The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-02-26
ONE HAPPY MAN
He Lives Up In the Colorado Noun
tains Away From a Postoffice.
New York SUM

tains Away From a Postofiice.
CNew York SUM
Eyes, I'm happy and contented here. y
said the Englishman who always laid
stress on the fact that he was English
by birth.
Here" was a cabin built Of logs ana
plastered between the chinks with mud,
situated high in the Colorado noun
tains and twenty-five miles from a
postoffice. 1t faced on valley or park
of some 1900 acres, bounded by nat
ural walls of rock with sloDing sides,
dotted with coniferous timber. There
were two or three big trout ponds arc:
some 100 acres of hay meadow and
the rest was pasture and creekbed-
Trout abounded in the creek, although
il was only a few feet wide, and was
scarcely knee deep. Deer occasionally
/ came down through the timber that
! lined the hillside, half a mile below,
where the creek turned abruptly into a
canyon. The only means of access from
the outside world to the park was
! through this canyon, where a cattla
trail had been converted into a rough
wagon track. Most men city bred and
educated would be anything but con-
! tented in such a spot. But the Eng
/ lishman explained.
You see. I'm Door" he said. poor
as the proverbial church mouse from a
/ city point of view. Incidentally, L
/ possess the taste of a millionaire's son.
! I'm only the youngest son of an Eng
| lish gentleman, who was youngest
son himself. l came out TO the states
when l left school as soon as 1 realized
! that it was impossible for me to go to
Oxford and entirely probable that I
should wind up in the poorhouse if l
didn't do something to earn a living.
| couldn't go into trade. One member
of the family had tried that, and the
covert sneers and unconcealed snubS
that had been his lot had pointed %
moral for me. After a while of cow
punching out here, I drifted back to
New York. 1 could not keep within my
income. 1 was always broke, and l
wasn't happy or contented. There were
q thousand temptations to spend money
and a thousand things l wanted to do
that l could not afford. And, anyhow,
like the country better than town. So
1 came out here at the time of the
Creole boom. I was too late TO do any
thing in the boom. but 1 saw this place
while l was wandering around, trying
to follow leads. OF ore that were visible
for miles, as the prospectors say.
Il saw a chance TO make some fish
ponds here, and as / knew something
of pisciculture. I took up a homestead
Within a year l was more contented
than at any time in my life. l have
a few cattle now. and l ship fish from
my trout pond and get 80 cents pound
for 'em. My income is not fourth Of
what it was in New York. but / get
lots more genuine happines out of it.
I've cultivated a taste for observing
nature at close range. I'm better
man than l ever was before. never
drank to excess, nor was | particularly
hot
my general moral tone is higher now
than it used to be. possess the healthy
mind in the healthy body. l read
scientific books now where I used to
waste time on novels. / get my daily
newsDaD per, and that is the Sun, seven
at a time, it's true, and sometimes
fourteen when my neighbor misses his
regular weekly trip to town. But 1
read one every morning at breakfast,
and it's just the same as if I had Just
bought the cony from newsboy. 1
subscribe for two or three magazines,
and any books that attract my atten-
ton through the reviews generally find
their way to me sooner or later"
You never go to town yourself
them" inquired his visitor.
Mighty seldom. l hate the beastly
little hole. Now and then 1 take trip
into the valley. There are some friends
of mine living on ranches there. and 1
make the round of them and rather en-
joy a semi-annual exchange of ideas.
come back here with whatever rust
had accumulated in the previous six
months rubbed off,
Don't you find cooking and caring
for yourself a nuisance?"
Not in the least" said the ranch |
man, taking his pipe from his lips. Il /
tried keeping a hired man, but that !
was intolerable. l prefer my own so /
ciety. especially at meals and in the /
evenings. My neighbor, who is only /
three miles away. you know, brings 1
up whatever l need from town. He can /
be hired occasionally if / need help. /
but 1 seldom do. His wife does my /
1 can't say that 1 like wash /
ing things, although 1 can do it when !
necessary. l only have two horses and /
a. COW to take care of regularly. and |
they, like the dogs, are a part of the
family and 1 like to attend to them"
What do l do in case of sickness? /
been i'll since l came up here
first That's the beauty of the life. l
eat plain but wholesome food. / drink
water or cocoa. l seldom touch tea, be-
cause it eXcites my nerves at this al
titude; never coffee. Now and then in
winter l take toddy of Scotch whis-
ky. OF course, I've had colds and tenn
porary minor ailments, but not tenth
Is OFTEN as L USED 10 III clNlliZatlOn- L |
used TO get half crazy with nervousness
and worrying over nothing in the old
lays. Now 1 scarcely realize that /
nave nerves. Lonesome? No. never.
tell you. I'm pretty good society my
self"
And so he was. He was up on every
hing current in the world. He seemed
% have kept pace with the growth and
evolution of New York and the rest of
he United States as well as if he had
been in the midst of it. He discussed
New York politics as easily as Colo
ado topics. He inquired about two or
hree new plays. He had some criti-
,isms to make of the last two novels
hat made talk. And, on the other
land. he had learned woodcraft, and he
old of the habits of the deer at vari-
JUS seasons, of the best way to bait
year traps. of the time it takes to hatch
rout eggs in spring as compared with
liver water and of the easiest way to
the splendors e the noun
aims after a spring snowf g Then he
,ranched off into a discussion of Her
'ert Spencer's theories on psychology.
md wound up by cooking a dinner that
nciuded tomato SO1ID wild dlIcl- apd