The Washington herald., 1913-12-07
Left Mississippi Plantation for
Big Game Country, Where
Panic in Business Whets
Ever-present Desire to See
Something Doing"
BY JAMES b. MORROW.


which, working ir romantic sequence,
eliminated in his elecu : to the Senate
from the State Of Nevada.
Key Pittman lived IN Mississippi-hel
was born in Wick burg. His mother died
when he was eiSEt years old; his father
when he was fourteen. At eighteen. hav-
ing been graduated at a Presbyterian
university in Tennessee, he went to a
cotton plantation, left him by his grand
mother, to think matters over. His father
had been a lawyer.
An obstinate case Of malarial fever
the doctor thought 1t would end fatally
followed his journey into the country.
The period of convalescence was passed
in visits among his relatives. He saw
the head of the elk in a magazine at the
club in Tuscaloosa Then he read the
article. 1t was a hunting story and
pertained to the new State Of Washing
ton.
So Key Pittman thought he would like
to shoot elk and try his fortunes in the
western country. A special act of the
legislature authorized his guardian to
pay him all of his inheritance. No doubt
the guardian and Key Pittman's kindred
believed he would soon lose his patrimony,
a belief that was vindicated by the facts
soon after.
Then, as at present, Key Pittman was
O. tall slender and rather leisurely OF
manner. But there was a certain
CLINT in his brown eyes which might
have been interpreted by strangers
as a caution against stormy weather.
The CLINT remains, now that he is mar
ried. settled in life and a public
character.
II crossed the continent" Key Pitt
man told me, with most of my cap
ital hidden away in secret places on
my person. 1 was very young and
very unsophisticated and had no one
IN in q IpOndS
waiting to be shot. was the only pic
ture / saw. There was room in my
head for no other. The practicalities
of life. If 1 ever thought of them, were
TO wait until I came down from the
Shuksan Mountains loaded with the
horns and hides of my victims.
Gets Int" n Tough Hotel.
Seattle was reached in the gray OF
a noisy afternoon. A thousand hack
meh. as I estimated the number. were
believing at the edge of the station
platform. I was confused and. not
knowing what to do. waited until all
the hacks had gone but one. This
way captain yelled the driver, for
the st. Charles Hotel That particu-
lar name was highly respected in the
South. 1t sounded like home. cheer
ed my heart. and 1 handed over my
valse and was slowly bumped two
hlOCkS hONI lnt SlItcl anu ilNO NiiS
toughest part of the city. The st.
Charles. I noted at a glance. was
villainous looking establishment. but
Seattle. I argued. was a new town and.
besides. elk hunters could not expect all
the refinements of civilization.
Il walked between male immigrants
sleeping on the floor and female immi-
grants nursing their babies. also on the
the floor and duly wrote my name in
the register Then I had a bite of sup
Der I have eaten better meals even on
= the trails of Alaska But was sports
man and so cut my food into cartridges
and swallowed them without chewing. At
bedtime a man was complaining to the
clerk that he had been robbed that after
noon while sleeping.
"'Dere's a sign in every ROOM the
clerk shouted. 'denyin' all responsibility.
You orter have left your money wild me
7 looked at the clerk and decided to
I've the custodian of my own valuabl at
least for the time-being. A disreputable
looking boy showed me upstairs and into
a snallish room containing two beds and
4 table. on which a candle was burning.
There was man in one of the beds He
pretended to be asleep, but I saw him
looking At me through tunnel he had
made of the clothing around his head.
Hes a robber' I said to myself.
After undressing, I put six-shooter
under the pillows with considerable os-
tentation. I did not extinguish the can
die. Once in bed. lying with my face
toward the robber. broke out in a cold
sweat at the thought that I might fall
asleep before morning. The robber had
his eyes closed, but knew he was play
ing 'possum.
Thus the hours dragged until the can
die went out, after which the situation
seemed more dangerous than ever I lay
with my hand on the revolver straining
my eyes and ears for any suspicious
movements on the part Of the robber. I
heard his bed squeak just before day
light and cooked my pistol
Meets the Robber Face to Face.
But he remained on his own reserva-
tion and by and by realized that he
was dressing. He left the room very
softly. He has gone 1 remarked to
myself, after re-enforcements.' There
fore, I got up. Immigrants were still on
the floor of the Office. The clerk directed
me to the barroom. After such night
thought I required stimulant A man
had his foot on. the brass rail and had
ordered something. Drink a little but
termilk with me- I said, wanting to IL
lustrate my socialibity.
"'You hit the target at the first crack
the stranger replied. He turned and
saw that he was a youngster like myself
land I need tonic he went on to
say. I haven't closed my eyes since
going to bed last night. I am a stran-
ger here. and don't understand the ip-
habitants. Heaven pity Seattle II this
is the best hotel in town.
Who said it was the best? roared the
barkeeper.
There were two beds in my ROOM
the young fellow continued, ignoring the
barkeepers question. 7 was doing when
a man came in and. pulling a gun a mile
long from his valise, got into bed with
it. So lay awake watching and waiting
to be murdered any minute
Ny friend I said. 7 am that man
and I apologize. I am as green as grass
and thought you were a robber'
I'VE found a better hotel and went
elk shooting together. On returning to
~ Seattle, I sat down and seriously began
to look into the future. I got all the
boom literature printed about the Puget
Sound region, studied 1t carefully bal
anced one place against another and then
bought the very worst pieces of property
i'm all that country. In six months I
hadn't dollar.
Driven to Alaska by a Panic.
"a Southern lawyer, Judge August NJ
Moore, took me into his Office and into
his home and paid me a salary. 1 would
clerk for him during the day and he
would quiz me at night in his library
and talk to me about public questions
Moreover, he made me his partner after