The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-08-30

StralnerS and the rat terrier eyes, ana
| then | knows it must be Caribou Joe.
He's az little. squiZZled up old chap.
wearin' felt boots with rubber bottoms.
a blue flannel shirt, and pockets all over
/ il. Slung over his shoulder is a blan-
/ ket roll with coffee pot and fryin'
pan strapped on top: but. outside Of
somethin wrapped up in a newspaper.
that's all the baggage he has. From
the cookin' tools. it looks like Joe want
goin' to take any chances on missin'
| Pell and findin all the taverns shut up.
He was fixed to camp on Broadway or
| anywhere else. Say, lie was a nice arti-
Gle to step up and claim in a crowd. I'd
| paid money to have been there and seen
| Purdy Pell done It.. But il was up to
me just then; so l falls into step along
| side of Joe. hits him pat on the back,
and sings out:
Hello. Caribou, How's things up
along the Allegash?"
1t was the wrong openin': see that
| the minute | makes the play. Joe goes
| right up in the air, side steps into a
pussy old party with cane. caroms
off against one of them red capped bru-
nette baggage wrastlers, and nearly
raises panic.
Hay" he squeaIs. You quit that
or I'll lambaste ye,'
Don't get excited now says I. tryin'
20 calm him down; I'm only"
Il l4ow ye. gOl ding ye" says he,
edgin' off. You're one of them bunkum
fellers. Scat"
'Ah, can that kind of hoIerin'!" says
l. I'm subbin' for Mr.. Purdy PeII.
Joe He couldn't be here himself, and
he wants me To take you out to his
house. See. here's your picture he gave
me-"
! Well. that soothes him little, and
after I've said il over three or four
/ times. and give the run to a couple of
/ butt-ins that tried to take Joe's part,
/ he looks me up and down real careful
and concludes to take a chance. didn't
| lose any time about leadin' him into the
smokin' car of the local: but even after
I'd got him slowed safe his little rat
eyes was dartin' four ways watchin'
for trouble.
! You're all right now, Joe" says 1.
| 'Mebby so.' save he: but l got $14
sewed inside my shirt and the man that
| gifts it has got to take it off my dead
body. I'm Caribou Joe, b'gosh,'
Well" says l. you look ii. I hear
you're a bad man in a muss. too"
And say, / could see right away that
was the lead to follow. His eyes snaps
and his chest begins to swell out.
! "Where'd you hear that" says he.
"Why. most every one in New York
knows about you" says l. They says
you're the ripsnorter of the Rangeleys."
/ That fetches a great big grin out of
him, and inside of about two minutes
had him gOin' just right
] What's your particular line, Joe?"
says l.
''Injuns," says he, tappin' himself on
the breastbone. Il don't cal'late to talk
much about it: but when it comes to In
jun fightin'. I'm to home"
Didn't know them Bangor Injuns
went on the war path often" says I.
Bangor" he snOrts. Guess you
mean Oldtown? Wall. them kind don't
| That's why / amt never had a chance
to show what I'm made of; but if ever
| start west once, after them Si-ox and
| Aypaches, you'll hear of things that'll
make Yer blood run colby
Amt tackled any of 'em yet. them
says l.
No" says he: but I've read lots
about the cusses in books. See p"
And what do you suppose he shows
up? A roll of nickel lib'ries. same's
/ you see these ID. T. kids and Office boys
readin' in the subway trains. Say,
them waybackers get some queer bub-
| bleS in their gray matter. Ell? Here
was this old rooster, almost old enough
/ TO be a granddaddy. and goin' daffy
over such stuff as that.
| Well. jollies him along. and he pulls
the throttle wide open. Blow, Why, to
| listen to him dope it out. you might
| think he'd caught all the fish and killed
all the game the Maine woods ever pro-
\ duced, and that when it came to the
/ hero stunts all he needed was room TO
swing himself. Compared to him, Ri
alto hamfatter admittin' how good he
was could be convicted of bein' modest.
Next thing Joe does is to open his
coat and exhibit his medals. 1t was a
col hot Id \. t,-t
front: and they was all kinds, from a
Grand Army badge TO a silver shield
| won at a turkey shoot 1 judged that
most of 'em had been faxed up by city
sports that wanted 10 string him: but
Joe seemed as proud of the lot as if
they'd all been presented by congress.
J 1t was heap easier to start Joe talk
in about himself than it was to switch
him off: but at last l strikes the COM
bination.
Il expect Mrs. Pell will be glad to see
you" says l.
HUH" he grunts. Il don't want TO
! see no women"
What's wrong with the ladies'" says
II.
Don't like EN-" says he. and shuts
up like a clam.
"Oh. guess you'll take to Mrs. Pur-
! dy Pell," says I.
| But that's where I want prophet
She's waitin at the station with the rig:
| but Joe wouldn't so much as shake
| hands with her. and when she moves
over TO make room for him on the same
! seat he shifts and climbs up alongside
! the coachman.
| What a~delightfully odd character he
is" says Mrs. Pell to me.
He's all of that" says I. Hope you
enjoy his visit"
With that I goes back to town, glad
enough to get him off my hands: and
| when | fetches the studio who should
meet comm out but my old side part
ner. Leonidas Dodge, all rugged. out in
sporty clothes and wearin' a puff tie
with a Brazilian diamond horseshoe al
most life size.
Gee, Leonidasi" says I. you look
like money was easy and you'd let some
Bowery tailor go as far as he liked.
Why the noisy Uniform
It's part of the business, son." says
he
You amt gone to maxim a book.
have you?" says J.
| might of known he hadn't. He ex-
plains that he's got a job managin' the
| Deadwood Dick Wild West company,
that's gettin together here for an early
start on the southern circuit But even
with a hacker that's 4 willin' performer
- ~. l. L.. -