Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-28
CHRISTMAS STORIES
As Suggested to Members Of the
|' Ananias Club.
EXPERIENCES THAT WERE STRIKING
Incidents Connected With the Day
Graphically Told.
HANGING THE STOCKING

HANGING THE STOCKING
The session of the Ananias Club last
i week was an unusually interesting one.
| Members were disposed to be much more
reasonable in ofheirL stories, and while ex-
!, perences were somewhat remarkable, they
| lacked the lurfd nature that has marred
previous ones. 1TheH president set the pace
| by a very sensible talk to the club in which
| he said: III ri
Gentlemen Between now and the next
meeting Christmas will intervene. We have
| had weather reports that, through the me-
dunn Of The Starr have been given wide
| spread publicity throughout the country,
and l have received number of letters ask
ing If 1 cannot furnish further data upon
which can be base9 predictions for similar
b!:zzards. but at this meeting let our pro-
| ceedings be marked with spirit of modera-
| ton and let devote the evening to the
pleasant discussion of merry Christmases.
1 will call upon our brother. Tom Jenkins,
| to relate the most singular and pleasant
Christmas experience he ever had"
| Mr.. Jenkins arose. and with a voice qua
| vering with emotion. said: Mr.. President,
and gentlemen, there is one Christmas that
I will never forget. AS youngster up in
1
mas. turkey. mince pies and plum pudding,
and then all pile up in a bid sled together
| and go to The school house. where a bag Of
candy and popcorn hung on a tree for each
| of US. and we froze our ears going home.
! But while that was time that I can never
| think of without tears. the greatest Christ
| mas L ever had was In Colorado. l was
| grub-stakng in partnership with another
| man back of Greeley. before there were any
| railroads. We found nothing beyond a few
colors in the pan, but got along all right
until the stake was gone. and then winter
| had set in and We were reduced to starva-
| ton. l won't say anything about its being
! cold as the president has barred blizzard
stories, but we had found sort of cave TO
which there were two entrances. on top and
| at the side. Christmas eve, we had eaten
nothing for two days. and nearly all of our
| wood was gone. We just built fire on the
| floor of the cave. and the smoke escaped
| through the opening on top. We talked of
| Christmas time and told stories about Santa
| Claus, like two boys. Some way, 1t seemed
| as though the next best thing to having
something to eat was talking about the
| dinners we used to have. Lets hang I'D
our stockings. Dan" L proposed. "All
right" said he And then 1t occurred to US
that we had no stockings and we almost
cried But we had two big sacks. and just
| hung them up about two feet apart tying
| them around rocks and fastening them to
| jutting crags in the roof. so they would stay
| OPEN. AS We went to bed, we both felt so
| weak that l thought we would never get I'D
| again. and If we did there was nothing for
| breakfast on that cold Christmas morning
| About daybreak l was dreaming of Santa
| Claus, and so was Dan. There was a noise
| as If the whole cave fell in, and we woke
! up. Dan shouting. Santa Claus has come
And sure enough he had. With his front
| feet in my sack, and his hind ones in Dams
was big buck. that had fallen through the
| hole IN the roof, and he came down he
! brought enough dry wood that had lain I'M
| der the snow, which wasn't very deep to last
us week. Gentlemen. that Christmas was
| the happiest ever spent. Dan and | waltze.l
| around the cave like crazy men. and after
| we had eaten all the venison we could we
Just vowed the next man who said there
! was no Santa Claus would have us to whip"
He Found HIS Fate
Ben Barker was the next story teller
THE best Christmas I ever spent was at
| Barnwell, s. c.. the town where the first
| meeting was held. that led up to the firing
on Fort Sumter. 1t isn't much of town.
| and 1 was never, there before. The ho.el
is in very small house. the best room of
which is occupied IS grocery store
where crowd Of negroes sang Christmas
| songs and drank eggnog around a big
| drum stove The landlord is German
who believes in plenty of drinkables and
| the presence off, all his relations as the
proper way tol spend Christmas. The con-
sequence was that the house crowded.
| and | took the last vacant room, small
but eomfortahle one. Well. was sitting
!
| of the landlords relatives and the songs
| of the 1arkiesa and there came over me a
| longing for Home of my own. My PAR
entS diedS when | was very young and l
| hood had travelled over the country SELL
| ing goods, and beyond a few acquant-
ances on the road. l had no friends, as
sold a speciality ana rarely visited town
the second time. About ten o'clock there
was a rap on my door. Come in,'
said, and the landlord entered Well, sif,
red man?' No 1 answered rather
gruffiy, for it was none of his business.
thought. Veil he said. vas in drou-
Bile. This vas de only rooms I haf an
dere vas Young lady und no blaze for
her tc 60. She vas a pretty young VOC
man, und l thought auf you vas not mar
| red alreadty YOU could schust talk init
her tonight und make id pleasant for her
Den IN der morning you could sleep und
| could gif her mine daughters room al
| reaoty. The landlord was very much en-
| barrassed. and. as l was a gentleman
could not allow the young lady to be with
| out room, so 1 went to the parlor to Of
fer her mine. She was the prettiest girl
| ever saw and positively refused to accent
tie sacrifice, SO I declined to go to led
| again, ana talked to her. She. like me,
| to the drug trade. We soon became well
acquainted. and all night long We talked.
| The next morning l hunted up the county
| clerk and preacher ard we were married
| hearted at Christmas time since"
| Result of n Dream.
THE happiest Christmas 1 ever spent
was brought about by dream or vision, -
| said Andy Turner when 1 was a boy 1
| took the western fever. and running away
| from my home at Tiifin, Ohio, went west.
Several years passed. and longed to hear
| from the old folks. 1 struck streak of
luck. and succeeded in getting a comfort
| able sum of money in my pocket. Then 1
started back to Tiffin. When 1 reached
there. l found that the family had moved,
| and no one knew where. There were no
| relatives to whom to write, and my folks
| were absolutely lost to me. l returned to
| the west. and the matter haunted me day
and night. 1 was in Idaho, working in a
| silver mine that had an interest in. and
| was doing well. One Christmas eve 1
| seemed to feel that my folks were near
| me, and that night 1 dreamed / had gone
| to the Bay Horse mine, about twenty
| miles from the camp where 1 lived, and
that l had found my father and mother
and two sisters there, alive and we'll The
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