The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-02-22

does. He has chosen a hobby. and he
| rides it, His legs are proportionately nc
| longer than those of other birds but that
does not matter. Such as they are, he will
| make the most of them.
| He is like a Maine farmer of whom /
| have heard, plain tiller OF the soil, who
feels. nevertheless, that he was made for
nobler things; not for a cart-house, but
for q race horse He may be working on
his farm, at the plough. we will say; sud-
denly the impulse comes upon him. as in
spiration is said to come upon a poet;
there is nothing for it, but he must start
and run, and so he does. Once every sum-
mer he travels from Maine to Mount
Washington for the grea. event OF the
year. When he arrives at the Summit
House, the world is passed around. and
every one knows what is to happen. So
and-So is going to run. The daily news
paper chronicles his arrival and announces
the hour of the annual event. When the
minute arrives all hands gather upon the
platform before the door, a man appoint
ed for the purpose holds the watch and
gives the signal, and down the steep
road starts the farmer. his invariable
tall hat on his head, and his coat-tails
flying At the Half Way House, and
again at the base, his time is taken. If
it is less than lasts years. so muc. the
more glory. If it is more-well, he has
run; and presumably, like Cincinnatus be-
fore him. he goes to his plough contented.
The road-runner, suspect. is subject to
the same irresistible ambulatory impulses
and by curious coincidence he too, wears
what we may term tall hat" / should
like to see him racing down the Mount
Washington road, pulling himself up now
and then by a sudden uplifting of his
tail,
The temperature here-for temperature
must always be mentioned in writing of
ones travels-has thus far been pretty
for a walker, though not
without something of a contradictoriness
which seems to belong to weather condi-
tons everywhere and always; roses in all
the gardens, and steam in the radiators;
black and white, padding about
In mud barefooted overcoats on and not
collars turned up. Concerning
such things here in San Antoine you
take your choice. For myself L have COM |
promised the matter, keeping my boots on |
and wearing, except when the sun has |
been warmest, a very light spring over |
coat.
The great drawback to a walking mans |
comfort and just now the most impress |
sive feature of the city, more impress |
sive by far than the old Spanish mis-
,ions, the most famous of which. the Ala
NO, is right at my door, has been the
ov1I ~Iaa nd odh
han glue If you go outside the city your
shoes gather it as rolling SNOWFALL
gathers snow, and it is like one of the
abors of Hercules to get it off. l walk
about, scuffling and kicking, with pounds
# it on either overshoe, like dark fringe
md I fancy L know how it feels to drag
| ball and chain. However, conditions,
ire better in lnis respect, and in any case
hings might be easily worse. Yesterday
morning, seeing the sky clouded, l re-
marked to the elevator boy as l went
lown to breakfast that l believed it was
,oing to rain; and | add sententiously,
More rain more mud" Yes" said the
10Y, quick to resent an imputation upon
he climate of Texas, land the more rain,
he better crops" The state it appears,
ast few seasons, and no doubt its people
an afford to play the mud-lark for a
While in the winter. 1t makes a differ
nee whether you are a selfish, pleasure
eeking tourist. thinking only of today's
omfort or man with his living to make
ut of cotton plantation or market
arden.
For the present, if the tourist wishes, as
do, to walk in the country. he does well
0 betake himself to one of the numerous
abroad tracks. These have carried me
lto places and shown me many inter-
sting birds; but they would be more con-
enient if they were not walled in, mile
fter mile, except as highway or a PLAN
alton road crosses them, by an extreme
' high and close barbed-wire fence Yet
ven this ugly obstruction has served me
ne slight good turn. A man of something
Ike my own age and build was trudging
long the track in front of me, a day or
wo ago, and when / saw him approach ;
ne fence as if he meant in some way to
)rce a passage. You'll never do it," 1
lought. Really. there seemed not to be j
pace enough between the wires, even If
hey had not been barbed, for a human
ody to squeeze through: but to my as
,nishment the man slipped between them
-ithout the slightest fumbling or hesita-
on. and without so mucn as a barb's
0uching him. He must have been a
l am sure. 1 could not have
'llowed him without tearing my clothing
, tatters if all the wealth of the Indies
ad been spread before me on the other
I moi Sad
/ the mans address. Such practice he
lust have had 1 hope he was never in
Ill. 1t was like the neatest japanese :
lgglery, or the famous passage of a rich L
an through the eye of a needle. AS I
ave often said, l love to see man do
nything. though it be only to shovel dirt.
he can do it better than anybody else.
The greater part of the passengers that
ne meets in such out-of-the-way places
e short, swarthy Mexicans. Usually
ley are able to bid you good morning" =
to ask you how you do" but now and
len you viii hear 'buenos dias." In the
~ one finds them at every corner selling
,cuiiar-looking CONNECTIONS. Whether one
<es their wares or not-and, for one,
'nfess that l have not made up my
outh to try the experiment-their pres
ice gives one an agreeable sence of being
r from home. Two days ago l was
from San Pedro Park at noon
Id noticed for the first time few buzz
rifles on the wing Most of them were
UGH like our common yellow one-evi-
nuy some species of the Collas-but oy
Id by l noticed a dark one, showing n
UGH Of red as Il few. l took chase