The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-16
TALES OF THE LAST FRONTIER

: antecedents driftcd from all parts of
! the compass, il was not considered eti-
/ uuctte 10 INQUIRE too closely into
! neiphhor's private affairs. Tho past
! concerned nobody but yourself. or the
/ officers of the law, supposing them TO
! have cause for following your trail, an"
J the present was what man Dullt us
reputation on. Therefore, Fordham was
! received without impertlnent question:,
at The Great Gait minc, where ne nia
! his work well and kept ms NOUN snu'
regarding his past.
To n great extent | believe IN early
! impressions, and can say truthfully that
! have seldom been deceived III my tlrst
estimates of chance acquaintance. Eer,
hans long contact with the criminal
classes may have tended 10 make me
unduly suspicious. but cTcn win TINS
handicap | have generally found IT saie
to trust my intuitions. ! say that l aus
liked Fordham from the start. and that
without knowing OF his Wyoming OK
pcrienccs. which | did not hear until
some time after our first encounter at
Tucson. Therefore. ! was not altogether
surprised when a few months later an
event occurred which seemed to vlndl-
cate my Judgment of that gentleman s
character.
1t happened in this way. The Great
Gait camp was divided into two rival
clubs. consisting of SIX members each
between whom good -natured rivalry
existed. Ono aggregation was devoted
10 poker playing and the other to
double pedro. and each maintained 10y
ally the superiority of their respec-
tive games with an carncstncss Wor
thy of a better cause. An invitation
had been extended TO the entire crowd
to he present at good time 10 he
given by tho Grcenock outht on the
other side of Blue mountain, aud great
preparations were beng made Tor thc
approaching festival. Twelve boiled
and siarchcd shirts had been con
voved by the freighter from Phoenix
10 adorn the manly bosoms of the IN
vited guests and all was Joy until the
question OF suitable conveyanccS 10
the scene arose.
Now the Great Gait hoasted but two
fitting vchclcs-onc a rusty. some
what dilapidated blackboard. the other
a bran new. freshly vanished noun
tain wagon recently purchased. The
members of each party felt that the
honor oC their particular organization
demanded that they should occupy the
more stylish wagon. which was so
equipped as to carry six people com
fortably The decision being left TO
tho supcrintcn cndent, that sagacious gen
tleman ruled that lots should be
drawn for tho coveted prize. This was
done and The Poker club. Of which
Fordham was a member, was declared
loser The Pedro outfit eXulted loudly
and Sam Eustis, young fellow who
who belonged 10 the latter aggregation,
expressed his iublation in terms that
aroused the wrath of Wvlie Fordham.
Eustis was q Chicagoan who had becn
in the camp long enough 10 have dis
penscd with the epithct Of tenderfoot.
and being iovIal, athletic youth had
established himself as a prime favorite
with everybody in the camp except
Fordham. The latter. indignant ut Eus-
It's 5 display OF mirth, forced q quarrel
upon him and sharp fight between
the pair followed. There was no gun
play. for such methods Of settling an
argument were not looked upon with
favor al the Great Gait. but a fstic
combat ensued which furnished the on
lockers with plenty Of excitement
Eustis. although not as big a man
as his opponent, was an amateur boxer
deficient in this respect Moreover. il
is probable that Anglo-SaXou grit as
opposed 10 Il mongrel strain had much
to do with the outcome Of the battle.
which was very thorough thrashing
administered TO Fordham. who de-
clarcd he had enough at an early stage
of the proceedings.
This incident did not tend TO i'm
prove the halfbrced s naturally morose
temper. and his anger at the success
of Eustis's party in obtaining the new
wagon became even more pronounced
than before. After careful cOnsidora-