The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1900-09-06
THE APRICOT CUTTERS.
Striking Scene In C,Iif..
Fruit Valley

there is an upland valley In California
where at certain season of the year the
bare ground is golden as far as the eve
can see-a blaze Of yellow and tawny col.
or, IKE that OF a vast field Of poppies
But this yellow carpet is composed moi
or howers, but OF apricots drying The
valley, which Is so high in the mountains
and so bare that almost no dew falls
there Is the focus Of the apricot harvest
ers for score of miles about For all
but few weeks during the year the
place Is lonely and quiet. Then of a sud
den small army invades tia polyglot
crew Of laborers, Mexicans, Swedes. Chi
nese. A village of tents and huts springs
up. Flat cars run all day up and down
the mountain, bringing the ripe apricots.
And these are slid on trays into the long
sheds where the people stand at work
men, women and children, each with a
tag bearing number about the neck.
and sharp knife in the hand. A single
turn Of this knife by a practical hand
halves the apricot and drop the stone on
the ground, while the fruit falls into a
second tray. When this is filled it is slid
out into the open, checked off 10 the
workman's credit and set on the ground
to help fill up another of the endless rows.
III 1t is hot oGt there where the indigo
sky burns in fierce rivalry OF color with
the spreading orange, il is hotter in the
sheds, and the smell Of the apricots and
OF the piles of stones is overpowering.
The workpeople wear as few clothes as
allowed; their nesks are bare and their
sleeves rolled to the shoulder. The white
thick-muscled arm Of a Scandinavian la
borer moves in unison with the thin,
swarthy, hairy arm Of the Mexican next
him; next is an arm shrunk TO yellow
skin and bone, tattooed, with a green
jade bracelet sliding up and down it. 1t
looks scarcely human-in fact, it is the
arm OF a Chinaman There are perhaps
dozen 'chinks" scattered among the
superior breeds; they work silently, with
lowered eyes and expressionless faces,
enacing themselves as far as possible
They labor here as in the gold fields,
risking their lives daily TO scrape together
little hoard of money which is an added
risk; constantly on the watch for a dan
ger which they have no means of re-
sisting, for the law in that country deals
not with the white man who robs a
"chink' or sends a knife into the yellow
mans feeble body And there are white
and brown desperadoes in the busy crowd
men who will do anything even work,
for little money, but who much prefer
the easier method OF Iooting weaker
brother.
There Is scarcely pause for eating at
midday; work must go on while the sun
shines. But at night the apricot cutters
are paid Off filing in long lines past the
paymasters and showing their checks.
And that there may be no reason lacking
for merriment or for fighting, there are
plenty of women in the lines--blonde
white girls Indian girls. black browed
Mexicans. They all stream out into the
sunset, chattering. laughing. A long
breath of the fresh air ends in shout at
the beginning of the nights freedom and
license. There is no twilight, the sun
has dropped below the rocky rim of the
valley, the great stas fash out in the
dark sky, and answering fires twinkle in
the GALLEY.
Each tent, each hut, sheltering fam
lily perhaps, or perhaps only a solitary
Chinaman, has its fire and its hanging
kettle, where the evening meal is to be
prepared. Here an American is frying
bacon and boiling coffee. At the next
fire a pretty Mexican woman is making
con carne-whie her husband lies on a
blanket rolling cigarette. And down
at the end of the row poor John bends
over his little fire, stirring something in a
kettle which may have more than a fam
ciful resemblance to the Weird Sisters
brew-for he eats worse things than
"eye of newt and toe of frog
There are pungent and appetizing
ss-
eating, and after that everybody appar-
emily is happy. There is talk and laugh
ter and shouting from one fire to an
other, and neighborly visiting Then the
guitars begin, and the simple gay, sem
suous Spanish songs. A big negro thumps
banjo. Men and women saunter up and
down the lane between the pickering
fires, or wander off into the shadows to-
gether. Respectable people smoke cigar
cites. or pipes, or chew tobacco, and the
"chink' lies on his blanket and hits the
pipe" which is a difficult and unholy
thing to do
Where there are men and women
there is kissing and trouble, and where
there are men and money there are dice
and more trouble. AT every other
campfire, lying about blanket on the
ground, men and sometimes women are
gambling, with dice or cards, and little
heaps of nickels and silver, bank bills
being unknown and gold thing to be
buried In the ground IL possessed. Pres
emily these things have their natural
outcome. A pistol shot rings out In the
wonderfully clear air. shout follows
and some people leave of lovemaking or
gambling and run to see what has hap
pened. 1t is white mans row, OF
course. for Spanish blood prefers the
knife. An American has shot another
for walking with "his girl" He has
reputation as a bad man. and the
crowd that gathers about his tent has
no thought Of action, even II they
could see any reason for It, The dead
ia Fl cd irntn his tent and