Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-10-07
WALLACE REID
THE CRESCENT
Story Of the West Told In Big
Film Feature

When Wallace Reid graduated from
college a few years g the celebrated
star started straight for Cody, Wy
oming, arrayed In the cort of garb
which makes the so-called college
movie of the present day a mere farce
and a travesty upon the real thing.
Reid announced that he was look
ing for O. Job and several irrelevant
questions were promptly offered as to
the best method of employing him
The possibilities offered by such
lection of personal scenery was
inpting to the foreman of a
Ii. - be foregone, and he prompt
ly a. ID the applicant without even
inquirlng into his qualifications.
That is the way / got my first
job" said Reid as he related the story.
Being raw out of college. I thought
I knew everything there was to be
known and l had a secret contempt
for these uncouth cowboys. But what
they lacked in culture they more than
supplied in the way of ingenuity.
What they did to me in the next few
weeks would read like a dime novel.
when we got to The ranch 49,
the foreman told me hat l was to b,
a cowboy and 1 was given a dejectec
looking animal to ride. or course
was suspicious of the horse-at frs
and expected that 1 would be given I;
bucker, but this poor fellow looked 81
utterly down n out that 1 was some
what off my guard when I first swun,
up on him.
when I had picked the dirt out O
my eyes and generally brushed my
self off after spending about three
seconds in the saddle, I heard sound.
of laughter coming from behind the
cook house, while the horse. looking
.1ust as innocent as ever, munched
grass about ten feet from where I had
landed.
THAT was only my Introduction to
ranch life. I was sent for lefthanded
lariats and dispatched with a lantern
to meet people who were supposed to
be coming over the road from points
many miles distant, only to find that
the road circled our own ranch after
l had ridden miles through the night
while the rest of the crew slept peace
fully in their hunks.
Then they played the old hunting
game on me of taking me out to what
was supposed to be a deer run. We
made our way cautiously through the
night until we came to the selected
spot. Then they rugged a trap which
I was to guard and spring when the
deer came down the run. They then
departed, as they explained, to drive
the deer into the trap by beating up
the surrounding scenery I crouched
by that trap until I finally fell asleep
and woke in the dawn as cold and stiff
as q salt Goldfish. I was down in a
gully. not a hundred yards from the
ranch house, and 1t Is only q source
of wonder hat I was not awakened
by the snoring of my fellow-hunters.
when I found a snake In my bed
l got into a fight with the fellow who
put 1t there. and I got the worst of
1t, but the performance which I put
up increased the respect of the boys
for me and I only had two other fights
all the time / was on the ranch.
There was one thing which I could do,
however, and that was to swim, as l
had been brought UP e the water.
The Yellowstone River was run
ming at food at that time and I dared
anybody in the place to swim it with
me. Nobody took me up, but several
of them declared 1t could not be done.
We placed our bets and l did the
trick. In a few months I quit the
ranch and got a job as night clerk in
the hotel~at Cody.
II nearly ruined the reputation of
the hotel by appearing at the desk in
q dinner jacket when I heard that
some New York tourists were coming
through. When the proprietor got
his second wind after cussing me up
hill and down dale, he explained
briefly that New Workers came put
west because they wanted to see the
wild and woolly stuff, and not to see
a blank blank dude"