The daily morning Alaskan. (Skagway, Alaska) 1899-1904, 1902-08-05
I.o.N'N'N'N'N'N'N'N'HsN'N'N"
USELESS
JIM"
BY William J. hampton
BY William ]. hampton
CopyrigAL iooS By ~

and thrifty parents, but No was no eA-
emplar OF the doctrine Of heredity. Az
boy be had gone TO school bocauso
II be had not gone there the truant on
Ger would have made existence else
where uncomfortable for him, and jim
dearly loved to DO comfortable At
school Il was easier to remain at the
foot Of bis class than higher up 80 b
philosophlcaIly chose the easy thing
and stuck to H. Jim was not a mis-
ehievous boy or a bad one IN any sense
because those attributes require effort
to maintain them. As somebody hae
to be at the foot OF the class and there
were those who were discontented
thers tho teacher accepted Jim a. q
special providence and made tho most
OF him.
Its beyond me about Jimmie" bis
mother was won't 10 say. "He amt o
bad boy nor I'D to no mischief, and
you'd think when DO went 70 school
he'd learn his lessons Just because he
didn't want 70 learn nOthin' elsa but
be won't learn q single thing, good or
bad He Just seems 10 DO everlasting
do less - settin' around and settin'
around and settin' around And I'm
sure he don't get II from the Anderson
side OF the house neither
MrS DOty was an Anderson. and this
conclusion OF hers was an unsupported
animadyerslon upon Mr.. DOty because
that worthy man not only made a very
comfortable living, but owned a small
farm and bad money laid away for .
rainy day.
When Jim was old enough 20 go 20
work, bis father secured q place for
him TO learn the carpenter trade, which
was rather a surprising selection. as
success In that depended upon q akin
which did not appear 10 DO one OF the
charaOeo@seics q TIE Foung approntioa
Il put him az that Mr.. DOty ex-
planned to an inQulring friend, because
I've seen that boy 80 on q soapbox IN
tho shade and Whittio fer six hours
hand runnin'. OF course he never whit.
ties nothing out OF the wood be uses
Up. but I kind OF thought maybe be
would learn to II put him az earpen.
term"
Time. and not a very long time either,
proved the speciousness Of Mr.. Doty's
logic, and Jim was no longer seen
about the shop where he had essayed
to handle the drawknife and the saw.
After this attempt to make q skilled
laborcr OF bis son Mr.. Doty thought
possibly there might DO an undevelop-
ed instinct for agriculture In the youth,
and jim was sent to a farm not far
from the village. His usefulness IN
that field was manifested within three
days by his return to the parental roof.
whats the matter nOWr' inquired
his father when Jim walked into the
house az supper time and calmly took
bis accustomed place AZ the table 40 n
be had not missed a meal
Dunno" replied Jim uneoncernedly.
"Old man Sparks said he reckoned the
mortgage on the place was about all
the load Il could carry az present and
be told me could 60"
Mr.. Doty smiled. He couldn't DO very
harsh with his only son, because. while
DO did nothing to add to the glory and
honor and wealth Of the name Of DOty.
he did as little 20 bring shame or soT-
row upon H. Mr.. Doty recognized In
Jim a negative blessing. and many IA
theirs would be only TOO glad n they
had such sons
BY the time Jim had reached his
twenty-hfth year be had tried his hand
at every kind OF work the village and
vicinity had to ofrer. and DO had 40
CURED nothing except the title OF use
less Jim" But Jim did not worry. He
was a philosopher. and bis good nature
was imperturbable
why the dickens don't you 90 70
work. JimT' said Hanks the grocery.
man, one day as Jim sat on a salt bar.
rel in the shade chipping away at the
chine with his knife.
Got a Job you'd Ike to give meT' 70.
sponded Jim In a willing tone. and the
groccryman disappeared. He might be
anxious enough TO see Jim have a Job,
but he did not care TO assume the rela-
tionship OF employer.
As nothing else OF permanent char
acter offered itself. Jim concluded, en-
tirely on his own volition. TO fall In
love. They say an idle brain 10 the
DEVILS workshop. and surely ho found
a fine place for his business In Jim.
Why Jim ever fell IN love nobody could
say, and he did not know himself. nor
did be think Il worth the EFFORT to dis
cover. Il was enough for him that be
was In love- and he was serious about
Il, toO-so serious. indeed, that be
wanted to marry the object OF bis
choice forthwith thereby displaying a
wholly unsupported energy.
This object was Mary Candy. the
blacksmith's daughter and also the VII
lags schOolteacher. She was pretty
and bright. and she liked Jim because.
although dlslnclined to bodily exertion,
be was not slow Of wit and be could
talk we'll
"For goodness sakea. Jimmie" said
bis mother-she called him Jimmie as
n Ia warn affI1 n hov-tsvvhakever 40