The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-01
REAL RC1r1ANCEC OF2TT1E BUJINEJCq WORLD
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EoR a man of limited education, Big Missouri had a wonderfully ex- | tended vocabulary in profanity. He could swear in more ways and more pie turesquely than any man in the Black Hills country, and no gentleman who has served an apprenticeship in that district needs a post graduate course. In addition he had a well developed thirst. He would drink with any white man, but he would not drink alone. He would gamble, 100, as long as he owned a dollar, and to re- leve the monotony of life he was perfect ly willing, if properly provoked, to fight with any person who stood on two legs. Big Missouri was at once the pride and the despair of the camp He worked like a Trojan, drank like fish. gambled like a fool and swore like a troop of troopers. And yet he only had one enemy-himself.
 He loved work just for the play 1t gave to his great, muscular body, just as he loved to royster for the opportunity 1t gave to expend his animal spirits. He rarely had much money coming to him at the end of the month, but when he round ed up at the paymaster's never failed to start Big Missouri up, just to enjoy listen- ing to the violent adjectives Big Missouri would give vent to in expressing his opin- ion of the company, of the company's sys- tenn, of the paymaster, of the paymaster's ways, and of the moneyed classes in gen. eral.
 They paid Big Missouri three and half a day, just as they did the rest of the miners, and they kept back one months pay from every employe for reasons of their own. Every miner had passbook and every miner had to get his supplies from the company's stores. When he bought anything, whether boots or booze, it was entered against him on his pass book. When he lined up at the paymas- ter's window at the end of the month the paymaster handed over whatever was the difference between the total in the pass book and $105 a month, less $1, which was held out to support the company hospital. This hospital was one of the things that would set off all the pyrotechnics that Big Missouri had hidden in his thorax. He had a contempt for doctors and for drugs, for pills and for preachers He never had been i'll in his life, and the only ache he ever had known was the one in his head the morning after. He didn't see why he should be taxed to support any disciple of Galen in idleness and luxury.
 1t was joy to start Big Missouri off on the doctor subject, have him jump through the hoops on the company's hold out of the months pay and then urge him 10 further wrath by some apocryphal stories of some new sin the company was plan- ming to inflict upon the honest miner.
 or course all this really mattered little to Big Missouri. It was the same to hiln whether he really had more than a few pennies coming to him at the months end or a goodly wad. In any case, he stretched his credit to it's utmost limit Whatever money he did have, he quickly got rid of playing stud poker or shooting craps While he had money, he was uneasy; as soon as he got rid of it he was relieved of his troubles. If he had any ambitions in life, he did not know of them. Neither did anybody else. He was fully satisfied with things as they were.
 Big Missouri awakened one morning later than usual, with vague realization that something was amiss. There was. He had wonderful capacity, but he had eYceeded it the night before, and his com panions in the bunk house, despairing of ever arousing him from his slumbers, had gone to work and left him peacefully asleep. Soon after they had gone con- seriousness came to Big Missouri. He jumped out of bed, hustled into ais clothes, hurried to the grub room, swaI- | lowed some coffee and a few beans and | started up the trail toward the mouth of | the mine.
 To miss work that day would have | meant tragedy to Big Missouri, for he |