Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-06-19


filing up on beans and tallow for a
month, and just had the chance of
one decent meal. 1 urged him TO join
me, bribed him with drinks it was no
use. Jest leetle bit, sonny; jest a
leetle bit MORE be drawled, when l
finally concluded it best to sail in !;
and lest a leetle more it was until l
had finished every morsel of that
wretched melon, while he-blamed old
beggar !-held his gun at my head.
"Talk about records! I must hold
the championship easily. When 1
found J. had to eat, went at it double
quick. didn't like the look in the
old sinners eye. I didn't know what
other scheme might be working in his
fertile brain. And of course when my
steak and potatoes arrived, there L
sat, so full of watermelon I couldn't
eat a mouthful more. You can scarce
Ily blame me for never having touched
watermelon since.
"About three years after the water
melon episode I was still cowboy,
and with the same outit-but no
longer a tenderfoot. I could ride,
rope and shoot with any one, and was
earning my thirty-6ve dollars month,
with grub, right along; in fact, by
reason of my relationship to one of
the ranch owners was never laid Of,
even in the dull season. In all this
time I had never gone home, although
my people were constantly begging for
a visit. I liked the life, the constant
change and adventure; but one day
I concluded I was tired of punching
COWS, and told the boss I was going
to take a vacation and 60 and see my
family.
awe were driving big bunch of
cattle to the railroad, and the boss
asked me to take charge of them to
Kansas City, where he promised to
meet me at the company's Office and
settle up as to my back pay. This
meant a good deal to me, as had let
nv wages remain with the firm for
nearly two years, and had quite pot
of money coming to me. At the STA
ton I got my cattle aboard, and we
started. It was beastly weather; no
rain for weeks; dust simply awful |;
water, too, mighty scarce, and what
there was had to 90 principally to the
cattle.
II was walking over the tops of the
cattle cars the first night, when hap
pened to look down, and there, all
crouched on the little platform between
the cars, was a tramp, his teeth chat
tering so you could hear it. 1t was
fall weather, and the nights were bit
terly cold, although the days were
mild and pleasant. His rags were
scanty, and, indeed, he shivered so
wondered how he could hold on. ]
called down and found that he had
beaten his way from San Francisco,
and was going-well, anywhere where
meals and nights lodgings abound.
"He was one of your down-in-the-
mouth tramps, the pitiful sort, like
homeless dog, so down you couldn't
give him an extra kick so hauled
him up, told him I had the right to a
helper on my trip, but had neglected
to bring one, and if he liked to take
the job, I would square it with the
conductor. Jake, for that was his
name, agreed, and for makeshift hu-
man being, mostly bones and very lit
tie in the way of flesh and muscle to
get about with, he did contrive to be
very useful. He seemed to regard me
as a sort of New Jerusalem shed down
and round about him, and fairly crawl
ed in the dust at my feet-there was
enough of it to have covered him en-
tirely, anyway. All the money had
about me was fve-dollar bill, out Of
which squeezed food and extras for
US both until We reached Kansas City.
"There I placed my bunch of cattle
safely in the stockyard, and then, tell
ing Jake to stick to me, for 1 was 60
ling TO get my stake, / started to look
up the boss, who was to meet me at
the office Of the people to whom We
had consigned the cattle. 1t occurred
to me as Jake and I hustled through
the streets that there was very little
to choose between US in the matter of
personal appearance. My breeches
were almost in ribbons from the knees
down, one of my coat sleeves had been
nearly pulled off in friendly scuffle,
my flannel shirt was vilely dirty, so
was my sombrero; my hair was long
and unkempt, and / had several days
growth OF s,ubble on my chin. Still,
l had so long been accustomed to
think Of men as men and not of their
clothes, that 1 sailed right into the Of
fee, bold as brass, and, finding the
boss hadn't arrived, asked for small
advance, sixty cents being exactly the
sum I had left in my apology for a
pocket. You can picture my state of
mind when this modest request was
curtly refused.
"But what am I to do ?" I inquired.
"'Wait for Mr.. - was the bland
reply.
"tAnd starve in the meantime I
was mad clean through. See here,
my father is Judge -. Can't you
lend me enough to telegraph home ?