The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-08-02
Mr.. ROBINsoN's ABILITY.
How Experience on the Yale Nine Helped
an Editor in tho Wild West.

OHe OIL 6ne DeSU men that ever knew
at adapting himself to circumstances,
observed Major Hotchliss, to the New
York Tribune "was young fellow that
We'll call Robinson. He was a Yale man,
and fancy bit of black sheep. He
came of good New England family, and
one brother went into the ministry and
another came to this city and prospered
in the law, but these pursuits were too
prosaic for him. After we left college he
went to Cuba for a few months, and then
came back and drifted to Chicago and be-
| came reporter on the Chicago Times
This was in the old Storey days, when a
Times reporter. in the event of man re-
| fusing to give him news, was expected to
take the man down and hammer it out
of him.
Robinson made mistake one day.
He hammered the city editor and had to
leave town. He promptly came out to
Badger Rock, Mont.
Badger Rock at that time was one Of
the hardest towns in the West. Homi-
eide was a pastime, like lawn tennis or
croquet in other parts of the country.
Mining and gambling were the only two
recognized industries, with the preference
given to gambling as a gentlemanly yoca-
tlon. Robinson got Immediate employ
ment on morning paper called by its
owner, with fine irony, The Daily Dove. ;
1t was the worst sheet in town, which is
saying great deal. The exciting nature
of connection with it may be best real
lied when / say that the papers strong
point was abusive personals 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
man to his employees He slipped his arm
into Robinson's and led him half mile
up the mountain to the little cemetery
Pointing to three white wooden head
boards he said: Young man, there sleep
your three predecessors There's room
for another between that end and the
fence, answered Robinson, and he took
the position of city editor
"But the worst thing about the outlook
| for the young man have not mentioned.
| He could not shoot. He had tried to learn
| many times. but, in his own words, he
| 'couldn't hit flock of barns When he
explained this popularity to his employer
this individual was for having him i'm
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. I'd rather have man that
can't write than one that can't shoot.
Just let me alone, answered Robin
son. If you are not satisfied at the end
of month I'll resign
Sc Give me the address of the friend
you want notified please, said the man,
whipping out 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
| son had pitched for three years on the
college baseball club. He had been the
best pitcher the club had ever had. He
could throw ball harder and straighter
Cor crookeder 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 began selecting stones about
the size of hens eggs, hard and ragged.
l think he picked out galena specimens
largely, as being the heaviest, and fire.
quently rough and square cornered He
dropped half dozen nuggets in each
side pocket, and took off his hat and
filled that, and returned. At the office
to work.
"The second day after this his en-
ployer said to hims Robinson there's
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 a coward, tramp
chicken thief, and SO forth and warned
him to get out of town under pain of
further disclosures in the, fearless col
umns of The Dove. It was hot para
graph, and when the foreman read it he
simply remarked: Well, I hope the man
that takes the city editorship tomorrow
will write palmer hand.
!" about 10 O'Clock the next morning
Robinson was walking quietly along the
main street of the town with his right
hand resting carelessly in his coat pocket.
Suddenly Mr.. Galley stepped out of the
volver. The young man from Yale who
couldn't shoot took his hand out of his
pocket. In it was an irregular specimen
Of lead ore. remember how the local
doctor tried to explain subsequently that
the specimen didn't hit Galley in "a nee
essarily vital spot but it was vital
enough for all practical purposes and the
|
ly that when the outthroats Of this town
meet around tho hearth tonight there
will be one vacant chair. Jim Galley is
no more
"The fate of Jim Galley ought to have
been enough for the other obnoxious citi-
zens of the neighborhood but of course it
wasn't. A week later a man came down
from Placer Bench, winged the Chief of
Police, shot out the lights in the post
office and rode his horse on the sidewalk
The Dove reprimanded him. HI took a
foolish and erring shot at the city editor
who replied with stone and returned to
his office and wrote that another old set
tier has gone out from our midst. Life
is indeed uncertain. Now is the time to
subscribe.
Robinson stayed a year before ne got
tired of the place and went to San Fran
cisco but 1 don't think that after the first
three months he had any trouble. Dur
ing that time 1 would not dare to say
how many he popped over: OF course
most of them he only wounded. But as