Bisbee daily review., 1910-05-01
MARK TWA|N'S JUMPING FROG
 OF CALAvERAS COUNTY, CAL.

la COTnDilanCe Mlln Nne ftQucot oA a friend of mine. who wrote me frou the cas-. called on gOod-natured garussus old Simon Wheeler and t1 quires after my friends fir end. Leon idas " Smiley. as requested to do. and | hereunto append the result have a lurking suspicion tha I,eo.lsas V. Smiley is a myth; thal my frie~d never knew such per soaaEe: and that he only sonlec- tureA that if asked ol Wheeler about him 1t would remind hirn sE his infamous Jun Smliey' and he would go to work and bore me ta deayh with some exasperat- ing remiAisceace of him as long ana tedisss as it should be useless 10 me ,f that was the design, it sue ceedea
 [ fssnd simon Wheeler dozing con fot1ahly by the barrcom stove oi
 the arapidated tavern in the de caves mining camp of Angels, and
 uoticed that he was fat and bale- bear3es and had an expression or winxiug genlleness upon his tran mil countenaDce He rouseu ma and gave me dood day to,a Rim a friend Of mine had com missioaed me to make some liquii ,as sboBt a cherished companion or his boyhood. named Leonidas w. SmiIcy-Rev. Leonidas W. smiley n yonng minister of the gospel "ho ba had heard was at one time res idant of Angels. added that Mr Wheeler could tell me any1h ahout this Rev. LeOnidas w. smiley I would feel under many obiisaiohS 10 him
 Sinoa Wheeler backed me in'o carper and bloekaded me there ,ritb his chair. and then he sat oO"H and reeled of the mOnotonous mar ratiye which follows this paragrapn- He never smiled. he never iro"Aeu' ho never changed his voice from the Ie-flowing key to which he toleu his initial senkencej he never trsxea the slightest suspicion ortbnsiasm. but all through the i1 terrnipable narrative there ran vein of impressive earnestness anu sincerity which showed me piaiilis th.t so far from his imagining that thora was anything rediculous CT fpnnv asout his story, he resarueu '. i, ss really important matter, ana 1 .dmired it's two he:oes as men ~ ,rapscendant genius in finesse- ] let him go on ia his own way and never him once
 ..ReY. Iseopiias W,I-H nH ke'ef- and T.e-weH. there was a feller hefe once by the name of Jim Smiley ID the winter Of '49. or maybe IL Was the spring of '50-I don't recollec' ov.ctl,- somehow. though |haL ,n.,,e. me think it was one or the ,ther is. because I remember the n1s Gimme rarn't finished when he iiIs' come to the camp; but anyway - ..a ,z,riousest man about a[
 -. battipg on anything uhat .,'-,a5 mn vou ever see, If he coulu
 vtodv to bet on the other slue' sDA if he couldn't, he'd change sue Anyway that suited the other siue ,,.o,,td suit him-any way, just so ,.S ao, , bet he was satisfied. Ba1 l.,,, ho ,,as slucky-uncommon lucky ba most always come out "ihIel- ue was always ready and iayins io' |, chance; there couldn't be 10 i,srv thing mentioned but that Ter oga- to het on it. and take a,,. side vou pIease. as ] was lns' telling you. If there was a nor race would find him flush or you find him busted at the end or lT if there was a dogfight. he'd bet on it: if there was a catfght, he'd 4 bet ol il, if there was chicken fight, ned bet on it; why, if there was two birds settin' on fence. l he would bet you which one would | fly Grst: or if there was a camp 1 meeting. he would be there reg'iar | 10 bet on Parson Walker. which he l judged 10 be the best exhorter here ab0uts; and SO he was, too. and a l good man. If be even seen a strad- 1 dle-bug start to go anywhere, !
 
 he would bet you how long it would ! take him to get toto wherever i he was going: and if you took him 1! up. he would follow that straddle- bug clear to Hexico. but he would | find out where he was bound for, and l how Ioag he was on the road. Lots of the boys here has seen that Smi- | ley. and can tell you about him. Why it never made no difference to him he'd bet anything-the dangdest fel- ] Ter. Parson Walkers wife laid very l sick once for good while. and i i seemed as if they warn't going { save her. but one morning he came l in. and Smiley up an asked him | how she was, and he said she was | considerable better-thank the Lord l for His infinite mercyi and coming l O1 so smart that. with the blessing 1 of Providence. she'd get well yet: and Smiley. before he thought. says | Well. TH resk two and a half she l don't anyway
 ''Thish-yer Smiley had a mare-.he | boys called her the fifieen-minute | nag. but that was only in fun. you i know. because Of course she was faster than that-ald be used to win | money on that horse. for all she | was so slow. and always had the i asthma, or the distempert or the consumption. or something of that | kind They used to give her tw, I CT three tlunderd yards the start | and then pass her under way | .. .1rua,-a a+ fha fac end ,-f fro