The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-03-08
j. W. FoIey's News Letter

49, 1@~ WA
these rare old volumes, among which
Lummis lives and dreams and Toes his
work. Over the dining table in the old
fashioned dining room, Indian burden
baskets, woven out OF a yellow raw
hide in the shape Of a cone. and or
nasnented with fringe OF rawhide
hanging down from the top circle of
the baskets. and these baskets sus-
pended from the ceiling beams, with
lights twinkiing through the meshes
of the yellow hide. If that isn't an
artistic and appropriate chandelier
for such a house. I do not know what
would be.
It was in this dining room, and I'M
der these circumstances Of environ
ment and atmosphere that we were
formally tried for not knowing what
a real old California good time was.
And before the trial we had a Spanish
dinner, of which / shall give you the
menu with explanations. Here it is:
Aguardiente de Albaricoque.
Vino Blanco, hasta acabar.
Enchiladas a la Paisans.
Polio al alcalde.
Coliflor de Hoy.
Frijol de Aver.
Papas al Infalible.
M~acarones a la Andalusa.
Queso a Don Carlos.
Cafe a la Negrita.
Here 1t is in all its Spanish grandeur.
And as to what 1t a 1 shall say
that No. l ON the menu was a Mexican
appetizer which the unregenerate
might call a cocktail, but which had a
finer and more delicate havor-so 1
was told. No. 2 was a white wine,
equally d~elicious-so I heard. No. 3
was a chilli preparation. embodying
half a dozen delicious ingredients.
No. 4 vas chicken, prepared with
chilli and real Spanish. I suppose
polio Is where we get our word "pul-
let" No. 5 was caulif1ower. No. 8,
beans after the Mexican or Spanish
style. No. z was old fashioned jerked
beef, cooked with a sauce and some
thing that has nearly disappeared from
the culinary lists with the advance OF
civilization with its dried beefs and
hams and bacons. No. 8 wal maca-
roni with a tomato sauce. No. 9 was
roquefort cheese, softened with olive
oil and made interesting with red pep
per, and No. 10 was the cafe noir Of
the restaurant or the black coffee of
the home dinner table.
The Trial.
Well, we disposed Of these ten
courses, and then the trial began.
joe Scott, leading criminal lawyer
of Los Angeles and president Of the
board of education, prosecuted, and we
were duly defended and were permitted
also to speak in our own behaves.
The jury found for US. and we were
formally acquitted and adopted into
the family. After the dinner and the
trial, there was an old time California
entertainment. Vocal music with
guitar accompaniment, Spanish lance
ing with castanets. story telling and
entertaining exchange Of anecdotes
until midnight. Lummis dressed after
the old style-tight fitting breeches of
buckskin, tanned as soft as silk. A
short, tight fitting buckskin coat, soft
bosomed and lace ornamented shirt,
real Spanish, and everything in keep
LIE NAAO 4S - ~ SOuiN " OIuGE
with an old time Spanish pistol,
double barreled, cap primed, and beau
tifully chased and ornamented. The
aguacil or sheriff who maintained or
der was armed with a Spanish short
sword, suspended by a chain that ran
about his shoulders like one branch Of
a boys s~uspenders. It was all Cali
fornia-as it used to be.
I was glad to sect it. For / saw the
northwest as it was twenty-five years
ago., and allowing for the difference in
the and customs of the two
sections, there was a similarity in
spirit and friendliness. The old north
western ranch houses, the hospitality
freely extended to every traveller
without money and without price, the
frontier entertainments, the jerked
buffalo, the dried venison, the prairie
chicken, the hard tack-here are other
things that have just about disappear
ed in the past third of a century or
les
For the prairie's passed or passing
with the passing Of the years
Till there is no west worth knowing
and there are no pioneers.
They have riddled it with railroads
throbbing on and on and on;
They have ridded it Of danger till the
zest Of it is gone.
And I've saddled mp my pony-for I'm
dull and lonesome here
To go westward, westward, westward,
till we find a new frontier;
TO get back to Gods own wiIdness
and the skies we used to know,
But there is no west-it is conquered
and 1 don't know where to goi
Some of you may be familiar with
these lines by Foley. Well. they re-
fleet very truthfully the conditions
| out here. j. w. Foley.