St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-25
He WAS A TENDERFOOT
FRESH AND FESTIVE DRUMMER
FIXED IN FINE STYLE.
TWO TOUGH WESTERNERS.
A Little Minnesota Coffee Expert
ence Related by an Eye
Witness.

Western ruffian who shoots as will
ingly as he eats, and with the per-
ennially fresh young drummer whose
nerve of the offensive kind is much
greater than his nerve of the de-
fensive kind, two characters whom
1 had, up to that time, supposed to
exist only in fiction and on the stage,
occurred simultaneously just twenty
five years ago, and, though l have
occasionally seen both types since,
have never seen them come together
with such satisfactory results
The nightly game of whist had just
ended in the city club of Auburn,
and the three companions Of Hon.
William H. Seward leaned back in
their chairs to listen, while the bill
lard contingent who had just come
down stairs drew near in anticipa-
ton of a good story, says. the New
York Sun.
My father, Secretary Seward, had
sent me to look after some land he
| owned up near where Duluth now
stands There wasn't very much of
| Duluth then, but there was just
| about the toughest crowd travelling
up there in consequence of the boom
| in land that I've ever met with. They
were scattered all over, and they
owned the land. Every man Jack of
| them was a walking arsenal.
ION my train was a drummer of
the most festive type. The word fresh
| doesn't begin to describe him. He
| wore the gayeSt of clothes, and at
every station he would climb off the
train and strut about like a pea
cock, particularly if there were any
| women about. Everybody on the
train was heartily tired of him, and
! his everlasting stories about himself
| and his rash way of appropriating
whatever was best. But he couldn' t
be suppressed until one fine cay the
| train broke down, and we found our
selves miles from any place, early
on gray morning, with
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO,
EAT.
mot far from where we broke
! down was a small encampment of
road trampers en- route for the gold
en- country supposed to lie about
| Duluth. Some of them had stuck
UP tents, and to this encampment L
| went, in the hope of; buying some
thing to eat. 1t was quite early and
the encampment seemed asleep, but
! from one tent 1 heard hoarse
! voice exclaim: /. - s. s
That's the third - - bob
tail I've caught. Pass the deal for
dollar jack pot
THAT didn't sound particularly
promising, but at least it indicated
that there was somebody awake
there, SO 1 pushed aside the tent
| flap and looked in. There sat two
Of the toughest characters 1 have
ever seen. They were playing polk
bottle of whisky and revolver.
In their belts were more revolvers
and some ugly-looking knives. Two
| piles Of money were on the board
that served for table. All these
| things I took in, and then my eye
tin pail of something hot was steam
ing over some embers. That looked
| promising.
Excuse me, gentlemen L said,
politely, but I'm very hungry. Could
you spare me some of that-that-
| that soup in the pail?'
""Tain't soup, it's coffee. You
play, Bill
las he spoke he wavered gently
| from side to side, and 1 saw that
both he and his companion were
very drunk. 1t struck me that 1
might have safer neighbors than
these, but I was frightfully hungry,
| so l braced up my courage and said ::
=" Coffee is good, enough for me.
I've got money enough to pay for
| it,
''The man called Bill looked up.
scowled and jerked his head toward
the pail. 1 needed no further invita-
ton. 1 seized the pail and took a
good, long swallow of the contents.
1t was the
MOST AWFUL DOSE
imaginable, worse than all the
L
for breath, and the card players
looked up suspiciously. 1t occurred
to me that 1 might hurt their feel
1ngs If l appeared not to like the al
legged coffee, which was a compost
OF beans and cinders, and 1 wouldn't
have hurt their feelings for any,
thing-while I was in range of
their guns. So said:
Much obliged. How much do T
owe your
'Nothin" growled Bill, reaching
for his whisky.
But I'd like to pay. Can't T.
Nothin',' snorted Bills opposite.
reaching for his revolver.
Il didn't press the point. b1,t
thanked them again and went out.
AT the entrance 1 met my drummer
friend.
"'Ah, me boy he said, in his
cheerful way, 'scraping acquaint-
ances in camp, Ell? Anything good
inside? Guess I'll have a look in
1T wasn't my part to prevent him.
L couldn't have done it if I'd wanted
to. But had an idea that something
would happen after he got, in, so I lust
walked around to the rear and glued
my eyetto hole in the tent. This was
what saw and heard. The drummer
Jauntily entered and sized up the place.
Poker, hey?' he observed in his
genial way. Anything to eat here?'
The players glanced up from their
game. The look they gave that drum
mer ought to have warned him, but he
mad lot of things to learn.
Lost your voices? he pursued.
What's that stuff over there? Coffee?
Say, guess I could get away with
some of that myself
AN ominous silence prevailed as he
walked over, lifted the pail and took
mouthful, which he Immediately spat
out with grimace.
Ugh! B-r-r-r! What the devi,
Kind OF stuff is that?' he exclaimed.