The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1905-08-31
imaginable sort. Some were true and
some were not,

imaginable sort. Some were true and
some were not.
was about seventeen years of age
when introduced to Old Neptune. I
at once passed my dinner up to him;
and shiver my timbers if l had had
anything else in me, would have
passed that up too. One old unsym-
pathizing salt remarked: "Look out
kid, or you will also pass up your
Shoes"
Now, during the time I have been
laid up here, like shark on dry land,
the salt has been absorbed from my
system, the barnacIes have worn of.
and the sea yarns are all spun, so here
is story from the West. When the
Union Pacific Ry. was completed, I .
was passenger on the third through
train to arrive in Frisco. However,
did lot 60 to Frisco, but got off at
Odgen and went to Salt Lake City.
Say, shipmates, that was the ride of
my life. The train was not fast one,
but it was rough and full of excite
ment. At some of the stops wagon
masters would pass through the train
and offer from $4,000 to $12O in gold
per month for teamsters to haul
freight to Montana. ..-4
In those days Indians were as thick
as sagebrush on the trail. As my hair
was short and not growing very fast,
declined the offer. Were there many
buffalop Great sharks you should
have seen them! They were thicker
than fish in the sea. Why, they had to
put rubbing posts around the telegraph
poles in order to keep the buffaloes
from rubbing them in two. Buffalo
hides; why there were millions of them
and they could be bought for song.
At each siding you could see salted
hides piled up like slabs, ready for
shipment. One day there was big
stampede of buffaloes, and they came
rushing down upon me. Being young
and agile succeeded In getting on the
back of one Of them. I must have
walked at least two miles on their
backs before I got to one side and in
safety to the ground.
When I arrived at Salt Lake City
there was circus in town. It was
the first to 60 over the new railroad.
1t was called the "Yankee Robinson"
show. One-third of the seats were re-
served for Brigham Young and his
family. 1 was mighty curious in those
days and rubbered considerably. l Sc
cured a seat as near as could to
Brigham Young's section, and this is
what saw and heard between the acts:
"How do papa; how do"
"Ah, by the way whose children
are your"
"Oh, we are Mary's, Kate's and Me-
linda's."
Great harpoons, but this staggered
me! For moment thought would
flop into the scupper. The great proph-
ct did not know his own children.
1 left Salt Lake City shortly after
this and again boarded the train. just
west of Ogden we ran into herd of
buffalo, This delayed us for several
hours, as it is bad proposition to try
and butt train into herd of buffa-
10. While waiting for the monarchs
of the prairie to pass, everyone was
saying: "Wait until we get to the sum-
nit and we will be all right, for then 1t
is all down hill" af
Well, I never reached the summit.
missed the train at Truckee. Here
secured a job as night watchman in a
sawmill. On my first nights watch
which was as dark as pitch-a big bear
stuck it's nose in my face and grunted
l resigned my job before the bear could
grunt again, and did not stop until
had travelled at least twenty miles.
. was young in those days and was easi.
ly excited. But l think even Daniel
l Boone would have run under similal
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