The San Francisco call., 1908-09-20

tain unnamed respect for the nneness
he sees there and which he himself
has lost. all except this last shred of
1.-THE respect. I give his story es he
told It me. It paints good picture
of the lowest caiiber bunhouse.
"Of course, am from the country
you can see that" he began. frankly.
My people own a ranch up in Nevada,
and 1 have for the last year been clerk
ing In little general store at Will
low Creek, town quite near the ranch.
In that year 1 had saved up some
thing over 500, besides buying a couple
Of dads best horses of him. A few
days ago took the money I had saved
and, without knowing just why, with
out telling any one where I was bound
for, took the train down here to the
city. 1 suppose I was getting sick OF
the sameness in the country and wanted
to see the sights of San Francisco.
Well, 1 saw 'em." he smiled bitterly.
He told me the whole story frankly;
how he had wandered in.o those regions
of the city which ever hold such ir-
resistible attraction for masculine
guilelessness, and how he had, during
the first night of varied experiences
there, been relieved of his wad by the
harpies that prey upon his kind.
Twenty cents he had found in his
watch pocket after the dizziness had
left his head and he had come to his
senses. lying in deserted alley. With
this pittance he had found his way to
a bed loft and secured bunk similar
to the one on which we now sat. Now
he plunged directly into the horror OF
his first experience In one Of these vile
holes, so doubly horrible to his fine,
clean, country nurtured nature.
II liked to smothered up there In that
holei The place was sort of half
story way up under two floors of tene-
ments, and underneath another story
on top; sandwiched in and pressed fiat
between the upper and lower crush in a
dark, unyentilated seam that my dog
at home would not sleep in. 1t was like
nothing else than a dark seam in the
depths of mountain. 1 once entered
up in Shasta county-a deep copper
mine crowded with a number of sweat
ing struggling men. working hard to
loosen the damp, black rocks over their
heads without causing the mass to fall
on them. The flicker OF the mine can
dies shining on their wet faces and
then throwing them in black shadow,
the whack of their picks, like thunder.
the splash of their boots In the slush
underfoot, all made the place seem
like was in hell. I had gone down to
see them working. but couldn't stand
up straight down there in the mine,
felt go queer and scared and cramped
up because could not lift my shoulders
that I came UP to the surface again as
quick as could That's just how felt
in that low ceiled, cramped bunkroom,
with its filthy beds and its flthier men
scared and sick!
I'm the same room with me-" he con-
tinued, after an involuntary shudder,
were about four dozen other fellows,
beasts, cursing, drinking and fighting;
we had all come there, to sleep. but no
one was sleeping. Those of US who
wanted to could not. Over in the middle
of the room some fellows were arguing
whether a man was fool to pay cents
for a rancid beefsteak in q nearby
lunchhouse they all seemed to know.
Their talk made me sick at my stom-
ach-and II isn't weak one. either.
About the room. perhaps go feet BY IL,
poured the clouds OF tobacco smoke,
cheap smoke. until the place wps 80
filled that even the lungs Of moderate
cred. calling for clean air. thought Of
the clean, pure air, smelling Of flowers
and oattai1s In the swamps. that comes
drifting OF our meadows up at the
ranch. Hare and there sounded xroans
of WEAKNESS, of both body and soul. I
thought; beastiy but useless commands
for ouiet from q few whom the smoke
had poisoned to drowsiness: vile songs.
worse jokes and stories and cheap
croaks of fun. In all this was trying
to sleep, but It was useless. Well. I
was seeing the sights. all right, so I
kept quiet and watched.
M one in the place removed his
clotsrs. I had started to when I nret