to side, until it seemed the old
fashioned crushed opera hat he sported
would fall to the ground; across his face
all the while played smile Of happy SUI
periority. Busy with the memory of old
designations he would forget your pres
ence, and, looking out Of the window,
whistle softly some air linked in his MIND
with other days; coming back to the pres
ent he would continue his story.
The old man cut up rough at last; my
governor, you see, was high officer in
the church, and didn't exactly cotton to
my larks. One morning ne called me to
his study; did not like his looks; knew
there was trouble coming. Billy said
he-Billy Woods is my name, you know,
I'll be 80 in December; don't look it, do
1? Well, am-'Billy,' said the old man,
you have developed a surprising talent
for profanity. If this were natural or
hereditary l might excuse you, but for
generations our family have been leaders
in religious matters. To speak plainly
William, you raise too much trouble for
this small city; it won't do; you over
stock the market. think you had better
go West, where the people are educated
up to your style. l have the misfortune
TO own mine called the Sovereign Peo-
ple;' 1t is situated near Caribou, Colorado
Now want you to go out to Caribou and
stay for two years; | will send you each
month two hundred dollars to pay ex-
penses. At the end of two years, if you
have learned to behave properly, you
may come home again, and ] will take
you into partnership with me- ] tried
TO move the old man, but it was no 90.
So l came out here five years ago and set
tied in that little cabin on the side of the
hill-the one with a small platform rum
ming all along the front of it. AT first it
went kind of slow, then L began to like
the boys, and they stopped calling me
'Tenderfoot.' In little while 1 seemed
to forget my Eastern home, and ceased to
long for my old companions. The two
years of my probation at last came to an
end; was free to go home again, but
home seemed right here, all around me,
for 1 had grown to love the boys and the
camp. The very mountains that sur
rounded the little valleys on all sides had
crept into my heart, and / loved them,
too. The thought of opening my eyes in
the morning and looking out on nothing
but brick and walls, of having no bright
good morning from Arapaho Peak yon-
der, made me shrink with aversion from
my old life, my old home-a life and
home that seemed mine no longer. l de-
cided not to go back East but stay here
in Caribou. The old man didn't object.
SO here you find me at the end of five
years, doing nothing with the peculiar
energy have been famous for ever since
/ came to Colorado. | hope to stay here
until l die. If l am bound,in the right
direction, then my soul will be saved
climb of over ten thousand feet, and if /
have to go down below, the extra time
consumed in reaching it will be my
gain.'
This little autobiography, always inter
rupted by two or thee adiournments to
the barroom, was sure to end in cordial
invitation to visit his cabin, sample his
old rye whisky, and smoke pipe OF
peace.
The Judges cabin, like it's owner, had
its peculiarities. 1t was built on the side
of steep hill, the Judges town lot, as he
put it, being narrow but powerful high
While the backdoor elbowed the sur
rounding rocks with true familiarity, the
front of the house, perched on row of
pine timbers, lifted its head high in air
with natural Eastern reserve and pride of
position. The cabin contained two rooms
"a small bedroom and much larger one
in which the Judge seemed to live. Twice
each week it was used as courtroom, the
y Judge being our only Justice of the
Peace. This large room was papered
from floor to ceiling with old copies of
illustrated papers; they were in all Ian
guages and from all lands. An elk head