The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-07-15
TRIP IS MIGHTY LONELY.
A sOCTABLE SOUL WITH NONE TO
TALK TO IN THE MINNESOTA WOODS.



In my somewhat hcterodox list Of acquaint.
ances.- said eX-Alderman Brandt Of Binghamton
70 a crowd Of his friends at tho Gilsey House
Il number the loneliest man In the world. He
10 also the most hospitav,e individual ever
born and II any OF you should ever run across
him. which isn't likely, you wont be able to
tear loose unless you silently steal away. like
the Arab. His name is Trip. $. d. Trip Of
ltaska county. Mimi. and | ran across him
while I was up there last fall hunting moose
Nothing but moose and Trip would live In
such a country. Our party got lost and in
searching for a trail back to camp We ran into
mar about 90 years old with a weather-beaten
face. a long scroggly black beard. and about
the biggest arms and thickest shoulders ] ever
saw on n human being. Thai was Trip. He'd
been out looking for n strayed OK. but the
minute he set eyes IN us he forgot all about
that and made q rush for us with JOY just beam
ing out Of him like light out OF a bullseyc
lantern. He went the rounds Of our party
shaking hands and greeting us In voice that
woke the echoes like the conclusion OF thunder.
don't think I ever heard any mar that could
touch that voice. even with a megaphone.
"'Oh. but I'm glad to see ye.' he kept saying.
Lord bless ye'--he didn't exactly say that.
but that's what he meant--T'm tiokled to act
eyes on ye, Hahn got a Rlim Of a Teller cntter
sence last May. I'm old Tnpp an my shack's
right down here q piece. lord bless ye' how'd
ye ever git hereabouts' Com right along TO
the shack
His shack WIS the storehouse Of a lumber
ramp and was about twenty miles away from
Grand Rapids, the nearest settlement and a very
small one at that. From March TO the middle
Of October he had 10 stay there and keep watch
Of Tho stores. II he saw on an average one
person In two months he was in great luck.
and he never went TO town IA the trail was bad
and hs wasn't expected 10 leave the place alone
for long, As soon as We reached his home
he shook hands oil around again and cursed
MS with such Joyous hospitality that we wouldn't
have had the heart to decline his invitation TO
eat even II W. hadn't been mighty hungry.
He almost wept when the guide said we'd better
take the cross trail that Wa had rom TO and
get back to our own camp. was pretty tired
myself and ! decided 10 stay there for the night
and let the rest Of the crowd 20 on. Well.
Trip was so grateful I thought he was going
to hug me.
II thought yc had some feelin' fer a Teller
man In We, Lord bless ye.' he said. cWell have
a grand old talk, ! aint talked to a Teller since
last june and lIe wa'at no good. He was a
lumbar camp watcher, too. and he rid over
~ ~ w 'tAtiib ~ W A'NiiA ' i'Nh y In1ht q
little VISIT. / was mighty glad to SEQ HIM an
made nm rls9t TO home. But. blast me, II
hs.,%1 'da,t E ,or an o, lay he Tns Soin' back when
WINS tie, matter says l. "Aint
give W good iead?" | says.
"'""tts sd a.,S al >, right .nls Jays he
Drinks fac" says he. reachin' fer the
ms, have r. / " says tt / to hmm nui' yer 'ee''
NO" he says, you amt. Not a-pur-
Then what's aiin' YEP I says.
Well says he. i been here a couple
o days, he says, an you've ben .jabberin'
so fast all that time I amt got a word in edge
wIsa,, he says. L come over here to talk TO
a fellsr, man, he says, not to. attend a dod-
rotted lecture" he says, an I'm sick Of IT,"
he says; An. dod-rot my bones Il he didn't
rely goin' was so mad I think I'd a-shot him
Md had q qua
n,Grsat scott. said. you don't live in this
1T. That's lust what e did, though, Said he
lister keep me awake he said, 'scratcSin'
an clawin' at tho door nights. But I don't
mind EN- now. let 'em scratch; One night
tina. kept a%.sniffn' an a BLOWN ike a man
with a cold in his nose; got up still an put
Q? my heavy boots with the hob-nais, Mister
Iop.ned up quick an landed him a solid kick
right rs Under the jaw iIar-har-har;har,. and
yiu irlpp Iaughed tl No. shook the leaves
he, went, over backward an' I shut hui f ihc door
quick Last thing heard before I fell asleep
% wss tha| :, oar acclss,n' an, a,Sroanin' and
wa. gone in the norma. Bet he had a mighty
bad iaw-ache; har-har-har"
be afraid Of wild aaimals. said he'd take hts
chance with the best Of them, give him a club
and q knife. Only trouble with the animal,
was that they wouldn't stand up and fight,
he SAID. ] thought. myself. they showcd good
sense. for J believe he could have whipped three
times his weigh in almost anything, and his
that there was N his shack he showed me with
great pride. His entire library consisted OF
a ws hrG ,Ssr,bske Life Of P T Barnum: 50
t 6tv heart, be]eS @s" Would ire reel p, Of S WSole k pss.
sages OF It from memory and spiced his con-
dissertations Of Barnum's circus he listened
with breathless interest. Barring George WASH
s opror,,v w,is w VI gan HI hnd not had the same
ltevcd Barnum 70 be the greatest man In Ameri-
ca history, His one other relaxation, he
PLAYED, with an amazingly dilapidated pack
OF cards. I showed him my camera and prom
ljed to take his picture in the morning. which
now AID then the subject would crop out in
his conversation. which never stopped for ten
Try 10 O'Clock 7 was very sleepy. bu,
rs ever: began to sympathize with the mar
from Wildcat Creek. Finally | had to tell
Trim ] wanted In turn In. Although no was
polite about y ] could seq he was disaprointed
n me; probably expected me 10 alt M all night.
But he said we'd turn IN right away. only he
wanted me 10 read n letter from his niece first,
and a cory which he had kept ~ the answer he
had sent her The niece WIS a young girl in a
good boarding school here in the East and she
wrote Just like any other CHEEKY school girl
Her letter WINS full Of the fun Of school life and
the young 10y OF living. But the old mans
snswer-.Nell, ] wish had made n copy OF H.
TNccpt for tho moral reflections c,lled from
the life of ]. !. B., N was a masterpiece. Some
where under hls rough exterior 1ripp had n
spring OF poetioal feeling IN him, and he had
labored over that letter: two weeks In writing II,
he said. lie described the woods 10 her. the
solemn notes Of tho night wind in the tail trees;
the sspringing Of the flowers, the quaint
and friendly habits Of the wood animals
would only parody the thing by attempting TO
quote " from memory. There was ono pas
eage that particularly struck me: n description
81 n flock Of looms sailing down IN a moon-lit
lake, In full view NJ his win dow.
Where's that lake?' asked him 4
haven't seen anything OF the sort around here
That's IT, he said pointing to a muddy wal
low, black under the clear moonlight. 'It's
nothiin' but green slime mn rotten weed an
II loon over got into it he'd stick in the mud
an die, But fwa'n' goin' 10 lot that girl think
nature without no soBl for appreciation. a.
the life of y. T Barnur saws. Besidcs,' he
added httla wistfullv, 4 always have kindr
hankered after the gold ~ the moonlight on
clean omen water. Say, but don't them quota
tions come In good7'