Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-07
COL. JIM'S ANNIVERSARY.

COL. JIMs ANNIVERSARY.
One Day on Which He Doesn't Shake
Hands.
Col. Jim Struthers had his feet on table
at the Arlington the other night His toes
pointed the path to heaven and geysers of
tobacco venom erupted at intervals from his
facial crater. His eyes wore a long-range
gaze that seemed focused on something as
distant in the future, almost, as the equality
of man. His mind seemed either to be ten
thousand leagues under the sea, up among
the clouds so high, or over the hills and far
away. His thoughts seemed to be soaring
Phoenix-like to Jove, and from their mighty
height the zenith shimmered dimly in the
abyssmal depths of space, and the aluminium
apex of the monument was out of sight
He did not heed the Star man. till the latter
said: What's yours, colonel?" Then the
reporter grappled his good right hand, while
a series OF agonizing witches chased ca IN
other over the coloners rugous visage and
two little tricklets of saline liquid weIled up
in his optic founts.
Hold on there, young fellow" he yelled;
don't squeeze that hand as you would the
waist of an Anacostia girl! From sun-up
to midnight on this day each year that hand
is lame. 1t cherishes the memory of one of
the greatest conflicts I ever conficted. To-
day is an anniversary with me. Just ten
years ago today | had an escape as narrow
as ten-foot alley. On each anniversary of
the event this right hand becomes lame.
Everybody has told me how to cure this
afiiiction and have tried all the remedies
suggested with the usual result. Well, here's
luck. Ahem! No water. thank you. It's a
good thing to make canals out Of and hold
regattas on. but II doesn't agree with me.
ON. yes. you want me to tell you how 1 hurt
my hand. Well. I was stopping at Gun
nison, Col. In those days Gunnison was one
of the peasantest keno resorts in the land
of sunset. The saloons were open all night
and there was no more trouble to get a
drink on Sunday than there is right here
We didn't have to buy autographs to get a
license. and we could bang our six-shoo.ers
just as reckleSSiy a e.ropolitan police
man No criminal considered 1t necessarv
to fortify himself with an executive pardon
Prayers were a rare thing in that commu-
nifty and sudden deaths were of the most
frequent occurrence. | used to let up on the
tiger once In awhile and so on a hunt. The
event about which / am going to tell YOU
occurred on one of these occasions | sal
lied forth toward Grand canon. II was the
merry month of May. Bright blossoms lit
the woodland shade: wild violets and honey
suckle breathed their soft perfume; little
dandelions wooed butterflies to rest on laps
of gold. and tangled ivy chung round and
courted every bough. The season was N
sympathy with love, and l was. too. /
thought of the girl left behind me; OF the
girl with whom | needed no heaven. and
without whom there was none: of the girl
whose image should live only in a laureled
brow, and whose name should be sighed in
music. The echoes of her voice fingered in
my memory, and in my far-off loneliness
those echoes seemed as sweet as the tones
which made Troy live again. / sat down in
a shady, grassy retreat and began to loosen
a leather pouch. which l always wore aror ma
my neck. and in which | carried the picture
OF my Victoria. l was just about to press
it lovingly to my lips. when my attention
was arrested-nay, 1t pinioned-by
strange sounds. ! parted clump Of bush
hS W 10,
cubs were rollicking and pranking. 1t was
sight worth trip all the way to George
town to see They We're very young bears
and they boxed each other with all the free
dom from injury that might be expected at
a fake fight. They did not recognize me and
continued their fun. i did not have the heart
to shoot them. for such an act would have
been worthy only of those sportsmen who
buy dead game instead of shooting it. Then
I looked at the picture In my pouch. Oh,
thought I. what pets those bears would
make for her; the her for whom my heart
o'erieaped the boundaries of my bosom and
bled in worship | swiped the cubs They
were defiant and strong. If you don't know
how cub can kick and claw. try one. The
pair was more than / could handle and IL
became necessary to immediate one that |
might retain the other. My knife did it,
then drew the dead cub to tighten It,
My thoughts had been dwelling on my
sweetheart. and il did not occur to me- that
there might be some other members of that
same bear family in the neghborhood. But
there was. 1He mother was there. She had
needed the cries of her offspring for help
The sight which met the eye of the old She
bear al not prejudice her in my favor 1
was carrying a live cub under one arm and
a bleeding carcass under he other. Mamma
mad. A gruff growl sounded in the
other direction. but I thought. of course
that it was an echo of 'growls of the bear
which I saw hearing down upon me. did
not turn round to look. / faced the oncom-
ing beast and held her cub in front of me
with one hand and carried my reeking knife
! in the other. As the mother came within
fifteen feet of me- she raised on her naunch-
es. Her countenance indicated that she
meant business. / backed slightly, and she
took me In her arms. j wanted to shout
don't, but II was no so. was being smooth
ered. the cub was between me and the old
bear 1t was having a pretty tight squeeze
too. but II felt the warm fur OF its mothers
breast and thought that everything was all
right. Then / plunged the keen blade into
the body of tho little bear, and Il gave a
howl of pain. This made the mother let 70
as she supposed that perhaps she was in
turing her progeny She retreated Few
feet preparatory to hugging me again. There
was roar In my rear. and l was knocked
down. The blow which felled me was a
heavy one. with claws on the end OF it.
let go the cub my knife fell to the ground
and I dropped. Naturally I thought that
another of the relations OF the cubs bad
been heard from. / was wrong The two
big bears were fighting. and the cub was be-
tween them. They warred with fury They
snapped growlei grunted and tore each
other In savage rage There was a tramp
ling and rushing through the chapparel and
big he-bear came upon the scene 1t was
the father. The bear which had been the
second to come up soon died. was
concealed by the brush, and the victorious
hears shambled off. | moved on back to
Gunnison. and in the first saloon which |
entered was a party of hunters. who Rad
Just returned from the direction of the
Grand canon. They had with them little
grizzly cub. The mother of that animal had
followed on its trail. but hearing the racket
which my cub and its mother were raising,
had changed her course. and come upon Us
Surprising the cub to be her lost one she
first slugged me into insensibility and then
essayed to make short work of the other
she-bear, next to which the young one was
seeking shelter. Had ii not been for the
timely coming of the second bear. Jim
Struthers would be sleeping the sleep
that knows waking II was in that fight
that / hurt my hand. Yes, / believe | will.
l never like to refuse"
He Was UnSelEsh.