The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-03-25
HARBINGER OF SPRING.
The Crayon and Portrait Fiend Is in Ev
ilenCe.

Great Falls. March 24.-Among the
harbingers of spring, the hobo with his
roll Of blankets, the catalogues of seed
houses, the kindly remembrances of the
agricultural department., which take
the form of packages of free garden
seeds, house-cleaning, the upturning of
soil and others. comes the crayon and
colored portrait fiend. No doubt there is
a demand for his work or he would not
be quite so Ubiquitous: very probably he
is an evil to be endured, like spring
fever and sareaparilla advertisements,
but he is certainly too frequent in this
city at least Compared with him the
book agent is long lost brother The
picture charging man or woman, as the
case may be, comes into the house, usu-
ally without wiping his feet. He in
sists on an inspection of his wares and
upon occasion he criticises your taste
in art, your books and pictures. and
perhaps the carpet and furniture. If
you admit that you have no photograph
of a dear, deceased relative or friend
to be distorted into carica ture, ten
thousand times worse than the original
sun print with a "bee-u- IT, full bronx
ed frame seven inches deep and all for
$12, payable in monthly installments,
he shows his contempt and sometimes
is led to make disparaging remarks
about your family. He insists that a
lovely crayon, done in colors so life
like that the face seems ready to step
out of the frame, is precisely what you
require in your business and the daily
walks Of life; it will be a perennial
comfort and joy; it will Danish care
and thoughts of the butchers over
charges, cure boils and pimples and re-
store impaired vitality. Time cannot
wither nor custom stale the infinite va
riety of the monstrosties nor the
agents arguments and patience. He
greets the householder from the porch
when he arises in the morning and the
latter's mind is filled with reverbera-
tons of the agents amending ripple of
talk when he lies down at night. There
is no surcease of sorrow for the house
holder until he has purchased a cross
house-dog and a repeating rifle and
spreads a reputation throughout his
neighborhood for being heavy Shout
der hitter.
Spring here is no exception to the
rule. For the past two months the sew
ing machine agent has been RELOCATED
to the background by the man with an
encaSed portrait. Down on one avenue
in this city even the dogs have grown
to recognize him and a band of three
have apparently formed a trust of anti
portrait action. They gather at the first
approach of the agent and when they
nave Hn1Sheu the agent is a mile away
and still running. Such dogs should be
exempted from license and given pen
sion by the city council.
Sometimes the visit of the agent is
amusing. One elderly gentleman with
the customary sample recently called
on the south side. When the woman of
the house had firmly told him that she
did not wish a picture because she did
not care for that sort of thing. the man
started doing up his traps and in the
process he looked up with queer smile
and said, "Well, you know ! don't care
for 1t myself-wouldn't have one of the
things in the house-but man has to
make his living some way
Not all of them are as frank as this,
and some of them do not agree with
him. A woman peddling the same kind
of wares called at the same house
shortly afterward. When the refusal
came, she shifted and remarked: II
suppose there hare people in the world
who hare hincapahle of h'appreciat-
ing hart" And she f1ounced out of the
door without even saying good day.