Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-02-07
TENDERFooT MADE GOOD.
Westerners Couldn't Bluff Boy Who
Had Ideas of His Own.

Had Ideas OF His Own.
Will Jensen, driver Of the Mesa
stage, deposited his passengers suit
case heneath the seat. You want
off at Chip Elkins's ranch?" he asked
The stranger nodded.
For some moments Jensen studied
his passenger covertly. II reckon
you're one of Chips friends from back
east?" he ventured.
The stranger smiled at the drivers
frank probe for personal data. "Oh
yes. I've known Chip since we were
boys. He's been writing me to visit
his ranch. so l thought l would stop
off this trip. OF course, at home we
don't take this ranch idea of Chips
very seriously. It's the old story.
Chip was always a spoiled kid; his
papa will have to buy him a new toy
before long"
A puzzled frown had settled on the
stage drivers face. II didn't just get
that about the toy don't under
stand that Daddy Elkins is buying
Chips toys any more"
The stranger nodded confidentially,
Yes, he set the boy up out here; any
way, he owns stock in this ranch COM
pany OF Chips"
Jensen stared for a moment at the
stranger. Folks sure do get wrong
impressions, now, don't they?" he said
soberly Maybe you would like to
pants and all?"
Sure" acquiesced the stranger
you could always depend on Chip to
furnish something to tell about"
II reckon it was six years ago that
Chip blew off the train one day down
at Mesa City. He was. about the finest
model of a college chap ever seen in
these parts, outside of clothing ad-
vertisements. He had on a little red
and-yellow sort of porous-plaster
cap, and his clothes were so loud that
you could almost hear the siss-boom-
bah when he walked up the platform.
He saw the stage standing alongside
the depot, and piled in.
Where do you go" I asks.
Don't n't-Give-a-Damn; is there such
a place as that?' he asks.
II didn't low any youngster was go
ing to come it over me on repartee,
so 1 suggests a place In the same
neighborhood with a shorter and ug-
lier name that he might go to. That
tickled him.
you'll do, he says, like he was
comforting some great blessing or
maybe a first degree on me. And
now,' he says, L want you to take me
to a ranch where 1 can get job
Would you rather wait till even
ing?' I joshes him. Maybe you'll
get telegram from papa by that
time, and save you the trip out there
in tho sand
He looks at me sharp. What do
you know about the GOVERNOR he
asks.
Nothing, only there has to be
one-always is. You see, you are one
of our best-known western types.
There's the COW puncher, and the
prospector, and the noble red Indian,
who's black and is sometimes called
skunk for short, and the rich mans
son who runs away from home to be-
come an outlaw or sheep herder or
worse
HE grins at this; then his face So
bers. But I'm in earnest he goes on;
papa isn't going to telegraph. I got
to go to work-or squeal.' Somehow
1 had a hunch he wasn't going to
squeal. I resolved to get him the job.
when we got out Of town he told
me about himself You see,' he says,
my father was a self-made man, but
he didn't want me to be one. Maybe
he thought he had done such a good
job on himself he was more capable
of molding the young. Anyway, he
had ideas, and 1 had ideas-which
differed,
"'You see, the governor started out
to be a rich man-simple thing when
you know how. He got list of all
the different articles people just have
to buy-that they can't get along
without. His idea was to pick on one
Of these and sell stock to get adver-
tising money, and then build fac
tory to fill the orders. He thought
of soap till he found out there was a
bar Of soap made every day for every
human being in the country, including
hobos. Then he figured on safety
razors, but statistics showed there was
one made for every man and enough
over for some Of the women If they
would take the hint.
Finally he hit on automobiles.
Sure thing-people have to buy auto
mobiles; anyway they think they do,
which is better. Dads car has all the
latest improvements, including a
triple, sliding transmission, which, as
near as 1 can figure out means ad-
vertising it worth $4,000, selling it for
$4,000 and building it for $1,000.
Well, automobiles have caused a lot
of people trouble. They made the
governor rich and drove me penniless
from my home
1T wasn't hard to catch the banter
and sarcasm in his voice, but in 1t all
there was a sort Of a solemn vein that
made you feel like if you ever got
through the outside of soft, sappy
kid, you would find a good hard
chunk of man underneath.
Ibid you ever wrangle calves
much?" I asked to divert his attention
I've played half-back on the
varsity scrubs two years. l guess that
will answer he comes back.
And it did answer. 1 dropped him
off at ranch, and he had job forth
with, beginning at 5 a. m. the next
morning. The job was wrangling
yearlings in the branding corral. Chip
made a hit. He had been living on
raw beef at a training table, and he
took to yearlings just like he had on
his padded pants.
1T did seem sort of a pity to see a
tenderfoot who was too hard up to buy
a six-shooter to play with, but that
didn't seem to worry Chip. OF course
the boys kidded him. That's one of
the prerogatives of old-timers.
when they gave Chip a horse and
started him on the roundup he dug
into his little steamer trunk and
brought out pair of riding pants,
sort of mauve or lavender or some
such color, with a pair of yellow
leather puttees to go with them. Now,
that was some innovation. Everybody
in Gila county heard of it. 1 reckon
it would have scared his horse If they
hadn't give him one that was broke
down so as to be safe. The boys
joshed a lot but Chip stuck to his
pants. sleeping in 'em most of the time
to keep 'em from being stole.
There had been some little talk
around the ranch that Chip was a
buff-pretty sassy with yearlings and
lively enough at his work and all that,
but after all. only rich mans baby
boy.
You know what that sort of talk