The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-01-12
CHAPTER ~.
At the Back of Bevond.

offices in Denver didn't know any such
region, which was then, as now, trav-
ersed only by one railroad. The sim
gle "Placerville" they had listed was
a station moi far from Telluride, In
quite another part of the state. Nor
could the Mining exchange gentleman
help me-. However, he suggested that
If could find some old resident cold
timer" was the word he used) whose
memory reached back a ways, there
might be something doing.
steer me-" | begged; I'm a half
orphan and a total stranger In Den
ver."
He laughed, and hen thought for q
minute, and said:
THE Du Pont Powder people have
been doing business here for a good
many years, and they know the pow
der buyers all e the state. It's just
possible that they could tell you. Sup
| pose you ask at their Office"
l went, forthwith; and the gentle.
man to whom I presented my card at
the cashiers window had the dope.
The Red Desert Placerville, he told
me, was strictly a '"has BEEN" The
placers had long ago been exhausted.
and the place had afterward figured as
a shipping point for some mine or
mines on the desert slope of the East
ern Timanyonis. He was not quite GER
tain, but he thought the name "Placer-
vile" had been changed to something
else.
AS to the manner of reaching the
"has been," this, as( he pointed out,
was simple enough. There were
through sieepers by way of the P. S-W.
and Copah all the way to the Pacific
coast.
Armed with this information,
quickly shook the dust of Denver Ono
slam, tere intended at the Queen City
OF the Plain) from my feet, taking q
through ticket to Angels; and the fol-
lowing morning. when / ran my win
dow shade up previous to turning out
for breakfast, the train was rollicking
along owe endless reaches OF the
dryest, dreariest, most ba~rren-iookins
country that the sun ever shone upon
red sand. 1t appeared to be, with with
cred bits Of grass here and there and
scattering punches of what / after
ward learned was called ~"greasewood.'
1t was while luncheon was getting Ii.
self served that the train stopped to
water the engine at the most desoIate
| placo thaF avnr Law nufAof da>~s i Il,
think. The place was utterly deserted
there wasn't a human being I'm sight,
either on the platform or In the street
upon which the station faced not tven
the bunch Of 1oafers which usually ma
terfalizes out of nowhere to see q
train came and go. / was looking out
OF the window and wondering how any,
body, even d hermit telegraph opera.
tor, could stand 1t to live In sucn d
graveyard Of q place when / got ny
shock. .
IL was d dog that connected up the
highrvoltage wires for me q shaggy
moIlgreI with his ears cooked and /
red ribbon OF a tongue hanging out III
he jumped mp on the high station plat.
form al If Id say Hello, stranger II, Il
me. For. right down flas renter of thai
dogs face and dividing ii as accurate.
III as 1t II had beer drawn BIZ some
mathematical draftsnan, was Ii line
marking On black half from Il white
half
wss jusfs taking swallow of 10,
ehccolafe wIlenStne doc appeared. as,d
n nesriy ehokeo Luckily IN
dssHeall9w d0wp befere ~ I'M
exnAshoppera I'M
naay Snadled ai,1 prial dskandllu
ht< r1wed a
rf
APle6ald sgEfOf IN eISS
1nd elno Nj 81