The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-11
TOO QUICK FOR THEM.
College Ball Pitcher Gives Lessons
To Western Terrors

'One OF the best men that I ever knew at
adapting himself 10 circumstance" OBJ
seryed Maj. Hotchkiss. was a young fel-
low that Wen call Robinson. He was a
Yale man and, fancy. a bit Of a black
sheep. He came of a good New England
family. and one brother went into the
ministry and another came TO this city
and prOspered in the law, but these pur-
suits were too prosaic for him. After he
lett college he went to Cuba for a few
months, and then came back and drifted
10 Chicago and became a reporter on the
Chicago Times. This was in the old
Storey days, when Times reporter. IN
the event OF a man refusing TO give him
news. was expected TO take the man down
and hammer IL out Of him.
Robinson made a mistake one day. He
hammered the city editor and had TO leave
town. He promptly came out 10 Badger
Rock, Mont.
Badger Rock at that time was one Of
the hardest towns in the west Homicide
was a pastime. like lawn tennis or croquet
in other parts of the country. Mining and
gambling were the only two recognized in
dustries. with the preference given to
gambling as a gentlemanly vocation. Rob
inson got immediate employment on a
morning paper called by its owner, with
fine irony, the Daily Dove. 1t was the
worst sheet in town. which is saying a
good deal. The exciting nature with Il
may be best realized when ! say that the
papers strong point was abusive person
-als in a country where all personals are
dangerous.
when Robinson came TO town he
found the post Of city editor vacant, and
applied for the place. The owner, not
withstanding his belligerency, was fair
man to his employees lie slipped his arm
into Robinson's and lead him half n mile
up the mountain to the little cemetery.
Pointing to three white wooden head
| boards, he said: Young man, there sleep
your predecessors. There's room for an
other between that end and the fence.
answered Robinson. and he took the posi-
ton of city editor.
"But the worst thing about the outlook
for the young man / have not yet men
toned. He could not shoot. He had tried
many times, but, in his own words. he
| couldn't hit flock Of barns When he
explained this regularity to his employer
this individual was for having him inn
mediately throw up the position.
Why he explained they'll get you
| inside Of a week Quick and accurate
shooting is the only chance for man
on this paper. ia rather have man that
couldn't write than one that can't shoot.
Just let me alone answered Robin
son. If you are not satisfied at the end
| of a month I'll resign
Give mo the address OF the friend
| you want notified, please, said the man,
whipping out a pencil but Robinson only
laughed, picked up the shears, cut the
lapels off the side pockets of his coat.
| walked out and wandered away up the
| gulch.
Now something the owner of the Daily
Dove didn't know was that Robinson had
pitched for three years in the college base
ball club. He had been the best pitcher
the club had ever had. He could throw a
| ball harder and straighter Tor croolSeder.
| as the circumstances might require) than
almost any man who up to that time
| had stood In the center of the diamond.
| He had made up his mind to utilize his
talent in this direction. Up the gulch he
1 began selecting stones about the size of
hens eggs. hard and Jagged. / think he
| picked out galena specimens largely. as
| being the heaviest, and frequently rough
and square-cornered. He dropped half a
dozen nuggets In each side pocket and
took off his hat and filled that and re-
turned. At the Office he emptied the hat
on his desk
1.-THE second day after this his employer
said to him: Robinson, there's a man
| come TO town named Wash Galley. He is
a criminal and deadbeat, who has killed
\ five or six men. He is now drunk and going
/ about town destroying the property of
| some Of our best advertisers. Just touch
! him up tomorrow morning Robinson
wrote a ripping Item, in which he called
! the man coward tramp chicken thief
and so forth. and warned him to get out
of town under pain Of further disclosures
| In the fearless columns of the Dove II
/ was a hot paragraph, and when the fore
man read it he simply remarked: Well l
| hope the man that takes the city editor
ship tomorrow win write a palmer hand.
about 10 O'Clock the next morning Rob-
/ Hlaf- -
| street of the town with his right hand
resting carelessly in his coat pocket. Sud
| denly Mr. Galley stepped out Of the door
| Of a saloon. He reached for his revolver.
| The young man from Yale who couldn' t
| shoot took his hand out of his picket. 1t
was an irregular specimen of lead ore. 1
remember how the local doctor tried TO ex-
plain subsequently that tie specimen diant
| hit Galley i'm a necessarily vital spot but
IT was vital enough for all practical pur-
poses, and the next morning the Dove re-
marked casually that when the cut
! threats of this town meet around the
hearth tonight there will be one vacant
chair. Jim Galley is no more"
"The fate of Galley ought to have been
enough for the other obnoxious citizens of
the neighborhood, but of course ii wasn't.
A week later a man came down from
| Placer Bench, winged the chief of police,
shot out the lights In the postoffice and
rode his horse on the sidewalk The Dove
reprimanded him. He took a foolish and
erring shot at the city editor, who replied
with a stone. and returned to his office
and wrote that Another old settler has
| gone out from our midst Life Is, indeed,
uncertain. Now is the time to subscribe
Robinson stayed a year before he got
tired of the place and went to San Fran
| cisco, but / don't think that after the first
three months he had any trouble. During
that time / would not dare to say how
many he popped over. OF course. most OF
them he only wounded But. as he re-
marked in his valedictory. Far more than
we intended have gone with less prepara-
ton than we could have wished. 1t should
only serve to remind us that In the midst
of life a rock may catch us in the jawr
II never knew what became of him. but
fancy he has continued to take care Of
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