The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-09-27
iMPERTURAeLE BOB DAVIS.
Csan Francisco Bulletin.J


CSan Francisco BuIIetin)
A few years ago everybody in San
/ Francisco knew Bob Davis, or at least
/ Bob Davis knew everybody in San
Francisco. He told good stories, but
| he himself was the subject of better
| ones OF late years, thanks to William
| r. Hearst, he has been working in a
| wider field, tO-wit, New York, where he
/ was until lately a star reporter on the
! New York Journal. 1t took Bob-hiS
cards read Mr.. r. H. Davis about
/ two weeks to get acquainted with
| everybody of any note in New York
| Before ten days he was calling Croker
| Dick, old man, was giving various
! members of the Vanderbilt family tips
on railrOading. was calling all the girls
! in the smart sets by their first names,
/ and had said "CheStnutS, Chauncey,
/ at a public dinner after one of Mr. De
pew's happiest efforts These stories
are the result of earnest endeaVor by
| his friends to explain BOb's own origi-
/ nal way of getting along in the world
I In any situation it was a good, con-
! sentative risk to bet against L that
4, Bob would land on his feet Nothing
| perturbed him. One night, after he
| had been browsing about in the library
| of the Press club, he stalked into the
smoking room with a book in his hand
Boys" he said to the circle about
/
It's a new novelist and he writes great
! stuff. l wonder no one ever discovered
him before
He showed the book to the others. It
was Vanity Fair" and the new nov
/ elist" just discovered" was William
| Makepiece Thackeray. That story was
! told on Bob for many a day, but il
! has been superseded by another and
better story.
This new story came to San Francis
| ~ N latter written sam Davis of
I the Carson Appe2l-Bob'S brother-tO
a friend resident here.
It appears that eight or nine months
ago the Journal sent Bob Davis to
| Mexico to interview a certain Colonel
! Macdonald, who is a very wealthy
! mine owner and ranchero. The colo
| mel is known throughout Mexico He
has a beautiful home and is extremely
! hOspitable.
In literature the coloneTs favorite
reading is stories by Richard Harding
! Davis. He admires immensely the ere
| alton OF Van Bibber- Everybody in the
! province knew of the cOlOnel'S literary
hobby and he was suffered to ride IT
| at will. At the height of his enthusi-
| asm and after the ninth perusal of
| Gallagher" the colonel sat down and
| wrote a letter to Richard Harding
/ Davis, inviting the popular author to
| visit the rancho and stay there as long
l rs he pleased. "All possess is at your
! service he wrote.
| In reply he received a courteous note
! from Richard Harding Davis express
! ing thanks for the invitation and re-
| gret that he could not see any oppor-
| tunity to take advantage of it. All this
/ happened a short while before Bob was
| detailed at New York to interview
/ Colonel Macdonald in Mexico
One day the colonel, while coming
out of the hotel in the town near his
| ranch, paused a the desk to wipe from
his mOuStache the dampness left by
the fifth mint jUlep. AS he stood there
/ his glance lighted on the register and
ne yelled aloud, for, 10, the last sig
| nature on the page was ''R. H. Davis"
| The ink was fresh.
| Hes herel" shouted the colonel "Ah
the sly rogue. he wants to take me by
surprise, does he? I see it all Well,
I'll surprise him"
Forthwith the colonel gallOped home
/ and decreed a great feast Couriers
carried Invitations to all persons of i'm
pOrtance within a four hours gallop of
the Macdonald rancho. When he saw
that all was well, the cooks toiling at
the spitS, the servitorS astir, the colonel
rode back to town to hunt for his
guest. He found Bob on the veranda.
| Mr.. Davis, you honor Mexico by
| your presence said the colonel Il
hope l see you WE'LL
| Fair to nfddling, old buck, replied
| Bob, extending a languid hand How
| are yOu?"
As the colonel proffered his hospital
| ity, sugared with many compliments
| ana quotations from Van Bibber, Bob
| perceived that he was not the Davis
whom the colonel took him for.
II accept your kind invitation" said
Bob. Here, porter, get my trunk; but
/ feel in honor bound to inform you
| that / am not Richard Harding Davis,
but plain Bob Davis of the New York
Journal. I am Mr.. Hearsts special
ambassador to Mexico"
The colonel in purest Castillian e1ac-
! ulated some mellOdious and polysylla-
bic profanity.
'T shall be the laughing stock of
Mexico" he said. They shall deride
| me from FL Paso to Panama. But no
hear no denials- My dignity. my
| reputation. is in peril. I chriSten you
Richard Harding Davis"
This plan was not displeasing to Bob.
/ He saw plenty of fun in it, besides a
| chance TO get his interview with the
| colonel.
That banquet is a glorious tradition
/ In certain part of Mexico Tho donS
smack their lips as they recall the vi
ands and the wines The senoritas still
/ tell their younger sisters of the glo
| ries of that feast And the conclusion
! of the description runs ever;
But the best thing was when the
| great Mr. Davis. the divine genius, re-
| sponded to the toast Literature Oh,
/ what fine things he said and how clev-
erly he said 1hemr'
The truth is that Bob's effrontery
and cleverness delighted the colonel.
who kept him at the house three weeks.
During that period Bob entertained
/ Macdonald with a thousand stories
When the hour of parting arrived the
colonel made a present to the reporter
or a government lottery concession
| winch rOf1ld he