The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1900-01-04
Written for The Prison Mirror.


The beautiful rendition of the song
Consider the Lilies" by our new tenor,
recently, vividly recalled to my mind
scene | was so fortunate and unfOrtu-
nate as to witness out in Idaho, several
years ago. Fortunate because it caused
me to hear the most magnificent tenor
voice it has ever been my lot to listen
to; and unfortunate for its sad ending.
About ten miles southwest of Chal-
lis, Idaho, lies the Barn ranch, run by
Big Bill Rollins. There is nothing in
particular to distinguish this ranch or
its people from any of the surrounding
ranches. Its proprietor was just a
typical rancber found any where in the
west, just as profane and exhibiting
the same quantity and quality of
hatred for the horse thief and "Rustler"
as the ranchers around him. His "cow
punchers'' were of the familiar brand
Of windy, bulldOzing buffers, always
trying to find pretext for a "gun
play"
1t was to such place that Richard
- came one bright day. He was a
very handsome boy of the dapper sort,
about II years of age. His every look
and move denoted his having been
reared in a cultivated and refined
home. 1t caused great merriment TO
the "punchers" when he appeared at
the ranch and asked for work. His
big brown eyes and smooth, rosy
cheeks caused such feminine look
that one of the "punchers" suggested
ne might be a girl in disguise. At
1irst the boss refused to entertain any
notion of employing him. But after
an aside talk he succeeded by some
mysterious influence in getting Big
Bill to take him on.
Like all "tenderfeet" he was at first
subjected to an unlimited amount of
joshing, but taking all so good natured-
ly and being so handsome soon caused
the boys to desist, and he soon became
the pet of the ranch under the euphon-
iOus name of "Handsome Dick" Dick
struck boldly in the various tasks al
lotted to him and with great patience
and perseverance soon became quite
expert with rope and gun. Though
gentlemanly to all and willing to con-
verse on most any subject, he never
referred in any way to his home or
parents, though he might at times be
seen wandering in solitude exhibiting
all the characteristics of home-sick-
ness, he would reveal to no one his
cause for coming west.
But there was one man at the Barn
who seemed to possess strange power
of attraction FOR Dick. That was
-'TeXaS Jimmy" What the attraction
might he we could not understand, for
TEXAS" was silent, surly chap, dis
liked if not hated by everybody at the
ranch, and only kept on because of his
wonderful eXpertneSs at the punching
business, and similar in no way to the
bright "Handsome Dick and in fact it
iltu Uetu HIIltcu DIT, tndC "I0XdS
Jimmy" had more than once partici-
pated in "rustling" expedition, but of
course no proof could be shown Or he
would have graced "hemp" long before.
At any rate "TeXas" and Dick became
bosom friends, and after roundup,
would proceed to Challis, Bonanza or
some other town close by to have their
gay time
Things went along all right for some
months. then the ranchers began to be
troubled by "rustlers." Their opera
tiOns on the Barn became so numer-
Gus that the 'od man" was near wild
because no trace could be found of the
perpetrators. At last vigilance COM
mittee was organized and special
preparations made to capture the in
vaders. Then for time the "rustlers"
ceased to operate almost entirely. But
as things again grew lax their depre-