The San Francisco call., 1908-12-20

ladies said she felt just 'turble' about
papa, but the son in law or the cap
tain took me aside and tipped me off
that the captain was merely plotting
few large schooners of 'steams' into
port and that he would be back again
in the port of living men.
II had my story all right and huS-
tied back TO the Office. L thought the
editorial staff from the managing editor
down to the office boy. would be on
hand to greet me as the fair haired
child when got there, but
when 1 did arrive 1t was TO meet
an irate city editor, and he said things
to me 1 did not think it possible for
such nice, suave man to get OFF his
system That was my one and only
assignment in San Francisco. L guess
the the paper thought | was too good to
After that tryout at journalism on
the coast L beat it down to Fresno and
went to work in prune drter, That
was soft berth for me. / got all of
50 week, and as 1 only had to pay
$6 a week for board, you can see that
had great surplus to spend on wine,
women and song.
when had finished my great la6ors
of teaching a plum how to behave as
a prune. l went up to Calaveras coun-
ty to see the home of Mark Twains
lieve me, / think every word of that
story is true, for / had little ex-
perience up in that county that had It
even on the jumping frog episode.
when 1 hit Calaveras I had a COM
panion. Pennsylvania graduate.
Neither of US had any money, but We
cruel world. We hit a lumber camp
one dreary night, and say. we were
the hungry kids. The fellow who ran
the outfit was Maine man. and he
had a lot of fine big Swedes working
for him. l almost forgot my hunger
I'm my open admiration for these great
blond Vikings. but the call of the
appetite finally got the better of my
artistic sense and / asked the old
boy il we could get something to eat
He curtly told US he was not running
long talk about being hungry and he
finally told us to sgo back to the
kitchen and gorge ourselves. We did.
That meal was no table d'hOte affair,
but / never relished a dinner more
than I did that one, and I have dined
in every first class restaurant in Ameri-
ca and Europe. Our fare was pork and
beans with molasses gravy and a huge
could enjoy a meal now like / did that
one. I've got half notion to seek out
that lumber camp and go against that
chow again One thing certain, am
going down and take a look at the
prunes in Fresno before return to
New York.
ber camp that good hearted lumberman
allowed us to sleep in a shed on the
premises and that night 1 had an ex-
-perience that equaled the one of the
man who owned the Jumping frog.
'It seems the country was over
run with coyotes and they had a lot
of dogs around the camp to keep them
off. While we were asleep half
dozen of these coyotes came into the
yard and the dogs got busy and treed
them. In the morning when we woke
up three of the dogs and three Of
the coyotes were dead under our bunk
That must have been terrible. fight
but. we were so tired we didn't wake
up
When Pulliam told this one. Cal
Ewing. who was a listener and is some
what of naturalist. could stand It
laugh asked the president OF the Ma
tional league IL he was sure the dogs
treed the coyotes. Pulliam assured
him that such was the case. and Ewing
Immediately nominated him to life
membership In the Ananias club with
the assurance that he would notify
Roosevelt of the latest nature faker
and put Pulliam in class with Rex
Beech, Jack London and others
Pulliam has been an active baseball
man for Is years. He started in
minor position with the Louisville club
in 1895 and was in the same berth
In 1896. In 1897 he was elected presi-
dent of the Louisville club with one
190O,- when Louisville merged with
Pittsburg. Pulliam was secretary and
treasurer of the Pittsburg team in 1901
and part of 1902. In the latter part of
1902 he was elected president of the
National league. a berth which he has
since held This position pays $4,000
year, which seems a pretty natty
eras county without means or friends
inst II wears ago.