Cut Bank pioneer press. [volume] (Cut Bank, Mont.) 1909-current, 1913-07-25
CALL OF THE WILD
Miners of imperial City, Alaska,
Hoodwinked by a
Woman.
BY ALFRED POWELL

BY w
When a bad man got into a camp of
peaceful mining folk we used to put
him on a tree. That was ten years or
80 back, when Alaska territory was in
the heyday of its youth. We don't do
that any more; we've got to be civil
ICED. We give him a jury trial, and
II he's found guilty we give him an
hours grace and send him down the
road. After that he's outlawed. If he
shows his face in our midst again any
body can shoot him. Mostly he doesn't
show 1t. The new ways more humane
than the old, and just as useful, espe-
ctally in winter, when the mercury
gets scared and tries to burst the bot
tom of the bulb.
Now there's all sorts of bad men.
The bad man that you read about is
mostly a yarn. Frank Porter-Mr.
Francis Porter-wasn't that sort of
man. He was a quiet, gentle, soft
spoken young chap who kept a good
deal to himself. When our piles of
gold dust began to get thinner and
thinner we'd swear a good deal, but
nobody ever thought of suspecting
Porter, till he was caught ~red-handed,
coming out of Bill Jones hut with half
q hatful.
The men were so mad they wanted
to hang him, but in the end Justice
prevailed. He was tried and found
guilty. We left him his clothes and
gave him n hour to get out OF I'm
perial City. The mercury was stand
ing at 20 below. Crouching, I'd call
it. Frank heard the call of the wild
and disappeared.
1t was twenty-three miles and a lit
tie over to President, and he couldn't
have made it.. Nobody could. How
ever, we didn't want to kill the lad
Just to scare him into better manners
than taking an honest mans dust. So
Bill Jones, pretending that 1t was a Sc
cret between them, took a private mes
sage from him to the telegraph Office
to a friend In Ordinary, fifteen miles
back Of Imperial City, to come along
on the next coach and bring him some
grub. The coach would be due that
same afternoon that Francis set out
on his travels, and would probably
overtake him by ten in the evening.
Beyond a bad scare Mr.. Porter
wouldn't come to any harm.
All of us knew this and we were
mighty glad, because we didn't want
the young fellows death on our con-
science. But when the coach rolled in
there wasn't a man but forgot clean
about young Porter, and stood about
the coach, gaping like a whale out of
its element. There was a woman
aboard-and more than a woman, a
young m No, a young lady, |
mean. The recollection of her con-
fuses me even now. You see, none
Of us men had seen any sort of WON
an. beyond an Indian squaw, for near
ly a year.
She had the sweetest blue eyes and
1ossy, faxen hair, just the sort you
see back east and never notice be-
cause you a see it whenever you
want to.
rs there any hotel here where | can
stay for the night?" she asked, look
Ing at US timid-like.
We scratched our heads. There's
Hank Meany's," l said. He accom-
modates the passengers who stop over.
Mostly, though, when they sees Hanks
place they decides not to stop over.
It's clean and decent, miss, but 0 fit
for the likes of you"
81 think it will do for me-" she says,
smiling, and when the stage driver
sees for sure hat she amt coming on
with him he scowls at us and touches
up the horses and drives away. No
body looked at him and nobody asked
him to have anything.
You see, gentlemen" she says in a
gentle voice, and looking down at the
toe of her shoe. you see, I've come
here to be married. Does any of you
gentlemen know Mr.. Porter? Mr..
Francis Porter, l mean. We were
engaged in San Francisco and was to
come up to Sitka to meet him. But
when | got to Sitka | thought | might
as well come all the way and give him
a surprise"
1t was we got the surprise. Francis
must have been, as we reckoned, some
twelve miles down the trail, if he had
any grit in him. More likely, though,
he was just hanging round and wait
ing for the coach to come along.
Nobody knew what to say. |
scratched my head and | saw Bill
Jones scratch his. Then somebody
spoke up.
Mr.. Porter left us this afternoon"
he said. There was a little misupder-
standing, miss, and we thought it bet
ter to part company. He-he-"
What do you mean?" exclaimed the
girl, turning on him and looking dag.
gers out of her blue eyes. WHY
should there be any misunderstood.
ing?"
Then Bill Jones. seeing that we'd
got into a bad place, got us into a
worse one.
"The fact is, miss" he said, I'VE had
a serious quarrel this afternoon. Some
of US had a grudge against Mr. Portar