The Washington weekly post., 1899-10-24
Traveis of Pilgrim Ioe.


Travels of Pilgrim Joe.
l vas driving along the highway be-
tween the towns of Never Despair anu
Lost Hopes. seated on my tin-type wagon
and having my bottled grasshopper be-
side me, when / met up with a sorrer-
ful-loOkin man who had a bundle on nis
shoulder and was limpin on his left Lee.
Without the cornerstone of Integrity
to sustain US We must fall like a house
of sand" says l. as we stopped to greet
each other.
And without Truth to uphold Us We
should wither like weeds at the wayside,'
says he.
/ saw that he was critter with poetry
In his soul and | was glad, and l got
dowr from the wagon and took his IN
washed hand in mine and continued:
"He who lacks Faith is but a cucum-
Der of the ground. Faith strength
ems the heart and puts springs under
the heels of the wayfarer."
That's kerect," says he, "and with
Ambition one surmounts the hilltops
and reacheth his goal. Kin / take it
that you are a critter with missionary
mishun?'
you kin. I am speakin kind words
as l travel and seekin' to make human
ity better. Dost hunger for consola-
tion?"
Il dost," says he. 'T want you TO
take a square look at me and tell me
what you think of my personal shape.
l don't claim to be no Jim-dandy, lut
when my feller-critters pint the finger
of ridicule at me it is like a knife ar
my heart"
How long since you've seen yourself
in looking glass;" says l.
Twenty years, Pilgrim he an
swers. Vanity hath no place in my
ieart. Humanity maketh a man friends,
but Vanity is bar trap lying in watt
''Pll take your tin-type and let you
behold yourself
And thereupOn / asked him to posture
himself with his back to a tree and
smile on his face. and 1 got down my
camera and proceeded to business. In
a quarter of an hour l had his picture
ready. 1t was a faithful counterfeit of
the homeliest lookin' critter in the en-
thusiastic West, and as / handed it to
him / said:
Man that is born of woman is not
always purity, but the world will judge
him by the integrity of his character.
rs that my picture?" asks the old
man after gazing at it for awhile.
tits you to a dot"
Cant be no mistake about it? The
cog-wheels and linch-pins and piston
rods didn't git mixed up while you was
takin' the picture?"
Not mix. It's you to the life"
Then the old man fell to weepin'. and
! leaned up agin the wagon and felt sor
rer in my heart. l was about to speak
words of comfort to him when he says:
Pilgrim, | knowed l wasn't purity, but
this is too much! If ! am the critter this
makes me out TO be it's no use livin' any
longer. II you was a man with a soul
you'd have cheered me up instead of cast
in me down, and you shall perish with
mer'
ThereupOn he flung down his hat, lifted
his arms and sailed into me. He was an
oldish man, but his muscles were hard
and his sand was plentiful. / fit him ac-
cording to the rules of John l.. Sullivan,
but / was a-weary before he reposed on
his back and announced that he had had
enough. Then l damned him for the sake
of his mother, and chugged him in the
cause of morality, and l cuffed his ears
bulwark which could not be overcome.
By and by he stood on his feet and went
his way, but the spring of enthusiasm
was not in his heels, nor was there
weH-spring of happiness in his heart.
When he was far away 1 mounted my
wagon and drove on, and as the old hos
logged and the grasshoper bunted his
head agin the cork in the bottle l found
myself exclaiming:
1T is not the wealth We lay up in bank
that brings happiness, but a clear con-
science maketh a man TO glow in his
SOUL
And also:
1T is better TO argue than TO quarrel,
but If the other feller refuses TO argue
then swing your right for mis- jaw and
put him TO sleep"
And also:
Humility becometh a man at all times,
but don't be so humble as to let every old
critter get away with you"
And when he had logged a mile or more
We came to the sodhouse of pioneer, and
sitting on the grass By the door Was a
woman whose eyes were red with weep
ing.
Woman, wha1 is thy sorrerg' / asked
as l halted my outfit.
~ am a widder woman she replied,
as she wipes her weepin' eyes.
How long is ii since you laid the part
ner OF your bosom awayY'
Seven years or more"
Then you ought 10 have got over weep
in by this time l believe most of 'em
cease TO weep after the first year"
But I'm not weepin' FOR my old man."
eh- Ktft
fills my heart with sorrer is the fact that
no second husband comes along. Other
wilder women are gettin' married every
week, but no one seems 70 want me. I'm
liyin' here ali alone and workin' this
claim with my own hands"
Then l looked al her a long time, and !
noticed that her shoulders was Topped.
her nose turned Up. and her mouth was
cut on the bias. There was no beauty
about her, but she was good-hearted and
sorrered to become an ivy clinsin' TO
sturdy oak. / therefore got down my
camera and posed her as picturesquely "a
possible, and took her tin-type. AS
handed 1t to her the rapture Of her soul
was revealed in her face There was
smiles and laughter and rejoicin'. for she
had discovered that she was beautiful 10
look upon
And / Will do yet more / said. as she
hesped blessings upon my head When
ever and wherever | meet a lone critter
as | go my way | will show him one OF
these tin-rypes and bid him make haste
and secure the matrimonial prize before
all others"
She wept again. but this time II was be-
cause OF her great JOY and gratitude
Thus | left her 10 jog along again and the
lengthening shaddefs OF the summer
afternoon. and as I logged | reflected:
Had / bin rich / should not have me.
ole Guyasicutis and thumped higher and
LobleT thoughts into his mind
Had / bin great ] should not have been
In the lLn-iYpe blZness. and the Hidder