The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-09-12
Uncle J1, Dixon a1J Q Hsnry

following extract viii be Of interest
to Florida friends OF Uncle joe
Dixon of the Lakeland Tele 5ram:
(By Celia Myrover Robinson)
Will Porter found new kind OF
life in TeXas-a life that filled his
mind with that rich variety OF
types and adventures which latei
was translated into his stories
Here he got-trom observation,
and not from experience, as has Of
ten been said, for he was never d
cowboy-the originals Of his west
ern characters and western scenes.
He looked on at the more pictur-
esque life about him rather than
shared it; though through his warm
sympathy and his vivid imagination
he entered into it's spirit as com
pletely as any one who had fully
lived its varied parts.
1t was while he was living or
the Hall ranch, to which he had
Gonc in search of health, that he
wrote and at once destroyed his first
stories OF Westrn life. And it was
there, too, that he drew the loN
famous series OF Illustrations for d
book that never was printed. The
author of that book Uncle joe.
Dixon was pros ector in the 70
nanza mining days in Colorado.
Now he is a newspaper editor in
Florida; and he has lately tod. 70"
the survivors Of Will Porte"
friends of that period, the story OF
the origin of these drawings. His
narrative illustrates anew the re-
markable impression that viii Por-
ter's quaint and whimsical. person
atty, even in his boyhood made
upon those who knew him.
"Uncle Joe's" story is this
Years before went to Colorado,
John MaddoX--now one Of the most
influential men of Texas and ny
self had been intimate friends in
Texas, which State was my home.
IN 1877 he and learned of the gold
excitement in the Black Hills # Da-
kota and had started for tnat re-
gion and were stranded in hlCa2o.
where we were fleeccd like lambs by
the Chicago Board of Trale, when
we tried a little flyer in the wheat
market. Maddox returned to Tex
as, where he made fortune in the
land business, but 1 stopped in Kan
sas City, got into the newspaper
work and made that my home. 1t
was from there l went to Leadville
in 1879 and spent several years In
the Rockies prospecting for gold and
silver.
lone day Maddox wrote to me, af-
ter l had been in the Rockies for
some time, and said: Joe, your
carbonates lie at the bottom Of an
ink well. Come back and put down
the pick for the pen, and you'll
make fortune. A man who can see
what you can see in the common
things of life, and can write OF
them, can create gold mine Of his
own. Come back to Austin and
write a book. | Will stake you for
six months or longer, and you write
of your life in the Rockies as you
can write of it, and your fortune Is
made.
81 hesitated, but John kept writ
ing to me, so in 1883 went.
John owned lovely home in the
suburbs of Austin, and SO there ]
settled in the lap of luxury to write
the book that was to make me fam
GUS.
""Take all the time you want,
said John, and will have the book
illustrated and published in the very
best style and when 1t is finished we
will go to Galveston and take boat
for New York and ourselves see that
it is well launched
81 shut myself up and worked
early and late ever the story, which
| called Carbonate Days John
came in every now and then to read
and praise and to declare that was
the coming writer of the ace.
Zone day he came in and said
See here Joe-there is yong feI
,ow here who came from North Car
alira with Dick Hall, named VIII
Porter, who can draw like blazcs
believe he would be the very or
% make the Illustrations for your
hook. Dick Hall owns a shee"
r.rch ont not very far from here,
and Porter is working for him.
Now, vou mioht 20 out there and
take the book along and tell him
inst what yoI want, and let him
have crack 1T it,
1T Locked like a pretty good idea
to re COR it seemed to me that a