Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-12

| crossed our path in easy distance and
| searched for their morning meal under our
The loS Walking Vas not easy The srou,
ran from six to twelve inches in depth. hut
! in the mid-track it was trodden somewhat.
rendering the footing slippery. Along the
river pank, IN the bottom of a canon, we
took our way, now up hill, now down, ever
sliding and slipping, but in the best of
spirits. Sometimes the track ran along a
prec:pice edge. protected by a felIed tree;
oyer the Soa .he S5w g erags 1mpended
uful stone which, constituted the noun
tam; anon examined q huge cave. where
scratches were seen in the dirt, that Dos
SiDly liolcateo the place of Information of a
bear. But we tired IN time. Then the sun
was obscured by snow Clouds We did not
care rest Tor moment, lest our feet al
ready wet through and through, should be-
come chilled.
Then about fourteen miles from Placer.
Vile, our CONSERVATION was complete when
We perceived the road to turn straight into
the mountain side at the crossing of the
river and ascend away and away, climb
ing still as far as we could see This
mountain was the most appalling thing /
ever saw; for fourteen miles hilI-and- dale
trail walking, with slippery footing Is
equivalent 10 thirty miles OF eastern road
The trail now went up about one foot in
five. We slipped back about one-half Of
each step, and it required, despite our fire.
quent rests, an exercise OF VIII To raise the
man to walk up slippery staircase o mile
or more IN length. Nnen we did at length
attain the mesa at the top we lust Law
Gown in the road with our blanket robes
pushed up under our necks, and, while the
snow fell softly upon US, looked over the
cliff down to the river bed, twice as far
below US as the Washington monument Is
high. 1t had taken us SO long that we must
necessarily give up hope OF walking to
Pinon that day.
Typical Ranchman.
We stopped to dine at the first ranch out
from Placervile, two miles that side Of
Norwood. 1t was a great dinner and we
liked the people much. There was present
fine fellow, Sewers by name, a COW
puncher unwashed and uncombed 1 had
thought the eastern idea of the wild and
Woody Westerner to be overdrawn; but it
is not. no, not bit: that is, as to the ex-
ternalS. But they know nothing of his
neart. He is rough, and coarse and wild
but he is not cruel nor wanton He is ex-
tremely just and plain spoken to a fault,
II that were possible. This particular one
is thlrty-six years old. married and a ia
Their. He wears a broad white hat, a
stubby, red beard, and speaks in oaths the
most vulgar. He frankly declared at din
ner that If banker asked him to swap
horses. In order that he might catch a
train he would be refused while a bank
robber under similar circumstances would
be accommodated. He damned the money
sharks black and blue, and seemed to wor-
snip Bryan, as dog does master But
L could see beneath all his vile wrong head
edness that it was the love of right within
him that spoke and that this merely lack
ed training. God help their enemies If a
brave and able man ever leads these fell
lows In battle. The riff-raff of eastern
cities must be ten to one to stand against
them.
AT o'clock it was remarked that we
70 hat nityhf nv
horse. To this Sewers jokingly remarked
that for Sc he could put us in, twenty
miles away. before dark. Done cried
Papa Shook, and so II would have been
but for an accident. Sewers rushed to the
barn, harnessed a team to a hay wagon
he had to return to n farm near Norwood
To this he tied the tongue of sleigh, and
as we jumped into the wagon, the horses
sprang away like forty devils. We quick
ly arrived at the place where we must
leave the wagon, but to the chagrin OF
Sewers the tongue of the sleigh had been
broken off to the extent of a foot. He
cursed and swore and finally started us
off in the sleigh, but the horses We're refined
in so close on account of the short tongue
that their legs struck the swingle trees
at each step. After about half a mile
of this our driver told us it would be all
right as soon We reached his house a
short way ahead. But the horses kicked
and reared so much that the outer tug
| came of Of each swnsle tree.
A Wild Ride.
"'Now, damn it, cried Sewers, run If you
must And away we went half hitched
People got out of our way as we rushed
into Norwood. The horses flung their
heels high in the air, driving a stream Of
snow and ice into our collars they fed
Our teeth ratified enough to shake the fill
ings out. The landscape had the tremu.
lous aspect of a kaleidoscope view.
1--WE lost an hour at Norwood mailing al
extension to the tongue and we then cor
tinued our ride. 1t lay first through ter
or twelve miles Of prairie covered with
sage brush Then there was a descen,
from the mesa again to the valley. 1t was
dark long before we struck Pinon. But
our delay was due to accident, we did
not hold Sewers to his agreement. AS the
sun set over the snoW-covered plain it glowed
on La Sale range on one hand and the
Lone Cone on the other. 1t was terrific
ride we had taken. and it made me sick to
think of 1t afterward'
A postscript adds that they have just
come up in a four-horse wagon for their
baggage, having been two days on the
road.
Kent's Letter.
Will Kent, in letter written about the
same time, says:
Yesterday we looked over the colony
| and have been agreeably disappointed in
most everything. The men are a fine Sc,
of fellows, generally, and while they may
talk pretty rough at times. they are square
and whole-hearted. At night the weather
Is very cold, but the houses are warm and
comfortable. Our fare is plain and good
We don't need to be told we are far away
from Washington market We have q
fine Frenchman and several Germans In
our company, so we will keep up our Ian
guages. There are about dozen buildings
in the camp, and the colonists are now
erecting school house. We are writing at
present In the printing office, and the
printer is setting up article of fathers
on Equality, which some one has sent
him.
To-day they started a cemetery. the first
occasion they have had. 1t was the teach
er's mother. She had pneumonia; had
just come here. Her age and the altitude
were too much for her to endure 1t has
helped to draw our hearts a little closer
together"
Will Make No Appointments.
]. c. Gipr sty, who applied for appoint
ment as assistant inspector of fuel, has
been informed by the District Commission
ers that no such additional appointments
will be made it being their intention to