The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1930-10-02

| for years, bu.
mand for gold here lately there
was a revival of the famous old
lplace. Harry Carr, one of the best
newspaper men on this or any 9TH
er coast, had been up there writing
wonderful stories of what it meant
to a mining town to be Gonzales
cling, and about to reach good
health again. He claimed the thing
was running almost as wide open
as one of our big cities, that the
gambling and drinking was in a
small way on a comparison with
New York or Los Angeles.
Well Mrs. Rogers and / were
just out proving around. We
were working on spelling a fine
old classic, and had been taking a
great part of the Scenes on the or
ginal site where the play was laid,
at Lake Tahoe. Mr.. Henry King,
our director, had told me that he
had just about all of my face that
he desired for exterior photograph
lie purposes, and that if / wanted /
could head for home, and as they
had a few more days work without
me ] needn't be in any hurry to get
home. Well that was right up my
alley. / bet a lot of you like this
too. I love to drive around and to
look over old places, especially his
toric old spots.
We went down through all the
old early '49 camps, Suffer Creek,
Angels Camp, in Caliveras, that's
the exact home of Mark Twains
Jumping frog, and really the story
that did more to make Twain than
amy other one thing he ever did.
They have Frog Rodeo there
every year, Frog Singing, Frog
Jumping and wind up by eating
all the frogs that had contested,
and everybody winds up with a
frog in their throat Then Brete
Hart was there and all his stories
are around in that country.
Then to Sonora, another old
timer, but which held on fine, and
is today a real little town. Then
over Sonora pass. Scenery, Oh!
Boy! what views. But its getting
late we must get to Bodie. It's
away over near the Nevada line
in the sage brush desert. My wife
was afraid to go, she had read
Cars articles and she was looking
for whooping, shooting and gam
boleering. Well the poor Devils
the night before, just twenty four
hours to correct time announce
ment, why the Pro-Hi's had raided
the place, broke all the booze in 13
saloons, put Is men under $500
bonds,a you should have seen the
place this night. Our car was the
only thing moving in town. Indig-
nation meetings consisted Of two
and three huddled in front of what
had been a saloon door. 1t was
still lighted up, but saspharilla
was their diet. 1t was real sur
prise raid. The mines hadn't open
ed that day, for they had had no
sustenance for "a hours and could
not work. talked with them, but
it was almost like speaking over
the body of a fallen comrade. Their
voice was not only reverent but
parched. They couldn't understand
why they out of 120 million peo-
pie should be Disseminated
against. Why should they be the
only example of Prohibition? They
felt that their work demanded as
much or more liquid fortitude as
is allowed toilers on Wall street.
They estimated in low tones the
amount of bootleggers that these
officers must have passed in their
trip away out in this dessert, from
San Francisco where they had
come. It will always remain in my
memory as the deadest town /
ever saw.