Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1899-08-10


he recognized the ridicule in the nick
name, and so, in order that his Amer
lean neighbors might have no excuse
for miscalling him, he assumed the
simple name of Smith. But he couldn't
get anybody to call him Smith until
his exploit of holding the bridge up
there relieved him from the nickname.
eau tell you the story before we get
down to San Rafael" And this is the
story he told.
Twenty-one years ago the silver
mining industry in Colorado was
booming from the discoveries a. Lead
vile. New camps started up every
where, one of them being Excelsior,
the town we have just left. Among
the people who came flocking in was
Bunglewits, then an applefaced boy
of II, square, solid and very strong.
He was an expert axeman and earned
a good living by cutting tim bers for
the different mines.
Bunglewits spoke English well
enough, but he was n reticent sort of
fellow, which is not surprising, for
none of the inhabitants, with single
exception, ever spoke to him without
trying to ''take rise" out of the
slow-thinking German. 1t wa. much
to the credit of BungIewits that he
did not actively resent this perpetual
badgering, for he was surprisingly
strong, and there were few men in the
camp whom he could not have
thrashed, had he been so minded.
The one person who treated him
well was Mrs. Benson, a quiet little
body, and timid, too, except when she
thought there was an injustice to be
righted. She was the wife of Martin
Benson, prospector, we'll known in
the place. By way of showing her
disapproval of the general maltreat-
ment of the sober, hard working young
German, she always addressed him by
the name he had adopted = Mr.. Smith;
or, later on, when she came to know
him better, Henry. She opposed the
whole town by refusing to understand
when anyone spoke to her of Bungle-
wits. 1t was a small thing; but, as
matters turned out she had good rea-
son to believe that her quiet cham
lid German boy.
The winter of 1877 was extremely
severe in all this part of the noun
tains. After the first heavy snow fell
in October the ground was never clear,
for one storm followed another until,
about New Years, there were three
feet of snow on the level.
One consequence of the hard
weather was that the timber wolves
became very bold The few people on
the outskirts of town who kept COW
were careful to shut her up at night,
and very often in the morning the
tracks of wolves might be seen in
the snow, where the hungry brutes
had walked round and round the shed
in the hope of finding an opening.
Two or three times during the win
ter they ventured to come right into
town, when their visit would be pro-
claimed by the yelping of some cap
tured stray dog. Children were kept
indoors after sunset, and even the
men disliked going about alone when
the darkness settled down, for the
town was unlighted then, and the black
WOOOS WueuCe tuo luufuuuerS came
fringed the little place closely on
every side.
Mrs. Benson's husband, Martin, the
prospector, went off in December
down to San Rafael to look for employ
ment, for he couldn't go prospecting
in threefe of snow Presently Mrs.
Benson had letter from him, telling
her to pack UP and come down to San
Rafael with the two children on the
following Saturday. She therefore
got ready and engaged passage in the
mail sleigh, which was wagon-bed
set on runners. The distance is 80
miles; the driver used to make the
trip down one day and back the next.
But the usual driver could not go
with Mrs. Benson and her two chill
dren, for he came in on Friday night
very late with both his hands frozen
So it was necessary to find man to
take his place.
Bunglewits heard of this, and being
out of work just then he applied for
the position, and as lie knew the road
well from freighting over it, he was
taken on trial. When the cumbrous-