Arizona republican., 1902-10-09
THREE OBSTINATE MEN
Opportunities for Starving to Death
 Repeatedly Put Aside.

w. c. Foster and w. E. Deity, who recently returned from a trip through | some of the Pinal county mining dis | tricts, missed the best opportunity to starve to death they ever had or prob ably ever will have. In company with T. F. Weedin, editor of the Florence Blade, they left Florence for Silver
 King. expecting to camp that night and get supper and breakfast at a ranch on Queen creek. They found the ranch
 all right but it was deserted, so they ate the small lunch they had brought with them and called it supper and breakfast. The next day they contin- ued their journey to Silver King, ar irving about noon with their gastric economy four meals behind the sched- ule their appetites were working on. They found the only family in Silver King was not keeping a hotel and was wholly unprepared to arrange a barbe- cue on short notice. However, luck less chicken was found on the ranch and he was killed and made the most of, together with such other provender as the family had a sufficiency of.
 After most hospitable entertainment they cancelled the back meal dates and again started their appetites and stom- achs on the same time table. They went to Reymert mine and five miles further down a road a humming bird couldn't fly over safely without air brakes, till they reached a level piece of road. Here the right hind wheel of the buggy threw up its job and laid down on them. broke square off, spindle and all They retraced their steps on foot for two miles to place where they had noted some poles, and securing a strong one, took it back and gave it fiattering employment as a buggy wheel. It was a "scab" and rather slow, but it proved to be a faithful worker. They arrived at Mineral Hill at 6:S0. with ravenous appetites and expected to find friends there. But that camp also was deserted and their stomachs slipped two cogs at once on the dinner schedule. They had wind pudding for supper and mashed feelings for breakfast.
 Mir Weedin has lived in Pinal county ever since Mineral Hill was a hole in the ground and is credited with know ing every cow track and burro trail in it, but he can't keep tab on the shift ing mining camps. However his capa- bilities as a guide probably saved their lives. He knew 1t was only seven miles over the mountains to Newberry mine. but a great deal further around the mountains, and 1t was so rough the only way Newberry could be reached within the space of time they were be- ginning to look forward to as the re- maining span of their natural lives, was to walk, and walk like gen. tlemen who had a purpose in view. The next seven miles of this story will be told in two words they walked. Their horses were left at Mineral Hill picking up the crumbs of the wind pudding and rustling for browse. Newberry proved to be a de- serted camp, but MT. Weedin had also been informed that Brown Bros. had "a camp near there. They found it without trouble. but it was also de- serted. MT. Weedin is not only a path finder but he is second only to Sher- lock Holmes in the art. of reasoning by deduction. He knew that if Brown Bros. were not at their camp or any where else they must be up at pros pect they had two miles further over the hills. doing their annual assessment work. Two miles more of this story and five and a half hours of time can be disposed of as immediately preced ing, by saying they walked.
 The strangest occurrence was that they finally found Brown Bros. and were well fed, thus spelling a good story, for in the natural order of things it was their solemn duty to have per ished of starvation and fatigue. Their stomachs were again four laps behind the tamale wagon on the commissary speedway but Brown Bros. dug up bacon and beans till further orders and the further orders were delayed. But men sometimes get a surfeit of good things, even bacon and beans, and the time came at last when Messrs Deity Foster and Weedin were no longer hungry. They might have been tempt ed with tutti frutti ice cream or mar mafade, but they had a sufficiency of bacon and beans and began to pine for home.
 One of the Brown brothers therefore started to Florence with MT. Foster. while Pathfinder Weedin and MT Deity hiked back over the trail to the wagon, well laden with hog jerky and army strawberries. When Mir. Foster arrived in Florence he immediately sent out the best wagon he could find in town to his former companions, who were crawling toward Florence in their crippled gohicle. He also sent along a nice lunch of lobster salad and the things that go with it-three bottles of Budweiser and corkscrew. If there had been local option election in that vicinity at the time 1t is a sure shot how Messrs. Deity and Weedin would have voted.