The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1903-06-11
,. 5 WAS a large, com.
pactly built man. As
far as I am aware, no
one has ever accused him
Of. possessing mental
acumen greater than
Goethe or Spencer, but
there was an air of hon.


there was an AR OF hon.
esty, of trustworthiness about him
that made one feel perfectly at
ease in his presence. It is doubt
full if he cared for, or even heard
of, Darwinism, or the Higher Crit
icism, or Modern Tendencies; but
he knew from experience-and
was proud of his knowledge-that
after an all-day ride, or walk over
the undulating prairies OF the
West supper of roasted prairie
dog, parched corn and rattlesnake
sauce is a meal. fit for the gods.
He didn't bother his head about
the solution of the great problems
that threaten the stability of So
ciety, and some professed to pity
him on account of his seeming
lack of thought, while others en-
We'd him his superabundance of
robust health, and unfagging good
nature. He told plain tale that
ran, as near as can remember at
this distant date, as follows:
II was born in Ft. Wayne, In
diana, in the year 1851, and came
to Omaha little while after [ had
cut my wisdom teeth. [ worked
at smelling a number of years, but
didn't like it bit. It was too
confined. There wasn't elbow
room for man of my calibre to
show what stuff he was made of.
The work was disagreeable to me-
in fact, the only thing above the
job that I liked was that it had a
pay day attached to it, and tho [
often grumbled at the work [ al
ways drew my pay with cheer
fulness that surprised many. I
saved few hundred dollars, and
then became the victim of grand
larceny-a blue eyed Irish lass
stole my heart. Now | don't care
how improvident young fellow
may be, the moment he falls in
love he wants to lay the world at
the feet Of his beloved. It's my
opinion that every true lover be-
lieves this universe contains moth
ing so valuable but it falls short
of his sweetheart's desert. If he
don't feel that way he isn't in
love. that's all. At 1925 day it
takes long time before you have
got together enough to buy even a
small world which you can toss at
your lady love in careless sort of
way, saying: Here's little world
for you, my dear So, in order to
purchase a world of considerable
size for the little thief who had
purloined my heart, | concluded
to go west, and dig gold. But l
wanted partner.
"In those days there boarded at
q certain Tenth street hosiery
man who was known far and wide
as old Jack WEIGH. He wasn't
over 35, but he was old Jack
WEIGH 'allee samee.' He had made
a stake placer mining in the Black
Hills, and was now living on hisin-
come and his reputation. His repu-
tation consisted in being considered
the greatest liar, the hardest swear
er, the best jumper, the quickest
shot, the cleverest boxer, the tru-
est friend and best of good fellows
one could meet with in a thousand
miles of travel through a thickly
inhabited region. I desired very
much that this old reprobate
should accompany me to the dig
gins but didn't know exactly
how to tackle him about it. But
love spurred me on, and one even
ing, when Mr.. Jack was particular
" good humored, | staggered him
by asking if he had ever been in
love.
".Who? Me? Bet yer life /
E.