The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1898-12-31
SKINNER AND THE METEOR.
Missourian's Chase After Fleeting
Wealth.

AS the glad Christmas has passe
, and New Year comes in apace, l fin
myself already forming a few goo
resolutions, and preparing to "tur
over new leaf leaf" In order that
may get used to the new order of thing
as have pictured them out, I hav
begun to put said resolutions into Ell
feet. In fact, the new resolutions ar
now in force. To show what a goo'
little boy L am going to be l will men
tion one of my firm resolves, tina
might be put in shape thusly:
WHEREAS, have heretofore beer
guilty of writing occasionally fo
diverse and sundry newspapers, and
WHEREAS, have allowed my fame.
a somewhat unbridled play, and have
used the truth with frugality tina
might be classed as miserly, and
| WHEREAS, Economy'in the use o
veracity is injurious to reputation, and
detrimental to public interest, there
fore be it
RESOLVED: That 1 will hereafter
confne myself to the strict letter and
spirit of truth in all my scribblings
and that will do violence to my own
feelings with regard to the artistic
beauties of fancy rather than juggle
with facts. And be it further
RESOLVED: That this resolution GO
into effect from and after its passage.
Now it will be seen that am firmly
established on that broad foundation
where your readers may place i'm
plicit confidence in anything I may
write.
Do you believe, you that read this,
in luck? 1 am somewhat of believer
| in the goddess of chance, but at the
same time, I realize that there are
many things ascribed to luck that are
simply either good or bad manage
ment, while there are others that are
simply the unfathomable firtations of
chance.
knew man, Missourian, that
used to swear at his luck, which, he
claimed, was the worst in the deck,
and yet it wasn't luck at all. A good
many years ago this Missourian, (call
him Skinner) started with six yoke Of
oulls, his wife and seven tow-headed
children for Oregon. Skinner was a
rustler but he didn't know much about
science. His wife, on the other hand,
had a taste for literature. She had for
years perused the columns of the New
York Ledger and Saturday Night,
and had picked up just doodles of
scientific information from the columns
DEVOTED to ANSWERS to Correspond
ents." She had an observing sort of
mind and just knew pretty nearly
everything there was to know. But to
my story:
Skinner, Mrs. Skinner, the seven
assorted sizes of little SINNERS and
the six yoke OF bulls arrived on Bitter
creek, Wyoming, JULY, 1888. AS
Mrs. Skinner fried the hog-meat and
meal, suddenly brilliant meteor
flashed across the sky from the north,
and apparently fell about 20 miles to
the south. During the gormanding of
the aforesaid hog meat and hominy,
Mrs. Skinner mentioned the fact that
a good specimen of meteor was worth
from $1,000 up, and that if one could
gather in the big chap that had just
fallen. it was no doubt worth fortune.
Skinner gazed in open mouthed won
der at his wife. simply paralyzed at the
breadth, depth, length and thickness
of her understa nding. He made up
his mind then and there tnat he would
have that meteor or "bust." A S., 900 |
meteor would buy him a farm in |
Oregon and he had the energy, the |
nerve and a bull team big enough to
corral it.
The next morning saw the bull team
headed south instead of west, SO did !
the next and the next. Skin ner had |
observed the course the meteor had
taken and was following it by compass.
On the fourth day Skinner met pros
pector, and Incidentally inquired if he
had seen anything of the meteor the
evening of July 7th. The prospector
told him he had, and that it fell about
twenty miles south of where he was
Skinner, nothing daunted,
spit on his hands, socked his goad stick
deeper than common into the brisket
Of his leader. and struck out. He
didn't find it, despite the fact that he
inquired of every one whom he met,
for each told him it fell apparently
about twenty miles to the south. Skin
ner was puzzled, but determined, his
wife hopeful and cheering, the seven
Skinnerlets curious and anxious. So
day by day the covered wagon drew
away to the south, until one day the
outfit struck Galveston, and there it
hung up. AS soon as the wants of his
cattle were attended to, Skinner went
TO the Galveston News Office and pro-
cured a paper of July 9Th. A few
examination by his wife un-
covered 1.-TWO stick" article concern.
ing the brilliant meteor that fell the
night before, about twenty miles to
the south, in the bay. Then Skinner
gave up AS he said he didn't have
money enough to hire a diving outfit,
and ''derned if he would go prowling
about on the bottom of the ocean for
3 dod-gasted stray meteor anyhow"
Then Skinner dropped into the News
office, and inquired of the editor if he
could tell him how fast a meteor
WELL" said the all-knowing man of
the pencil, 81 should say about
thousand miles second. Why do you
want to know?
Nothing but curiosity, I reckon"
said Skinner, and then he went back
to his wife.
The next morning bull team haul
ing covered wagon, seven tow-headed |
children aud detected looking woman,
the whole being in charge of one Skin.
ner, was headed straight for Missouri. |
az don't know much," said Skinner to
his confidential friend at his old home,
but blamed If derned fool that will |
chase meteor going thousand miles
q second, with q bull team going
twelve miles a day, don't belong right |
in Missouri. and among neiphbors