Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1916-10-19

W aa.asA,
"5ut why don't you fellows branch
out?' Babsby always ended.
do you want to stick here for like Il lot
of ~groundhogs: There's rivers back in
and nobody thar. You'd have the place
plumb to yourselves. Git in where the
mountains is really mountainous"
IF Sam Bagsby would join us it
might be worth trying we came to
at last.
But Sam Hagsby secuted any such
idea.
II amt that kind of Il tomfool,' said
he. "1f ! want to paddle my hands
blue I'd do it we're. l couldn't make
moron q Twin anyway. l tell YOU l
amt got no use for yore prairie dog
| grubbing!'
Then McNally had an inspiration.
"VNll you go, Sam, if We pay you for
| going?' he asked.
Sure" replied the trapper at once.
I'm a laborin man. I'll so anywhar
In paid to GO
1t came out that Bagsby's ideas of
proper compensation We're his supplies.
S15 a week in gold and a drink Of
whisky twice a day! In all this gold
country he was the only man I met
who genuinely despised money. l real
ly think we were hurried to our deci-
sion by this unexpected reasonable
ness on his part. At any rate, we de-
cided definitely to go.
There We're nine of us-Bagsby,
Yank, Johnny Fairfax, myself, Don
Gaspar, VasGuez. McNally. Buck Bar
/ ~ and Missouri Jones.
Bagsby got us up long before day
light. The air was chilly, in contrast
to the terrific heat to be expected
later in the day, so we FASTENED to
finish u packing and at dawn were
| off.
Until about 3 o'clock we journeyed
through a complete solitude; then we
came upon some men digging in a dry
wash. They had piled up a great heap
Of dirt from a hole. We stopped and
| amy W lhtLh III tISSoN IlllC
they We're working what they called
dry diggings." The pay dirt they ex-
cayatcd from wherever they found it,
! piled it in a convenient place and there
left it until the rains should permit it's
washing. They claimed their dirt
would prove to be very rich. but I
thought myself that they were labor
ing in great faith. Also we learned
what Bagsby had known right along.
but which he had not bothered to tell
us-that we were nov about to cross
! the main overland trail.
We stopped that night near the road
and at a wayside inn or roadhouse Of
logs kept by a most interesting man.
&c served us IN excellent meal, in
Guiding real eggs, and afterward join
ed us around the fire. He was an
Italian, short, strongly built, with close
curly hair, Il rollicking, good natured
face, and with tiny gold rings in his
ears. Johnny and he did most of the
talking, while we listened. No part Of
the civilized world seemed to have
been unvisited by this pair. Johnny
mentioned Paris. Our host added an
intimate detail as to some little street.
London appeared to be known to them
from Il end to the other; Berlin, Ed
inburgh, st. Petersburg even, and a
host Of other little fellows whose
names 1 never knew before and cannot
remember now. They snapped remi-
niscences Of the streets, the restau-
rants and the walters and proprietors
thereof; the alleys and byways, the
parks and little places. I knew in a
general way that Johnny had done the
grand tour, but the Italian with his
| gold earrings and his strong, brown,
good humored peasant face puzzled me
completely. How came he to be so
Travelled, SO intimately travelled: He
was no sailor. That 1 soon deter
mined.
The two of them became thoroughly
interested, but after a time the native
courtesy Of the Italian asserted itself
He evidently thought we might feel
left out of it, though I think the 9th
ers were, like myself, quite fascinated.
You liia music?" he smiled at us
engagingly. Il getta my Italian fid-
die? No?"
He arose at our eager assent. pushed
aside a blanket that screened off one
end Of the log cabin and produced his
Italian fiddle"-a hand organ!
At nee the solution of the wide
wandering among the many cities, the
intimate knowledge of streets and Of
public places burst upon my compre-
tension. l could see our host looking
upward, his strong white teeth flash
ing in an ingratiating, fascinating
smile. his right arm revolving with the
crank of his organ, his little brown
monkey with the red coat and the anx-