The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1899-10-28

4
I described as a hole in the ground
! and John as a tunnel with porch ID
! it," They were visited on their first
night by a big gray prairie wolf The
! bows had many experiences during
their residence in the dugout 1t was
! in this neighborhood that they captured
| enough beavers to enable them to buy
their first repeating rifle with the pro-
| ceeds from the sale OF the peltS. 1t
! was here, too that they shot their first
antelope. In the spring they migrated
again. and settled down at last on a
| rolling knoll covered with trees on the
| banks Of the Yellowstone. OF course
! John takes part in a buffalo hunt. lie
| also enters his old horse Badly In an
/ Indian horse race and wins. John
[ first profitable employment was con
nected with carrying the mails on this
same horse He left the neighhorhood
as the result Of a fight with a little
/ lriShman by the name of Casey. Casey
! whipped him. and the fear of ridicuie
! caused him to set out for Helena. with
$40 in his pocket. One of the very best
| things in the book is a graphic descrip-
| ton of stealing d ride on d railroad. y
| tramp. journeying from San Francisco
| to Chicago, befriends John and Shows
him how to ride on the brake beam.
! A peculiar sensation came over tine
| boy-half fear. half eXhilaratiOn. The
| whirrinS wheels clacked and thumped
| the rail joints, the ties flew underneath
| dizzily. the dust rose like a fog. and
the wind of the train ratified the small
| stones of the roadbed together: the.
| heavy car swayed above him danger
ously near. and John, half choked ana
wholly terrified, wondered if he would
come out of this irresistible WhiTlwind
of thing alive For a time he could
do nothing but hang on like grim
death. He was half unconscious: the
noise was so great, the dust so thick
and the motion so altogether terrifying
that he was nearly stupefed. After a
while, however, he noticed that the
dreadful racket did not increase, that
the clicking OF the wheels over the rail
joints had become regular. and that
all the sounds had a sort of humminS
rhythm. His nerves gu eted down
somewhat.
John becomes a bronchO buster and
COW puncher. An intellectual awaken
ing finally takes place in his mind. and
he goes to school, supporting himself
by peddling newspapers and doing odd
jobs He makes the rounds on an
old rickety bicycle, with which
he wins first prize in a free
for-all race, gaining thereby brand
new wheel. He graduated with homer
at the academy in Helena, ana
set out for the east on his new wheel
with the intention of entering college.
Alter describing briefly his 1,200-mile
bicycle ride, the author leaves him in
the parlor of rich man who had
promised to befriend him. The volume
is cOpiOusly illustrated with drawings
and reproductions of photographs. The
marginal illustrations are by Jeanette
Macdonald and a few drawings have
ty-in 1rtp nv
Thompson. This book. besides being
wholesome and fascinating reading for
the young. has the merit of being d
truthful picture of life on the plains
twenty-five or thirty years ago. Boys
cannot do better than to inform them
selves of the hardships of the pioneers
of our great and splendid civilization
Among those pioneers were boys and
girls as well as men and women.
The Bad Son.
There is one thing in this world worse
than a bad son, but he is an affection
that makes the heart culver with pain.
The love that was lavished on him in
infancy. the care that was taken Of
him in childhood, the hopes that were
built on him in bOyhOOd. the comfort
that was expected from him in Adde'S
cence-all these add to the woe of his
worthlessness He is TIE shame Of the
family. The bad son usually begins to
go down shortly after he is sent out to
work The possession of pocket money
urges him to find out where to spend
it. He visits saloons, cheap theatres
and ether resorts. He learns to stay out
late at night He forms friendships
with vicious companions. AS he grows
a little older. nature stirs within him
L, q,
straintS Of religion grow irksOme. Con
fession becomes repugnan't. Holy Com
munion has no longer a charm. He
loses his innocence and to evil he says:
BE thou my good" In the five years
from his fifteenth to his twentieth
birthday he takes all 1.-The degrees of
degradati on-he drinks, he swears, ne
CANDLES, he talks obscenely, he thinkS
impure thoughts, he consorts with the
vile, he seeks carnaI qualifications. If
his mother chides him, he shuts her up
with insolence and profanity. If his
father rebukes him. he responds with
sullenness or defiance Il take
care of myself" he mutters. knowing
that he has the ability to earn some
wages, but unmindful that he owes that
ability to the training offered to him
by his parents. Eventually home be-
comes disagreeable to him, he either
visits it only TO eat and sleep, or he for
SakeS it altogether. All the while ne
is going down further and further. The
prayers that he first lisped at his moth
er's knees are no longer said: the sweet
affections of family life are despised:
the principles of virtue are derided: the
duties Of religion are ignored: the glory
of Self-maStery is Scorned: and a free
rein is given to passion, sens,Iality and
debauchery. Sometimes he gets mar
ried and his wife either rescues him or
completes his ruination; sometimes he
winds up in the penitentiaSy; some
times he is placed among the incurabIes
OF the insane aSylums; sometimes he
fills a drunkard's grave. In most cases
he is lost to self-respect- lost to a useful
career, LOST to the honor of his family,
lost to the love of God. The down
ward grade is steep and smooth: it is
the upward track that is of easy in
cline even if it be rugged See the
steps toward the precipice-too much
spending money, late hours. evil COM
pan1onss malehcent resorts, disrespect
of parents, dissipation, profigacy, alb
sence from home, neglect of religion.
deliberate and persistent rejection of
grace, vice, ruinI Is there a young
man who will read this who is
ON the slope to perditiOn? Let
him change his ways today. Let
him take the counsel of his parents. or
the malediction of heaven may come
upon him. THE eye that mocketh at
his father or his mother and despiseth
to obey, the ravens of the valley Shall
pick IT out and the young eagles shall
eat it,"
Lawless Sparrows.
Sparrows seem to be governed bv
about the impulses that cause hungry
boy to tiptoe into the pantry and
coon fistful of cookies: that is. they
thlnk a thing is right because they
want to do it. It is no unCOmnon. t1fuo.
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