Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-02

Il saw that somewhat cynical axiom.
Clothes make the man. work In IN entire
ly different fashion from It's usual acceptae
ton on q visit that made to the far west
for material q bit moro than ten years
ago." said well-known illustrator who
was recently in Washington.
1T was on q visit that made to Wyom-
ing and Idaho for q collection Of ranch
types wherewith to illustrate q western
story that had In hand. took my camera
along to save myself the trouble OF rapid
sketching-tl1at being a practice often fol-
low, working up the Photographic material
upon my return to my studio in the east.
Il was particularly anxious to get hold Of
q flrst-class ranch foreman type-not an
idealized young chap, but a grfzzled man
perhaps little stopped forward, hide brown
ed to such a hue by exposure that no
bleaching could take 1t out Not all ranch
foremen answered to the type that l had In
mind. although most Of them had exhibited
those general exterior characteristics to my
view on visits that I made to the ranch
country years before.
after three months search for a man OF
this sort caught sight of him one after
noon as was stepping from train at q
little station in Idaho, from which l was
to travel distance of thirty miles to a
ranch belonging to an old friend. My man
reins of a pony carelessly thrust around
his neck, while he rolled himself brown
paper cigarette. He was my ranch fore
man to the life even IL he wasn't fore
my kodak from it's case. AS did so, was
delighted to see him step down from the
blackboard, and to observe that even his
legs fitted my ideal Of the sort Of ranch
nifcently bowed from long years in the
saddle. as well, perhaps, as by the aid OF
little original nature.
II approached within ten feet of him.
getting the focus as did so-he was stand
ing In a bit of shade, by a shack, where
the light just suited my purpose-and when
he heard me and turned to face me l was
making the final movements toward get
ting him in the center of the ground glass
and swapping him. r.---
He watched me curiously for half min
ute from under his huge wind-tanned eye
brows, and then the gun in his belt came
out quicker than flash.
Drop 1t, Ombrey. and up with your
hands, quick! he amazed me by saying
in very quiet but meaningful tone never
taking his eye from the camera, and l
stopped enough to break the fall of the
camera and dropped it and obeyed that
other order about raising my hands with
more alacrity than I've shown in obeying
anything else since left school.
Now, Ombrey.' said my perfect type
of grizzled ranchman, what fur kind Of
you're tryin' stack up tn bulge on me
with. hey?' and he kept regarding the
dropped camera steadily with his grey
eyes.
Then. of course, had to laugh. and 1
suppose my laughter was so innocuouS or
natural or something that he couldn't but
laugh along with me. But4 didn't display
the unwisdom Of lowering my hands until
I had explained to him what the camera
was, and how innocent my purpose had
In ring IN got 10 h11lc On I'm
with it. Then he tucked his gun back into
his belt and picked up the camera, while
1 explained its workings to him. He had
never before seen a camera Of the hand
variety, 1t appears, although he had heard
OF them, and SO he had regarded my move
ments as menacing from a perfectly natu-
raj point of view even though I was
plainly q tenderfoot.
I'D like to have you permit me to take
a view or SO of you as you stand said
to him after our mutual explanations,
and in return for the favor I'll send you
half dozen copies Of each when 1 have
some printings made from the negatives
HE scratched his chin over that and a
Studious expression came into his face.
Well, I'll tell you what, Ombrey,' he
said after moments pause, I hain't got
much more than a minnit's time right now
got t. hike up t. tn old C-circle-S with
back-an' I won't be gone more than hour
or less-w'y. I'll let you fire away all you
lines up to. an welcome
''Willing to oblige him, feeling that he
might sour on me and pass my camera
performance up altogether If didn't, and
knowing that had a couple of hours to
wait before the conveyance was due to ar
rive to carry me out to my friends ranch,
I replied. certainly. and that he'd find me
at the Golden Age feed joint up the way
when he got back. He nodded at that,
jumped into the blackboard, and drove rap
idly away.
81 was still lingering over the ch1lch and
bacon and coffee Of the Golden Age, about
was a whirl Of dust out in front which
caused me to look out A man was getting
out of blackboard that looked familiar.
But the man didn't look familiar by the
longest twenty leagues that were ever sur
yeyed.
HE was. as saw when got look at
his grinning face, my ideal type of the
ranch foreman. But. in place Of his cor
duroys Of the plains make. the withered
rusty boots. the red shirt with the polka
dot blue knotted handkerchief. the gun belt
and the characteristic SLOUGH hat. he had
got into as bunchy. bulgy and generally
hopeless suit Of Omaha store clothes as
ever I saw on a mans back He wore a
paper collar about four sizes too large for
him. with large bone collar button, I'M
screened by any cravat whatever. His shirt
was a conventional billed one, worse off
than it had been from the road dust. and
he had on a pair of cheap looking laced
shoes in which he limped painfully. He
had shaved himself apparently with great
care. and his hair was slicked up under an
ordinary-looking Kossuth hat. He was
grinning broadly as he stepped into the
feed shack and addressed me.
Thought I might as well slick up
bit. podner.' he said as he limped in with
the shoes that hurt him. AN put up a sort
o tony appearance. SEEM that this yere Is
tn first time I've ever had tn tintype game
sawed of on me. Go ahead with y'r picter-
ma chine-let 'er flicker
What was the use? What could I say
to my absurdly TRANSPORTED ideal type? I
didn't care to take chance. either, on get
ting that sultriness into his eyes that had
observed in them beforehand so just stood
him UP and took a couple of views Of him.
They made him look like quite respecta-
BILE carpenter. living. we'll say, in middle
Iowa. sent him all Of the copies made
from the prints to the address he had given
me-and didn't find another ideal ranch
foreman type on that visit