The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-12-07
- MAN from these Attitudes might

!
after FIVE years spent on a coffee plan |
tatiOn in Guatemala.
This young New Yorker used 10 be
noted among his friends here as
hustler. He walked with a springy |
step and was always Oh the jump. His /
alertness was so pronounced that he
seemed almost nervous. He always APP |
peared TO be going somewhere in a !
/ big hurry.
His friends instantly noted the diff
ference in him whcp he got back from
| his long stay in Guatemala. His health
was all right. He had taken good care
of himself down there and, as he had
been living on the uplands, Creeping
Johnny. which is another name for the
I Chagres fever, hadn't got him.
But he had become siow-gaited, and
his old running mates here observed
what Il peuchant he had for sitting
down. dreamy expression had taxi
en- the place of the sharp look in his
eyes He spoke twice as slowly as be-
/ fore he went down TO Central America,
and a panied expression crossed his
/ features when he saw any OF his
/ friends hurryins.
His friends. in grief, told him that !
+ he had become dopy,
II don't mind you fellows calling me
| a dope" was his reply TO these re- !
/ marks. II am a dope, I don't suppose
( that I'd ever be anything else now. !
even if / stayed back here which II
don't intend doing. The dopy life is |
pretty good. after all. and I'm going
back TO Guatemala as soon as l look
all the folks over.
I'D heard d lot about the enervation
OF the tropics before ] went down
| there and bought an interest in my
/ cousins coffee plantation, but didn't
take much stock ia these stories.
Bucking the Dope.
Tropics or no tropics, I'm not go
ing to become any DOPE said / TO my
I self on my way down there. a little
matter Of climate isn't going to change
I a fellows habits so much as all these
yarrs tell about. When l get down
/ there I'm going to keep a swift move
on and beat cut this pipe dream about
the enervation of the tropics. Watch
mer
so you sae. / went down prepared
TO fight the thing. Looking back now,
] can sec what a bally nuisance ! made
Of myself i'm the view Of my cousin
partner during The first few months.
! "He went there from Chicago and
he used to be good deal Of a hustler
himself. He was a whole lot indis-
posed TO exert himself any more than
absolutely necessary when l found him.
however. and. OF course, | slammed
in and reproyed him for it. told him
That he'd become a first rate imita-
ton Of the extinct species known as
the sleth. and all that.
He only grinned and blew smoke
! rings at me-.
That's all right, Buddy, he'd reply.
You just wait, that's all, You'll set
| yours
Then he'd turn over on his sitting
room couch and blow smoke at the
wall, as If talking Was too much Ike
! work
Well I was Busy Izzy all right
for all of a month. perhaps two months.
] declared against the midday siesta
from the first dag, although everybody
/ down there, including the plantation
hands, knocks off and does a full
length sprawl for three hours at the
height of the sd&xT I told srny cousin
that this siesta Business was silly, not
i 10 say disgustingN
He didn't heaHme though. for he
was half asleep before I'd got through
telling him. / clattered around the
house and sheds and made enough
/ noise during the siesta period to keep
anything but a bunch Of chloroformed
men awake. They just let me clatter
and be dinged.
Nerve That Failed.
~ HiEAs put H. NY bNak " VI NlAN
ticks during siestas. hours. Ny cousin
I would lie on hisAcouch aud grin at
me when he was emerging from his 81
esta. but he .worldr't say much. except
TO tell mecthat 7 might as we'll be gay
so long as l felt that way.
/ Il inaugurated the rule for myself
that Ia dress for dinner every day no
matter how tired 7 felt.
There's no use in a fellow letting
himself go to seed and degenera ding
into an oaf just because he's made
! a change of base to the tropics, was
my way OF putting it TO my cousin in
establishing the dressing for dinner
rule for myself, and then he chuckled
and told me 20 go as far as L liked
-pajamas were good enough for him
to eat in so long as there were no
guests.
For the first month or so 1 rode
regularly every week the thirty miles
TO the coast town TO see the Pacific
Mail liner drop into the harbor and
TO take look at the passengers. This,
too. amused my cousin great deal.
II used to do that when ] first
came down. he told me. Liked to
catch. the CLINT of the sapphire sea.
and all that. Bully up here, SOS l
could look it over once in while
IT you like il so much l said to
him impatiently. why don't you get
aStrldc or that Sure-fOOted GSyuSe Of
yours and ride down with me tOmor
row? The Colima's in from San Fran
cisco tomorrow
I'm toe tired he replied. and then
he went TO sleep on my hands before I
could get an argument out of him.
Then. gradually after the first month
or so. l began to flicker and wabble. 1
cut out the ride TO the coast to meet
the steamer, trying to convince myself
that ] was too busy.
Then I gradually famed myself out
Of the notions of dressing for dinner. To
, get away with this without appearing
TO crawfish in the eyes of my cousin.
pretended 10 sulk over the fact that
he wouldn't dress for dinner along with
me.
IF you're going to continue looking
like a SLOUGH at the meal of the day.
told him, what's the use of my trying
to keep on throwing an aroma of civil
zati0n over this plant?
THAT was a cheap way of setting out
of it. but. for a fact. the DRESSING for
! dinner business began TO get mighty
tiresome.
! But when at the approach of the
, siesta hour the desire TO stretch myself
out-the example Of all the others Of
course had tremendous soporific eff
fect-began to steal over me. l fought
il tooth and nail-for all OF week