The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-27

the mighty altar to the dying season. Let
US pause here-take off our shoes here, for
it is holy ground. All, would you carry
gun here-here in the porch of Gods
house?
But, as indicated at the opening. we of
Europe and the States are still savages,
not knowing or caring 1.-THE as much
about perfumes as an Arab of the desert,
and we must still pack gun. At least
this was the case with my companion,
with whom | pushed far into the Sierras
last week to swear allegiance on natures
altar for the forty-first season there and
fill my body and my soul with the per-
fumes of California. He had gun. Like
all men who think they know anything
about gun he also had tongue Nv
one demand and desire of the landlord
was that we should have great blazing
fire of old pine logs heaped on the hearth.
But let US see what my companion did
with his gun and his tongue! We sat by the
great fire OF blazing perfumes and he spake
mo, madam, | don't say that | am always
dead center shot, but if l ever get bead
on bear he is my meat as rule, as a
rule, madam"
| She was pretty widow from the States
and reputed to be very rich.
1t was late at night. The stage had ar
rived late that night at the tavern, on the
headwaters of the Sacramento River, in the
| heart of the Sierras; and as the nights are
always cool there, this great pine-log fire,
as per contract, blazed and cracked in the
big fireplace and cast ruddy, tender light
all about the high-built walls, where hung
guns, horns, f1shing-tackle, dog-collars
bear skins, bootjacks and all the dozen
different things that take the place of pic
lures in the parlors of city hotels.
Colonel S.-we old veterans of the days
of gold are all colonies now-is a famous
story-teller. He is bachelor and claim:
TO be close relative of a great English
Duke; although it was noticed that when
MS Grace, the said Duke, was with us out
here, the two were not seen to mingle to
gether as close relatives naturally would.
'Old family differences" said the
colonel with wave of his hand and g
deep sigh; for he is sensitive man and
too, man of character and courage. Fol
example, when he and Colonel Phineas
had quarreled over mining claim in the
old days, and duel was arranged, with
ounce-ball rifles at ten PAGES the colone
insisted that the bullets should be larger
and the distance only five PAGES. And sc
the duel did not come off.
This Colonel Phineas E. was now the
| keeper of the tavern, and had two big
jolly boys who kept heaping on logs and
laughing in their sleeves quietly as they
| listened to the tales of their father and hi.
former deadly enemy in the contemplated
duel. How we do love a man after we
have fought with him!" says the old
| French general in the Lady of Lyons
And how the roads of the two old colonel:
of California had divided, to be surel True
they had not quite fought in the
old days; but they loved one another now
quite as well as if they had, and the COM
| ing of the great lawyer with all his guns
and pistols and paraphernalia of the chase
was an event to be enjoyed. Each old
''coI' dug up stories by the score. All
the bear stories that the big lawyer had
were made his own, and the honest old
| tavern-keeper Appropriated to his own use
and benefit almost everything of the sort
III the Sierras not claimed by his friend
Now don't set us Californians all down
as liars. Our stories are all true, as rule,
only they don't all belong to the man who
happens to claim to be the hero of them.
Still, there are Californians and Califor-