Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-09-14

casper Mlehle was carpenter by
trade and an idler by preference he
sor,e 10 old Town In the boom days OF
u,,r,ne determined to strike It rich and
,tter fifteen years OF desultory pros
.oo,,ne intermittent carpentcring and
rotber steady loahng round the Gem
saloop he now found himself the more
Or less happy possessor OF seven chill
dren. scoldlng wife, tumole'down
sbop and a general reputation for all
round worthlessness'
Fifteen years OF incessant drudgery
&c calculated TO sour the sweetest tent
ner but Mrs. Miehle might have toiled
on IN weary contentment II her Oldest
son had shown any signs OF being a
comfort or help. But he didn't. He
took after" his father, and even i'm
moved on the latter's constitutional
aversion for work, The boys name
was Jake, and from the time he
learned to walk till he was IA years
old his reputation was "ornery," For
sIx maths after he had achieved the
arr of walking he refused TO take n
step. When he had mastered the alpha
bet and learned to read his primer he
began to play hockey, spending school
hours fishing In the creek and tagging
homeward only In time to sit at the
evening meal,
The boy was sturdy OF frame, mild Of
manner and quiet as an Indian. When
other boys ran he walked; when they
laughed, he smiled when they talked,
he listened The quality Of "pose" was
all over him. He was as stubborn as
a burrO and shared with that singular
beast the characteristics that made toll,
speed mirth and enterprise abhorrent
10 them both. Fishing was his chief
occupation till he was 10, Then he de-
yeloped hereditary passion for pros
pecting, and passed half HIS days roam
ing slowly over the foothills and up the
silent canyons, filling his ragged pock-
cts with worthless bits Of quartz, crys-
tails that sparkled in vain and agaes
that he could barter for fishing tackle
among the small boys Of the town.
When he was n he came across q
pocket In the hills, from which he
scraped and gathered score of bright
dered stealthily into the village jewelry
store and spread out his find
what they wuthY" he muttered 20
the proprietor
The old man weighed them, washed
them and held them to the lamp.
"Taiffany II give you 80 cents an
ounce, Jake. Them is Rocky Mountain
rubies"
The jeweler sent the stones 10 New
York, and in two weeks Jake got his
half-dollar This incident proved TO
be the turning point in Jake's life. First
he divided the money between his FIVE
little brothers and sisters, and then he
bought a rubber rattle for the baby.
That proved his possession OF the rare
and Incompatible quality OF unselfish-
lless. Second. he got an unmerciful
Tanning" from his mother. because
she was sure he had stolen the money
and he wouldn't explain matters. This
clinched his reputation for stubborn
ness and taciturnity, but Il also had
the effect of driving him into pute and
deep-schemed rebellion. For days
thereafter he moped about the town
OF sat on his fathers dust-covered
bench, dangling his legs and whistling
softly TO himself. II he felt any resent
ment against his mother he didn't show
Il by word or look He watched her
bending over the washtub and hlpped
gravel al the drying garments In the
back yard till she gave him a cuff on
The ear. But be was back to dinner,
and at supper devoured more bacon
and beans than all the other children
together. Then he skunk down the main
street with his brown hands deep In his
pockets and his cap pulled over HIS
eyes
Tain't no use bein' so plagued hard
on Jake. nanny" said Casper 70 his
wife as he filed his pipe.
II s'pose you want me TO raise up u
family o jail birds" snapped the weary
woman, Lord knows that there lad Is
spilled now, an the fust thing we know
he'll be Robin n bank"
But he never robbed nothIn'. He"
Wizard he git them nickels he's
been squanderin. then? Him lashin'
money round like It growed on bushes,