Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1898-09-29
! Why His Reason Tottered
An Adventure with Man-Hunters.

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,IKTITHOUT any reason whatever,
wv my strang q comp anion grasped
my arm with a clutch like a wise, and
with abject terror depicted upon every
feature ofhis countenance, exclaimed:
Save n1le!@S'Save me! They aretafter
me again!"
''Who are after your" I:asked, vain
rly trying to disengage his painful hold
ION my arm. s
''rhnse real estate men. They'll
. shoot me. See." And he pointed out
of the car window to two fpeaceable-
gentlemen whowere approach
ing the train with fowling- ieces
'slunig over their shoulders. -; -
At this moment "a small man, with
alert, nervous eyes, who had been in
almost constant attendance upon the
German, entered the smoking-com
PARTNER ofsthe Pullman and said: -
Never mind, Jake. It's all right. ]
have got them in the next car Where
they can't harm you. See, Eve got my
guns with me, and no one can hurt
you while I am around" -:
~a"Vasit loaded aT'''ss@s>
eyes. / think you had better go to
bed now, while I sit ZIP and protect
you - ,. "a 3 -. ..~ - -
eyes, that would be>petter," said the
German, greatly assured. #
I felt sure that these two men were
as crazy as bedbugs, and lit fresh
cigar to think.
( was travelling from San Francisco
to London, and up to this moment had
seen nothing eccentric about the Ger
man except his rather grotesque APP
pearance. He and his companion were
intensely interesting characters, but
they seemed harmless. If they were
interesting before, they were doubly
SO now. After awhile the little man re-
turned, and, throwing himself YEARLY
upon the cushioned seat opposite me,
Eaid: '@i|@ <@.'|"t f-ss
Nov that I#have got my trouble
some friend to bed, I'll take rest
He'll not stir, can tell you, so long as
he. thinks there are Los Angeles real
estate men on the train" fi, ff
Whats the matter with him." I
said. So ~ W.
s6"Of. here" And he tapped his fore
head significantly. There's a boom on
altos Angeles, you know, and thereaI
estate men scared him out of his wits
'sYor don't say sop 81
Yes. About six weeks ago our de-
tective agency in San Francisco re-
ceived Instructions from a New York
attorney to locate the whereabouts of
Jacob Schmidt, who had not been
heard from for some time, and I was
assigned the task. A fine time had Of
it, can tell you" And the detective
meditatively pulled great rings of
smoke from his pipe. sect him to tell
you about his adventures in southern
California. You will find it amusing.
He's taken a great fancy to you-says
you saved his life just now. He is sure
you couldn't be so dishonorable as to
have anything to do with real estate"
1t was strange story I heard from
Mr.. Jacob Schmidt by piecemeal dur
ing the next few days. A story of adj
venture which might have sent many a
better man than he off his head; tale
10 one would credit who had not gone
through that Los Angeles boom; one.
that | could not have credited had not
the sad havoc wrought in the other
wise sane mind of Jacob Schmidt
been daily apparent as we travelled to-
ward the Atlandtic seaboard.
About 20 years previous to this time
Jacob and Frau Schmidt crossed the
Atlantic, and, following the Teutonic
instinct, they opened acorner grocery
IN the suburbs of Brooklyn. In 1883
reports were rife Of the. great specu-
latiye fever that had seized southern
California, and of the fortunes that
were made in a day;5and as buyer
presented himself at. that time, Jacob
Schmidt decided to sell for snug little
sum and seek his fortune in the ia =
west. All i'll good time the honest and
simple-hearted Teuton arrived at Pas
adena, where he had been advised to
pause and look around. To the con-
seryative tourist from the effete east
The scene of pand monium a t the depot
must have been appalling. Carriages.
omnibuses and innumerable buggies
lined the curb. The carriage-men
were shouting, hotel-runners yelling,
but above all the din and jostling Of the
crowd were heard the sonorous and
sturdy voices Of the real estate run
ners, shouting: Free ride all over the
city! Landed safely at you hotel!''z.
The passengers were button holed the
moment they stepped off the train and