The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-31
Observation-Disclosures TALKS.
This Westerner Seems to Have Tried
Nearly Every Way OF Making a
Living.

This Westermer seems to Have Tried
Nearly Every Way of Making
Living.
From the Detroit Free Press.
The easy and graceful manner in which
some men adapt themselves to circum-
stances and rise to any emergency was
never better illustrated than in the case
of a witness who was being closely ques-
toned regarding his past life by a lawyer
in western court room.
You say" said the lawyer that you
lived in Montana ten years ago. What,
may ask, was your occupation while
therep'
We'll. there wasn't anything else much
time"
''And then what?"
Wen, then l drove a stage until I went
to Leadville."
And what did you do in Ieadvine?"
We'll, was justice of the peace for
three months, and then went to mining.
And how long were you engaged IN min
ing?"
Until a big charge of giant powder
went off before it was desired or expected
What did you do then2"
Il held down bed in a hospital for
three months, and then / went into the
news stand and confectionery business for
awhile
For how long?"
Until my partner ran off one night with
our entire profits of six months, and |
ran after him as far as Cheyenne, and
there my money gave out and 1 went to
braking on a freight train
How long did you keep that upY'
Until l lost two fingers coupling cars,
when I quit, and after my hand got well 1
washed dishes in a restaurant for a month,
and then l bought the proprietor out and
run the thing myself for three months,
when l handed it all over to the sheriff"
"And then What?'
''Then l went to Deadwood and opened
up a laundry but l didn't like the busl-
ness, and l traded it off for a cigar store,
and I was in the business for six months.
Then dull times came on. and / made the
acquaintance of the sheriff again. He got
me a place as one of the night guards at
the jail, but 1 hated night work and went
to teaching school for the winter in Ne
braska."
You taught all winter?"
Yes, and got elected county coroner in
the spring, but I'm naturally of a lively
disposition and a coroner's work is pretty
dun, although I'd plenty to do, for the
town was the western terminus Of rail-
road all summer and kind Of distribute
ms point for all the cowboys supplies in
that part of the country But I went west
again in the fall and took a contract to
build a tool road in the mountains"
Did you finish it?"
well, no; but I was doing well at it
when a big snoWslide came along and
struck the section of the road I happened
to be on, and i didn't know anything for
two weeks after they dug me out down IN
the guich about a mile from where the
L
down to Denver and ran an elevator for six
weeks, but that was duller than being
coroner, and in the spring l struck out for
a new town in the mountains, and went 20
running an engine at a saWmill until I got
chance to run for county clerk"
Were you elected2"
Il just was, and / served my full time
and then went to the legislature for a
year Then l organized big mining COM
pany of which l was president until the
thing busted up and I was stranded again. -
What did you do then?"
Got me a little Office and stuck out my
single as a lawyer, but business was dull
and ] went into the electric belt business.
l made big money al that for awhile and
wasted it by going into the newspaper
business. l edited the paper until / took
the wrong side in a mining strike squabble
and a lot of the boys came around one
night and dumped my press and type into
an old mine with twenty feet of water
at the bottom of it, and then they escorted
me out of town"
And you didn't go back?"
you reckon I'm a fool. I changed my
name for awhile and took a book agency
in another state until I got a chance to
open up a big brick yard
This covers a period of about your
years. I guess you can skip the remaining
six years and tell me what you are doing
now"
'Well, I'm married, and am raising a
family and writing a book, besides preach
ing some and lecturing on the temperance
question"