The sun., 1903-06-14
DRAW P0KER q ERr ozARks.
A Drummer Tells Of the Advan-
taees Of the Country for Study
ing Human Mature.

The talk in the smoking compartment
of the drawing-room car on the eastwart
flying express had become extremely des
ultory. The day was hot and 1t seemed
easier to think and look out Of the Window
than 10 keep up any interchange OF ideas.
Presently, however. the young mar
from the university settlement made SOM
commonplace remark about the variety o.
scenery one could enjoy In crossing the
continent He had been across the con
tnent and back and II was the event OF hi
life
The travelling salesman looked at hin
a little c,iriously for moment, and ther
said.
"Yes, it's true that you can rec great
variety OF scenery from the car windows
II YOU travel far enough. The country .
pretty big, and It wasn't all laid out by
landscape gardeners
But, after all. you want to get away
from the regular lines Of travel and wander
round promiscuous like, before you realize
how various things really are. It's like
judging people.
-You don't get much of a notion OF what
a queer animal man really ia while you
stick to the cities.
| The university settlement man grew
serious.
"You ought to be with us for a while. '
he sad, "if you really want to study the
/ vagarles OF human nature. 1t seems 10
. me the place to observe men is where men
are
The drummer smiled.
edly But what l meant was that there
are small communities scattered all over
| the country in out-of-the- way places where
| tho customs and the speech Of the people arc
so widely variant from the general run OF
in a foreign country when you visit them. =.
ground, and some Of is pretty Wild yet.
'Tisn't all cities, nor all farms. And men
are considerably like trees. You plant EN-
i suppose that is 10. admitted the other.
"but cities are queer. and mon grow a.
queer there as they do elsewhere
Admitted" said the drummer, but
what mean Is that there are strange types
Il had occasion last winte. to 60 hun
, dred miles away from the railroad up into
| the heart Of the great wilderness that lies
| on and around the Ozark Mountain range.
was looking for man who forgot to settle
| his account with u before ne closed out
| his business.
"I didn't And him. but did see some
curious things before got back to ciyiliza.
tion. That's no idle phrase, either ior II
the people in some OF the places l vislted
OF the word.
Il rode into a small village one evening,
| just before II grew too dark to see the body
| Of man dangling from the pimb OF z big
tree, right In the middle Of the town. II yo9,
to run across anything Of the kind before,
! and II naturally gave me Q great SHOCK,
for concluded, OF course. that there had
been lynohing party at work in the neigh.
borhood, but saw no crowd, and no sien OF
sons in sight. and decided not to ask any
| questions. It's good rule not to be In
| auisitive, find, when you are among
| strangers.
But after I had found the tavern
there's almost always tavern in the small
est settlements-and had had my supper;
my curiosity got the better OF me. and
| I asked the landlord, who was q good
natured looking man, il there'd been any
"He said. no. ne didn't know Of any
| thing particular, and said thought maybe
there had, for it looked to me as u somebody
had got in trouble lately. Then he iaughed1'
oh You mean the hsnsinh heen he sam saa
plainin quite some about that. I told
the boys 'twan't fttin to leave that SCALA
wag danglin' onto tres right Ia ,Ine;to close to
| home that way, even II they did suspicion
| him O bein' hoss-thief.
body that felt like takin' the trouble TO
down tomorrow, though
This was sufficiently startling. but he
which. it appeared, was the name Of the
unfortunate who had been hanged, was
believed to have stolen a mule from one
of the leading citizens Of the place and
although there was no direct proof OF his
Vas that he'd took the mule, an had ought
had been. accordingly
II should think said the University
Settlement young man. that it was a good
remarks % to tx citizens Of that place"
the drummer. Now it occurred to me
that it was a most excellent time for me to
inaintdin an eloquent silence. Anyhow
say have regretted it yet. Maybe II I'd
said what thought might be quite eorry
now, unless / was pretty dead.
,..l, changed the conversation. and no not
thinking, at the moment, OF any othsr t9p,,e, !,
they played the game much around there
| That subject will interest any man who
plays. and the landlord Frightened up in
an instant.
| les, ne SdIu, lUeS pidy u Iisut
when the boys have money, an they are
pretty flush just now. seein' what crops
there was have just been paid for.
"He suggested that there would be q
i game later that evening in his back room,
most likely, and assured me that would
he heartily welcome If thought I'd like
to sit in.
at didn't appeal to me very strongly. ee-
pecially in view of what l had just heard
about the preceding days proceedings
and said that perhaps might look on Tor
a while, but that wasn't much Of player
That didn't meet his view. The boys
kind o don't like 1t much to have strangers
lookin' on while they plays, he said, but
il you care to play It II he all right
$50 decided to play for a while, and pull
out as eoon as had lost few dollars.
Toward nine clock the party. gathered
and when saw them concluded that a
twenty five cent limit would he about the
size Of the game. There wasn't man
there who looked as II he owned more then
$40 in cash, for they we're all roughly dressed
and rough in their general appearance,
ev. n one whom afterward learned wae a
doctor, and another whom they called
Squire.
But when they bought chips they called
for a hundred apiece, and flashed the money
all right. And It appeared that they played
table stakes.
Il didn't like to back out. even at that
so bought. too. Therc were ak in the
game, two Of them being farmers. and. as
| I 0athered from fhe tall hein0 the opoa