The representative., 1901-06-20

OF this organization adverting in wistful
anectfonate. I-wish-I-were- back there again
terms to the state Of California" remarked
Ex-Tank No. 10 Of the Harlem Club Of
Former Alcoholic Degenerates, glancine
about and mailing with his gaze the mem
bers that he had in mind. Each and every
time that have listened to these tender
bark backs to the long, dakish. fore-and-aft
commonwealth with the high freebcard, the
bear banner. and the numerous lodges OF
the Native Sons Of the Golden West, have
felt that l had q butt-fn a-coming. In
difference, however. to the obvious spirit Of
woozfshness-er-Out Of respect for the pal
pable gumminess of the recollections OF
the-er-because l didn't want to seem to be
endeavoring to tear way the veil Of disillus-
iOnment-and er-well, California won't do,
that's all. 1t won't do at any stage Of the
route. and have spoke" and Ex-Tank No
10 thrust his hands deep into his pockets
and giared about him ferociously. waiting
for challenges. None being made. he re-
sumed his wonted expression and proceeded:
Far be 1t from me even to hint that
the archives of this club contain q burned
sight too many illusions to eventual strokes
OF luck whereby certain members OF the
organization cOntrived to break away from
the Pacific coast with observation car cou-
pons. the kick stuffed to repletion with the
yellOwbacks and a:l or the shiny carbOns
out OF the saturating plants. I'm not going
on record with the statement that, while
myself achieved the Joy Of seeing the anne
thystfne Pacific receding in the rear OF a
car with the brass handles. and with all the
goods on me at that, the amount of luck
that fell against during my entire stay In
California could be crowded into the left ear
Of real young gnat and never Interfere
with it's hearing.
"You can rig up more getaway plays that
cont go through in California than in any
other state in the Union. You can frame
up more difrent kinds and colors OF escapes
from that particular section CT the land OF
the setting sun that don't pan out, that
don't assay two bits to the car load than
in any other neck of the North American
woods. l was in California, all told, less
than a year, but left several years of my
life there at that There was no grandstand
finish to my desertion Of the Sierras either,
like there seems to have been to the with
leagues in, this outfit. l sort O. edged away
from that state after about six feet of the
soil thereof had pretty nigh fallen on top
of me.
'It all came about because they would not
give me the whole Northern Pacific railway,
including the branch lines, to play with.
For couple of years. until early in '93,
was contracting freight agent of that road
in Portland. Ore Then l got mad because
they didn't consult me about the issuance
OF bonds and rolling stock equipment. and
things like that. and l quit
Previous to quitting. however. ouqet
to say thAt I had declined to visit my6f-
fcS under E1y circumstances f0r S01f
weeks Twao too bnsy. I-WnS busy Ik5o
tAfobfnI A0v1htufes n the wet M1k y
lgl 1tE % E2E&f11a AZ fts en4 q
weeks, when visited ny once 91d =,
newed ny demand TOR the whole North1s1
Pacinc railway, and they refused to ha16 4
then and there, and-wefI, I quit.
THE next three weeks l also devoted IA
the search for poetic adventures that would
lift my existence from the level Of the COM
monplace, and I might have been out in
Portland on this quest yet, only l went
broke. When I went broke I took a long
look at the Willamette and reached the
conclusion that perhaps after all wasn't
exactly fitted by temperament for an artis-
tic existence-that had too strong a lean
ing on the side Of shaves. and nice, clean
linen. and shines. and proper hair cuts. and
nail files. and things like that.
$50 took the first job I could seize out
1t was job with a jute importing house
in Portland. Then the panic came along
this was in '93-and there was nothing do
ing in jute. About half of the commercial
section Of Portland was jettisoned in deep
water in that panic. When the jute house
toppled and found that l was going to
need work real bad, and that the bottom
had dropped out of Portland so that a bank
er's son and heir couldn't get a job as
street car conductor line that his IA
ther was president of. l was quite alarmed,
SO to speak.
"I thought Of little old New York, where
no old kind Of financial raj-mataj ever
stops the game or keeps the trucks from
moving, and l was mortified to think that
l wasn't bac,. there, 80 I was. OF course,
hated to leave Portland to extricate itself
from its troubles in its own plodding way
but l had $50 when the bust came, and !
couldn't see Portland at all any more.
II had about $18 OF the $50 when
dropped off in San Francisco. and was let
ting the rickeys and the high boys trickle
into Hennessy-it was work that required
and l went after it Immediately upon my
debarkation from the Portland train. San
Francisco had taken It's share of the jabs
and upper cuts during the panic, so that by
the time got there it was a case of whist
ling for the dog every time you struck 2
man for work.
"A cruel person with a benevolent smile
informed me, after I'd been hunting for
work In San Francisco for a week, that a
big packing company in Sacramento was
taking on a large force Of accountants, and
Traced for Sacramento as il the section was
all staked out for me there. However l
found the Sacramento packing company de-
serted and in the hands of a quartet OF
gun lighters with many non-colectable bills
for coal and tin cans and machinery. which
caused me to reflect In a very unkindly
manner upon the personality OF the cruel
person with the benevolent smile who had
cheated me into blowing myself to a ticket
for Sacramento.
the palace trains that saw swishin2
through Sacramento, bound in the general
direction Of Manhattan beach, but the best
I could do was to watch 'em curl up in the
distance. BY this time l was ready to go
to work for a Chink truck ranchman. l
xAAA D.1 1sa
some construction work from Santa Mar
gherita to San Luis Obispo. and so with the
remains Of the $50 wherewith had staked
myself before abandoning Portland to its
fate I went down to the nice old mission
town of San Luis Obispo.
Here, on my countenance, l depicted
myself and my costumes in the old Ra-
mona hotel and embarked on a social ca
reer. l desired to make q hit in San Luis
Obispo, for 1t looked like a case Of living or
dying there. At the end of two days had
one of the principal contractors sufficiently
faded to extract from him a promise OF
work a week later, on Sept. /. He prom
ised me the job OF bookkeeper for one Of the
tunnel outfits.
Therefore. I went In heavy on flowers
for the girls in the hotel, permitting the
genial Mr. Fredericks. the proprietor there
of, to enter the amounts charged for same
in a neat, clerkly hand on his books, as
well as the accruing amounts for livery
stable charges and other little similar de-
tails. He had begun to get nervous, as /
could see. before had the tunnel book
keeper ship in prospect; but after that prom
ise Of work was the ace at the right end
Of the straight.
"A couple of days before was due to go
to work I assumed the bum suit Of my
repertoire Of toilets and started out for the
camp, seven miles from San Luis Obispo, so
that could get broken in to get the right
. kind Of q clutch on nv lob on Sept l.
When I got to the camp found that word
had just arrived from the chief engineer
q the southssa Pacific to close down work