Cheyenne record., 1916-03-30
D21
SCARLET S3{ PLAGUE
@ JACK !.!C!> !! :. LONDON K: ND! N.

the old brickyard at Glen Ellen. l came
upon the camp. There were eighteen
souls all told. Two we're old men,
one Of whom was Jones. q banker
The other was Harrison. a retired
pawnbroker. who had taken for a wife
the matron of the State Hospital for
the Insane at Napa. OF all the per-
sons Of the city Of Napa. and Of all the
other towns and villages in that rich
and populous valley. she had been the
only survivor. Next. there we're the
three young men-Cardif and Hale.
who had been farmers. and Vain
wright. a common day laborer All
three had found wives. To Hale,
crude. illiterate farmer. had fallen lisa.
dore. the greatest prize. next to Vesta.
Of the women who came through the
plague. She was one Of the worlds
most noted singers. and the plague
had caught her at San Francisco She
had talked with me for hours at
time, telling me of her adventures. un.
til. at last. rescued by Hale in the
Mendocino forest reserve. there had
remained nothing for her to do but
become his wife But Hale was
good fellow in spite Of his illiteracy.
He had a keen sense Of Justice.
THE wives of Cardiff and Vain.
wright were ordinary women. &C.
customed to toll. with strong constitu
tions-just the type for the wild new
life which they were compelled to live
In addition were two adult idiots from
the feebleminded home at Eldredge.
and five or six young children and in
fants born after the formation Of the
Santa Rosa tribe Also. there was
Bertha She was good wom-
an Hare-Lip. in spite of the sneers
of your father. Her ! took for wife.
She was the mother of your father,
Edwin, and Of yours. Hoo-Hoo. And
1t was our daughter. Vera, who mar
ried your father. Hare-Lip-your ia
ther. Sandow. who was the eldest son
of Vesta Van Warden and the Chauf-
feur.
There are only two other tribes
that we know of-the Los Angelitos
and the Carmelitos. The latter start
ed from one man and woman. He
was called Lopez. and he was descend
ed from the ancient Mexicans and was
very black. He was a cowherd In the
ranges beyond Carmel. and his wife
was a maidservant in the Great Del
Monte hotel. 1t was seven years be-
fore we first got in touch with the Los
Angelitos. They have a good country
down there. but 1t Is too warm. |
estimated the present population Of
the world at between three hundred
and fifty and four hundred-provided.
Of course. that there are no scattered
little tribes elsewhere in the world.
II there be such, we have not heard
Of them. Since Johnson crossed the
desert from Utah, no word or sign has
come from the East or anywhere else.
The great world which | knew in my
! boyhood and early manhood is gone.
1t has ceased to be. I am the last
man who was alive in the days OF the
plague and who knows the wonders of
that far-off time We. who mastered
the planet-its earth. and sea. and
,, sky-and who were as very gods. now
live in primitive savagery along the
water courses of this California coun-
try.
But we are increasing rapidly
your sister, Hare-Lip. already has four
children. We are increasing rapidly
and making ready for a new climb to-
ward civilization. In time. pressure
OF population will compel us to spread
out. and hundred generations from
now we may expect our descendants
to start across the Sierras. oozing
slowly along. generation by genera
ton. over the great continent to the
colonization Of the East-a new Aryan
drift around the world.
But it will be slow, very slow; we
have so far to climb. We fell so hope
lessly far. II only one physicist or
one chemist had survived! But 1t was
not to be. and we have forgotten every
thing. The Chauffeur started working
in iron. He buiA the forge which we
use to this day. But he was a lazy
man. and when he died he took with
him all he knew Of metals and ma
chinery. What was to know OF such
things? l was a classical scholar. not
chemist. The other men who sur
vived were not educated. Only two
things did the Chauffeur accomplish
the brewing Of strong drink and the
growing of tobacco. 1t was while he
was drunk. once. that he killed Vesta
firmly believe that he killed Vesta
in a fit of drunken cruelty, though lie