Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-24
HAD A RAGING THIRST
AN OLD MINER TELLS a REMARK-
ABLE YARN.
Liquor Supplied to snowbound Camp
Without Visible Agency-Myste-
rious Arrival Of Horse.

II suppose 1t is wrong to drink, said an
old western man to a Star reporter the
other night. but II there Is season when
there is an excuse for it, 1t is Christmas.
am not overindulgent. though ] do not
have to reproach myself for having missed
many chances for drink in my life. But
when Christmas night comes round l make
it point to see that 1 have hot toddy.
and It is made out of corn whisky. too. 1t
is more than drink to me. 1t is a solemn
ceremonial, the pouring of libation to
pleasant memories and recalling the one
Christmas night in my life when / wanted
drink worse than / ever did and there
seemed to be the slimmest chance of get
ting it.
ut happened about thirty years ago on
the back trail. There were six of us and
we were working claim down in southern
Colorado. near the south fork of the Rio
Grande. We made good days wages out of
1t, but the region has developed since then
and there has been more gold taken out OF
the very hills we were working in than
ever expect to see at one time. We had a
shack up in the hills close TO the shaft, and
got along about as well six people could.
Getting in the Supplies.
winter and intended to get in supplies be-
fore the flying of the snow, which was UNI
usually late that year. We fooled along
because we were doing pretty well with the
shaft and let the question of winter out
fitting go till about a week before, when
we had sent two Of the Yellowstone of the
prospectors and the packer-down to Del
Norte to get up lot OF sugar and -four and
bacon and tobacco, those being the only
real necessaries Of life. There was not
drink in camp, had not been for two months,
and we were too busy to bother about 1t.
We were running pretty shy on tobacco.
too. But 1t had been splitting snow and let
ting up and melting, and we figured that
we could put In another couple Of days
without getting caught.
About two days before Christmas. just
about the time the two fellows ought to
have been getting back. 1t caught US for
fair. There were twenty-four hours straight
of snow that Just wiped out everything,
and we were hemmed in for the winter, with
the ground frozen solid underneath and the
two fellows who ought to have been on
hand with the grub caught out somewhere,
the Lord knew where, and no prospect, but
for snowshoes. of getting In or out of the
hills till spring.
We'll. we weren't worrying much We
knew We could fish, cut bait or get out of
the boat. just about as We chose. There
was stuff enough in the shack at a pinch
TO see us through till the weather opened
and there were still few things to shoot
in the hills. At the worst we could 20
down to the settlements
Still No Report From the Grub.
Christmas morning came and no sign of
the grub outfit. We had been hustling
around and had pretty good dinner ready,
anyhow. Montgomery, one Of our party
had been out and shot a turkey. and Man
uel, the Mexican cook had put up a big
mess OF beans, which had been baked in
the Dutch oven. with a piece of pork across
the top 1t was one Of that sort Of hot
greasy dishes that you can wade into and
eat pounds of when living out in cold
weather We had made lot of bread the
day before. and Manuel served up the tur-
key red hot. with strips of bacon laced In
of hammock We had some molasses to
eat over the iapjacks and the coffee was a
dream. served In big tincups. And with a
pipe an around after the feed we came
1t was nice evening. The wind had
gone down and 1t had stopped showing
but 1t was cold as creosote and plum dark
We had in lot Of dry pinion wood. and
1t makes mighty pretty fire. The shack
was sort of half dugout, warm and com.
Portable. and those who couldn't f1nd chairs
and benches could sit on the beds or the
floor. We were fashionable, I'll tell Won
There was real bedstead built on each
side of the shack. and Manuel silent rolled
up In his blankets near the door. Next
IL, hnt
don't care where they sleep at that. Rnt
like some pomp and circumstances about
my slumber, and those beds were If ali
right. - al
Wanted Drink Of Good Depth.
We'll, Manuel got out his guitar and
curled up on the floor down by the fireplace
playing and singing half to himself. We
were telling stories in the intervals Of the
songs. and then there came a quiet streak
and Harry Montgomery, who always was a
sentimental sort of cuss, said If I had a
drink about a foot deep l wouldn't ash, for
nothing else
But there wasn't anything doing. The
cabin was as dry as the inside of a lime
kiln, and it was a good seventy-five miles
on snow shoes to the nearest grog shop:
But that unfortunate suggestion Of Harry's
was just the thing to set the crowd off and
then, of course the thing everybody wanted
worst in the world and the thing there was
no prospect OF getting was drink. We
commenced telling about the good things we
had had to drink in the course of our lives
and came to the unanimous conclusion that
We had never actually needed drink as bad
as we did right then. Shorty was for start
ing out and going down to Del Norte for
some liquor. But as 1t would have taken
about three days, we decided we wouldn't
Then we took 1t out in abusing the other
two fellows and wondering why they had
not showed up with the grub and the drink
This might have been going on ten min
utes when there was a row outside and a
sound like somebody trying to kick in the
door. We thought it was old Hart and the
packer and yelled for them to come In and
not monkey out In the cold. Then there was
a lot more stamping and hammering. and
no other response. and 'bangp something
went against the door again. Shorty reached
across the bed and sorted out Winchester
from the corner and / opened the door.
keeping on the lee side while did 1t.
Twas an Old Packhorse,
Blamed If the only thing In the doorway
wasn't a packhorse. He was pretty good
and thin and his halter was broken off short
near the muzzle, with a tear in the leather
not more than a day and a half old, either.
He seemed tickled to death to see white peo-
pie and wanted to come inside. But there
wasn't room for him and US too, SO we
took him up to the stable. where our two
mules used to stay when they weren't In
town after grub. He was hungry ali right
and would have killed himself with the collie
II we had let him eat all he wanted. But
we didn't.
Meantime Shorty and Manuel had gone
out looking for the people that ought to
have been chaperoning the packhorse, and
they let off their guns few times without
getting any answer. We figured there might
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