The San Francisco call., 1898-10-09

miles or so of his home and then forgot my worries in the novelty of the welcome he received It was nearly o'clock by this time and every one in the ranch houses that we passed was III bed, but Sam halloed Justify at every door and out of it almost instantly would tumble one or more unkempt men, who would rush up to the wagon with a 'Howdy. Sam" and a volley or questions which Sam tried vainly to answer.
 They were all tremendously glad to see him and they evinced it by forming themselves into an impromptu body guard and walking along with us. By the time we reached Sam's home we had an escort of about forty men, many of them bareheaded and barefooted, as rough a looking crowd as one could well ina agine-though their only Weap- ons were watermelons, with which, be- ing eager to do something to show their hospitable feelings, nearly every one had loaded himself in order to have watermelon feast on our arrival at the end of our ride.
 T found Sam's home to be little whftewashed house of three rooms, with a log kitchen outside. In this abode were Sam'S father and mother, three married sons and their wives, two unmarried sons, three daughters. and seven children under four years or
  us and Sam's meeting with his mother was worth the whole trip to me.
 Sam held a regular reception until nearly midnight and the whole neigh borhOOd turned out in his honor and sat around eating watermelon and listening to his stories of the wonders of San Francisco. The tales he told them were something dreadful to hear. for he having spent most of his spare time in the Park and the Chutes before his ill., ness-talked mostly of the animals that he saw and fully convinced them that buffaloes and elks and bears and pea cocks and monkeys and lions roved the streets at will here, and that our man ners and customs are something simply astonishing You must understand, or course, that Sam himself can neither read nor write. and that all his impress sions are gained from what he sees and hears, and such impressions passed on to others become nothing short Of as tGunding especially, as in this case, when the recipients are quite as Igno- rant as he who gives the information.
 "There were two beds apiece in two of the rooms and one bed in the other, and I was given the Semi-priVacy of this shared with a girl of nineteen who was just up from an attack of typhoid fever. I spread the sheets thoughtfully given me by the Red Cross over the hard straw mattress and retired, leaV-
  of San Francisco and St Luke's, where they gave him clean clothes every day.
 I stayed there {. week, and Sam talked the whole time to admiring au- diences, the feminine portion Of which solemnly dipped snuff while the mas culine portion chewed tobacco. We lived on string beans, fried dry salt pork, watermelons and hot biscuits. Sam had cried about these same bis cults of his mothers at the hospital and declared that they were the best things in the world. and he acted up to it after he got home, but l found them to be beaten biscuits" with which the beater was far too lenient. They were like baked paste. and I ab- solutely could not eat them at all
 Everybody was more than kind to me, and their kindness was accentu- ated by their utter poverty and 1gnor- ance It was a poor white neighbor- hood, and the one negro resident, Aunt Milly felt herself far superior to them all Not one scrap of "rinted matter ever comes to their houses. and their only news of the world is gained from some one like Sam, who has managed to get away for a time. It would be heart-breaking were they not so contented and happy among themselves. As it is free from outside influences, they have an hon. est affection for each other which Is remarkable, and share each others joys and sorrows in a way which might be a lesson to many of us who think ourselves above them.
 My journey home was rather ex- citing, as I went to a friends in Sa vannah just in time to encounter a cyclone which struck that pretty little city just two hours after my arrival. The wind blew at the rate of seventy five miles an hour and did S25O,000 worth of damage to the rlace during the short time that it lasted while it made me think longingly of San Fran cisco, where the breeze Is chronic in stead of acute.
 Taken altogether it was a hard trip. but it is one which I shall never regret having made.
 
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