Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1914-04-03

Even then there were whispers, ar
promptings; my mind inclined t,
things beautiful, although my environ
ment was unbeautiful. The hills an
valleys around were eyesores am
aching pits, and l never loved them
till l left them
Before I was eleven I left the rancn
and came to Oakland, where l spent
so much of my time in the Free Pub
lie Library, eagerly reading every
hing that came to my hand. that I
developed the first stages of st. Vitus'
dance from lack of exercise. Disillus-
ions quickly followed, as I learned
more of the world At this time 7
made my living as newsboy, selling
papers in the streets; and from then
On until l was sixteen l had a thous
and and one different occupations
work and school, school and work
and so it ran.
Then the adventurelust was strong
within me, and I left home. I didn I
run, I just left-went out in the bay,
and joined the oyster pirates. Thu
days of the oyster pirates are nov
past, and if had got my dues for pir
acy, I would have been given FIVE hun
dred years in prison. Later, I shipped
as a sailor On schooner, and also
took a turn at salmon fishing. Oddly
CROUCH, my next occupation was on a
fish patrol, where I was entrusted with
the arrest of any yiolators OF the fish
ing laws. Numbers of tbs lawless
Chinese, Greeks and Italians were at
that time engaged in illegal fishing.
and many patrolman paid his life for
his interference. My only weapon on
duty was a steel-fork, but I telt fear
less and a man when I climbed over
the side of a boat to arrest some mar
auder.
Subsequently I shipped before the
mast and sailed for the Japanese coast
on seal-hunting expedition, later go
ing on to Behring Sea. After sealing
fer seven months I came back to Cat
iornia, and took odd jobs at coal
shoveling and longshoring, and also in
a jute factory, where I worked from
six in the morning till seven at night
had planned to join the same lot fcl
another sealing trip the following
year. but somehow missed them
They sailed away on the Mary Thomas
which was lost with all hands.
In my ftful schooldays I had writ
ten the usual composition, which had
been praised in the usual way, anu
while working in the jute mills I stiI
made an occasional try The factory
occupied thirteen hours of my days
and being young and husky, wanted
a little time for myself, so there wa
little left for composition. The san
Francisco Call offered prize for :
descriptive article. My mother urge5
me to try for it, and I did, taking fol
my subject, "Typhoon off the Coast a
Japan" Very tired and sleepy, art
knowing l had to be up at half pas
FIVE, I began the article at midnight
ard worked straight on until I hac
~ritten two thousand words, the limit
of the article, but with by idea onl,
half worked out. The next night, un.
der the same conditions, I continued
adding another two thousand words
before I had finished, and then tn,
third night l spent in cutting out the
excess, so as to bring the article with
in the conditions of the contest. Tht
first prize came to me, and the secono
ard third went to students of the Stan
ford and Berkeley Universities
My success in the San Francisco Cal
competition seriously turned M
thoughts to writing. but my blood was
still too hot for a settled routine, so
practically deferred literature, beyon
writing little gush for the Call, which
that journal promptly rejected.
tramped all through the Unite