The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-08-03
LIFE OF ARTIST
IN ARID NEVADA
S. 7. Beniams Tells of Painting
Landscapes and Beer Signs
for a Living.
RIDES WHEEL ON DESERT
BICYCLE is NOT CONVENIENT
MODE OF TRAVEL.

| S. 7. Beaiams, artist, writer, poet, pros
pector globe-trotter and man of the world
generally, arrived in Salt Lake from Man
hatten yesterday. He has been in that
camp for nearly a year.
Il have a studio out there where | paint
everything from sketches of the country
to beer signs" he said MY studio is
a tent. | have it divided into partitions.
l work in one part, cook in another and
sleep IN both of them. My feet are in
the kitchen and my head in my work
shop.
Manhattan Greatest Camp.
"Since leaving Salt Lake l have been
knocking through Nevada picking up its
dust, alkali, and growing more fond of
the sagebrush state each month. Manhat-
tan is Nevada's greatest camp, or win be
when the present intense heat has passed
and mining and building commences. The
camp is yet an infant, but is already
wearing the airs of boy in his first pair
of long trousers. There are now in the
neighborhood of 5000 persons in the town.
which Is no longer tent-city, but is brag-
ging a stone bank and numerous fine
frame buildings. Material and supplies
are hauled from Tonopah, forty miles
distant. This means the outlay Of good
sums for everything needed but the men
Of Manhattan have the money to pay
for the best.
1.-THE Manhattan Water company. re-
Gently incorporated by Manhattan men
and capitalized for 100000 proposes fur
nlshing the town and all concentrating
plants which may be built with an ado
quate water supply Wells will be sunk
above East Manhattan, affording a drop
Of several hundred feet. The water Is
excellent for drinking and cooking pur
poses, and, | have been told, for bath
ing. The company has placed a par value
of 81 each on its shares and these have
been bought by residents of the town.
Bicycle Acts IdioticaIy.
Mr.. Beniams started from Manhattan on
a bicycle His trip is explained by hum
something in this fashion:
when | started | was on the machine,
but If l thought this was TO last | was
mistaken. l struck a stretch of sand.
Then / got behind and pushed that ma
chine. The front wheel acted like drunk
en- man, so | tried to pull il along. This
picked the thing up ana carried it on
my shoulders. he pedals kept turning
and every once in a while would try to
take an ear off. The front wheel acted
idiotically and slapped me in the face. The
chain chewed at my shirt collar. The
whole thing tried to tie itself into a bow
knot around by head.
Fooled by Mirage.
'Mirages are unpleasant jokes. You
see what looks like lake of cool water
just a mile or so ahead of you. lou
squeeze and Ooze through sand ankle
QGSp 10 reach lut maven
ahead in a few minutes You walk an
hour and find it has moved another milo
further ahead Instead of reaching it,
the lake and trees and green of the spot
lead you, gaining when you walk fast.
After riding that bicycle on your should
er until evening with aching legs and
parched throat you find the lake and
the trees have disappeared. Then you
cuss Manhattan whisky and swear to
take the pledge when you reach town.
You do reach a town If you keep go
ing. 1 reached Milletts, a little ranch
camp. where | plunged into tub of wateI
and splashed around like a little child.
Millets is forty miles north of Manhattan
and consists of a store a saloon a res
taurant and several other saloons.
town site has been laid out and recently
a large body of the richest showings yet
made in gold have been brought TO sur
face with the aid of pick only. Mil
let's will boom this fall. Nevada is a
great country, but its sand is not invit-
ing to tenderfeet."
Mr. Beniams says he will remain II
Salt Lake several days and then return
TO Manhattan. his studio and other pos
sessions.
IT came down to shake hands with
friends and buy tube of Devils red
he concluded.