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32
THE SUNDAY OEEGONIAN, PORTLAND, APRIL' 29, 1900.
Fisst''v 1
O'ROONEY'S FAMOUS RIDE
CRONIES ENTERTAINED BY MIKE'S
EXPERIENCES AWUEEL.
Scbnldcr and Johnson Clearly Out-
cluicd by the Redoubtable
Spinner of Yarns.
Bchnlder, Johnson and O'Rooney were
Bitting In front of a North End lodging
house the other day, when the spectacle of
a wheelman passing at quite high speed
brought up the subject of bicycles for dis
cussion. Schnider continued to whittle
away In silence for a few moments, and
then, closing bis knife and carefully plac
ing It In his pocket with bis plug of to
bacco, he said:
"Veil, you vas never see any von dot
vas ride so fast as a voman dot I see do
odder day on de East Side. I vas vatch
lng de schlpa dot vos lay in de river, ven
I hear a sound shoost like music, und 1
look round, and dere vas a voman so
quick come mlt her veel do It vas hum
like a top. Dere vas nuddlngs like It!
Dot bike vent so fast I could no spoke
, see, und ven she vas come to de bridge I
vas sure she go In de river, for dot draw
he vas open, but de gate was agross.
VIrst, she vent right against it, und den
she vas go about two feet In de air and
land In vront of some horses. It break her
veel, und I vood tlnk It vas break her."
"Veil. It yoost bout right ef It ded,"
remarked Johnson.
"Will, b'ys." said Mike, as he shifted
to a new position, "It's O'Rooney that
don't agree with alther av ye. It's not the
lolke av roe to be afther rabukln' je.
Johnson, but OI could nlver be wishln'
ony woman so mooch harrm; and, as to
the spade ave the bolke. It's Molke thot
can till ye av a rolde OI took mcsllf wan
time, that bate the good woman's all to
paces."
"I tank you most yen'ally come out best
In yarns; O'Rooney," answered Johnson.
"You vas shoost right dere, Shonson,"
chimed In Schnider.
Mike cast a withering look at them an
instant, then, tilting his chair against the
building, replied:
O'Rooney Goei On.
"Ye nlver heard me till a yarn yet, but
if Oi should iver hopen to thry me hond
at wan. It's yersllves that re rolght whin
ye admit Oi could bate ye. It's not
O'Rooney that would bo afther llttln
alther a Dootchmon or a Swadc get the
blst av him on ony thing so alsy. But, OI
till ye, b'ys. It's a great shtory OI can
till je about mesllf ond the whale ond
nlver lave the thruth.
"Ye see, OI was afther goln" out for a
rolde wan afthernoon, and so Ol holred a
boike. Ond OI siz, 'Molke, If ye are goin'
to rolde, ye may as will rolde harrd.' So
Ol sbtartcd In In arnest, ond. If yeUl
belave me"
"Veil. O'Rooney, vot you tlnk ve vas,
ven you vas ask us to do dot?" broke in
Schnider.
Mike's chair struck the sidewalk with a
thud, and he straightened himself up to his
full six feet As he towered above the
short, plump Schnider, I shivered for the
Dutchman, and I guess he felt a little
chilly himself, for he hastened to ex
claim: "Mine Gott, O'Rooney, can't you take
shoost von Icetle shoke mltout you las
look dot vayr
"It's O'Rooney thot will be afther takln'
a joke ony day, Schnolder," returned
Mike, "ond OI was ounly lookln' a joke
at ye thin. But Ol'd lolke ye to bear in
mind, both av ye, thot Ol'm not tlllln' ye
wan. No, solr. It's the blL'sid thruth Ol'm
ehpakln' about the whale and mesllf."
Mike's features relaxed into a smile,
which may have been the result of his
present victory or from happy reminiscen
ces of his ride, as he sat down again and
continued:
"As Ol was afther tlllln ye. Ol shtarted
in for me plaisure on no small scale. OI
kept flyin' faster ond faster, until the
paple all along the shtrates ehlopped to
look at me ond me bolke.
Shorn Them How to Hide.
So Ol siz to mesllf, 'Ol'Il Joost lit thlm
see what a little folne roldln' 19 lolke,' siz
Ol. So Ol wiggled me fate a tolmc or two
again, and Oi wint so fast they couldn't
see onythlng but mesllf going through the
air loikc there was nothin' under me.
Thin they were afther shtandln' with
their mouths open to look at me raovln'
with sooch spade.
" 'If their callln' this fast roldln'.1 siz
OI, "OI'H show thlm what a fair spade
rallly le.' So Ol put a little more av me
moosle on thot bo!ccIe, ond thin, bliss
ycr hearrt, they couldn't see me nor me
bolke, we were goln so fast, but they
could hear most beautiful music! That
music Schnider heard was lolk an Infant's"
toy whistle, but the music av me bolke
was lolke the shtralns av a brass band
at a Fourth av July calibration. Yls, solr.
the air vlbratln' through thlm spokes so
fast made swate mllody that could be
heard for mony molles, and the people
poured out in great crowds to hear thlm
fone shtralns.
"01 was afraid Ol might run against
some av thlm. as they couldn't fcee me.
So OI siz, 'O'Rooney.' siz 01, 'e moost
be goln' a little faster, for If ye should
happen to run over ony wan, they molght
hov ye arrlsted for a scorcher.
"So Ol turned on a little more shtamo
from me two fate, ond, honly St. Path-
rick, b'ys, it was a great solght! The wind
was so great from me whale, the paplo
began to blow away In lvery direction
joost lolke a Kansas cyclone was afther
thlm.
"Yls. solr; they wint in cloomps ond
singly, ond lvery way. but they all wint
some way, ond Ol don't know whin they
were afther shtoppln'. There was wen
znon hod an oncomxnon big mouth, ond ho
moost hov hod an uncommon big impty
place about him somewhere, for whin Ol
coom along side av him. lie opened hit
mouth, ond the wind poofed him out, joost
lolke a balloon. Thin, whiff! ond he was
gone, ond whin Ol last hearrd av him. he
was circlln' around the North Pole, waitln"
for Lleutlnant Peary to get there, ond till
him what tolme It was.
A Trifle Nervous.
"Whin Ol rached the first river, OI flit
a trolfle narvous, but that bolke hadn't
got through running yet, so whin It coom
to the wather. it nlver hisltated. To till
ye the blissld thruth, OI shut me oyes
for a moment, ond whin OI opened thlm
again, thot litigant whale had me on the
other solde av the sthrame, as dhry as lver
ond heddln shtralght for New York.
"Whin Ol coom to the great city OI
found the shtrates ond poobllc squares
ful av paple, thryin' to folnd the great
musician thot was afther roakln' sooch
angilic shtralns av music, for news av It
had preceded me siveral molles. OI
thought Ol'd bethcr not be stoppln', as Ol
am mooch naded In Portland to kape
thrack av the grafthers, so OI was soon
lavln' me admolrers beheld, ond"
"I bet von dollar you vas never vind
any more," cautiously muttered Schnider,
In an undertone, too low to attract Mlke'j
attention.
"OI got back here so airly thot same
afthernoon, they told me sooper wouldn't
be riddy for a coople av hours. But tho
newsb'ys were all afther callln' out the
account av a monsther wind shtorm- thot
hod inched from Oregon to New Yorrk
ond back again. Ond as It was afther
blowln' away mony paple, they belaved
It hod taken siveral illlgant brass bands
with it, for It was playln' wondherful
music
"It Is the wan dark cloud on that beau
tiful rolde thot, whoile OI was afthet
slndln' so mony paple oop thot day, Ol
sever mlt ony av the lnemy, but they are
so loaded with pole ond grafts, Ol don't
belave a doozen whales with mcsllf to rold
thlm could Iver blow thlm away.
"Me great hope Is thlm blissld bolthers
that are afther wantln to coome In with
me parrtr. ond Ol till ye, b'ys. wUh thlm
to hllp oos, ond oos to hllp thlm. 01 be
lave the lnemy will be afther takln a
ramble thlmsllves. Ond thin we'll hov
folne times, ond, as to meeilf, Ol'Il be
afther wearln wan av the most llllgant
shtarrs In Portland."
As such brilliant possibilities loomed
before his mental vision. Mike's bis heart
overflowed with generosity and he disap
peared with his companions In a near-by
saloon, to set up the beer and bolognas.
TOM.
CLEVER ESKIMO DOGS.
Steal Food From Stramrers' Tents,
bnt Not From Their Own.
"Talk about dogs." said the old Alaska
miner to a New York Sun reporter, "why,
these curs, of high and low degree in the
East are not in It when compared with
tho Alaska mamaloot. 'Musha' him and
a broad smile spreads over his face,
while his tall curls majestically over his
back. and. with head and ears erect, every
step he takes Is a poem in arctic snows.
"From puppyhood up he takes to har
ness like a duck to waer. He goes at It
with vim and vigor characteristic of his
ancestors. Rig the pup In any old har
ness, and It's amusing to see how good
naturedly he buckles down to business,
staying with It like an old stager, never
tiring, never feeling discouraged. One be
comes very much attached to these ex
ceedingly useful and companionable ani
mals, and they always lmprpve on ac
quaintance. The longer you know them
the better you like them. With white
men they are at first disposed to be a
little shy, but they gradually make ad
vances, and ultimately take the visitors
Into full confidence.
"When we pitched our tents on Nome
beach last Summer we had a little expe
rience with huskies from the Eskimo huts.
In our absence from tho tents these dogs
were inclined to take liberties with our
provisions, but they did it In such a scien
tific manner that we felt more amused
than outraged. The dogs would form a
skirmish line on the outside, and then
send their most skilled thief Into the tent
to reconnolter for meat and bread. If
this thief failed, they would send another,
and If he was successful they would di
vide the plunder in as Intelligent and 1
equitable a manner as dog thieves were
capable of doing. These dogs were, honest i
Injuns at home, but they would pilfer j
from the stranger. When they became j
better acquainted with us we could leave !
the mess chests open and they wolud never 1
touch anything: they were on their dog
honor and never violated it, only accepting
food when It was offered to them.
"I'm led to these remarks," said the old
miner, "from seeing men and boys on the
streets endeavoring to break all manner
of domestic dogs to harness. They can't
do It; it's utterly impossible, because the
poor brutes were not born that way. The
Newfoundlands or St. Bernards don't ap
pear to have any Interest In their new
calling, and they show It in their down
cast tails' and dejected countenances. You
must remember that dogs have very ex
pressive faces and show their feelings In
a remarkable degree; they are the only
animals that laugh and cry. They have
shared my joys and sorrows in the bleak
arctic, and this is why I have a tendet
heart for dogs."
BEST WORK AT MATURITY.
Fame Comes to Most Novelists After
Yonth Has Passed.
Mr. W. P. James writes in the St.
James's Gazette of Mr. Kipling's opinion
that, "though short stones may be writ
ten In youth, the novel must be the work
of maturity." He says:
"There are undoubtedly great examples
to cite In support of his view. Richardson
wrote 'Clarissa Harlowe" when he was
near 60; Fielding, Tom Jones,' at 42; Gold
smith, The Vicar of Wakefield' at 3S. and
Sterne, Tristam Shandy after 45. Cer
vantes published the first part of 'Don
Quixote' at 58, and tho second at 6S; Defoe
his 'Robinson Crusoe' at K; Bunyan his
"Pilgrim's Progress" at EO, and Addison
was going on 40 when he created Sir
Roger.
"Scott published 'Waverley at 43; Gait
The Annals of the Parish' at 41; Peacock
'Crochet Castle' at 46; Thackeray 'Vanity
Fair at 36; Trollopo began his Barchcster
seizes at 40. and Charles Reade wrote The
Cloister and the Hearth' at 46. Mr. Black
more did not write 'Lorna Doone' till ha
was about 41. and It may surprise some
to be reminded thart Stevenson was about
40 when he wrote 'Prince Otto'; Disraeli
wrote 'Vivian Grey when he was only 22,
but he was 40 when he published "Co
nyngsby.' and If Lytton began equally
early with 'Pelham,' his best work as nov
elist was the work of hla later maturity.
On the other hand, 'Roderick Random'
was written at 26 or 27, and 'Pickwick' at
24. Probably the most precocious novel
In its way ever written was The Ordeal
of Richard Feverll.' written when Mr.
Meredith was about 20.
"Nor are the ladies much more preco
cious. In spite of the wonderful Jane Aus.
ten, who wrote 'Pride and Prejudice' as
soon as she was of age. She at all events
already knew her world, but her world
was undeniably rather a small one. Little
CARICATURE PORTRAITS
vs- 2
CECIL RHODES, ENGLAND'S "EMPIRE JIAICUII."
Fanny Burney, too, knew her world early,
and published 'Evelina' at 26. As for the
Brontes, critics, whether for praise or
blame, agree that they had to draw on
their Imagination for their worldly know),
edge. On the other hand. George Eliot
did not commence novelist till she was
nearlng 40, nor did Mrs. Gaskell; Miss
MItford began 'Our Village' at 28, and Mrs.
Ollphant her 'Chronicles of Carllngford'
at 42 or 43; while Miss Edgeworth' pub
lished 'Castle Rackrenf at 35."
TWO WOMEN DOING GOOD
HOME MISSIONARY WORK PRODUC
ING PRACTICAL RESULTS.
Praiseworthy Kindergarten Undertaking-,
Under Sensible Auspices,
la St. Mark's Parish.
"Oh, why should one ever want to be
an angel, when one can be a klnder
gartner!" exclaimed one of the young
women In Kate Douglas Wiggens story of
"Patsey." It Is many years since I first
read that pathetic little tale of San
Francisco tenement life, but the en thus-
lasm which Impelled that exclamation
made an Impression that does not fade.
Confessing, though I must, to a limited
acquaintance with angels, my experience
and knowledge of klndergartncrs Is of a
j nature to convince roe that the two are
, very close akin, if, indeed, they are not
identical. Recent observation tends to
strengthen this conviction, and if! you
would like a practical demonstration of
what to roe has become a self-evident
, fact, you can go down to North Twelfth
street some Monday morning and get It
first hand.
Number 2S8 Is not particularly Inviting,
viewed from .the outside. It Is a very
I small, very dingy-looking cottage, once
painrea a ami Drown, ana us narrow ver
anda sits flush with the sidewalk. But
when you have pushed open the door and
passed through the tiny entry and the
bare front room into a still tinier hall
and caught the sweet babble of baby
voices, you forget' tho outer spareness,
in a sudden anticipation of sunshine with.
In.
Transformation.
And you will not be disappointed, for
what was once a squalid tenement kitch
en has been purified by soap and water,
and transformed, by means of paint and
whitewash. Into a cheerful little scbool-
MEN IN THE PUBLIC EYE.
j room, where the morning beams come
1 pleasantly in. to be matched in bright
ness by the faces of the two young kin
dergartners and their sly but eager pu
pils. "However did you happen to start It?"
referring to the school, of course I ask
ed, when the 20 human buds whom these
enthusiastic young women are encourag
ing to flower had recited their A B C's
in chorus, and filed out on the stroke of
1 twelve. The head of Van Institution,
having seen the last One of her Infant
charges properly bonneted and dispatched
homeward, resumed her seat and drew a
long breath, preparatory to answering
my question.
"The Idea came to me all at once," she
said, "I hardly know how or why. One
evening, early in March, I think it was,
I came down here to help with the sing
ing at the mission service. This district
is all In St, Mark's parish, and Mr. Simp
son established tie mission and conducts
night meetings In this place."
"Your kindergarten, then, belongs to
the mission r I remarked.
"Oh. no; distinctly. It does not. It has
no connection with, and is not dependent
upon any church or organization. We are
entirely Independent, are we not, Ethel?"
And Ethel, who is a tall, graceful girl,
with an exceedingly quiet manner, re
plied. In her sweetly earnest voice, "We
are."
"But, you were going to tell me"
"How wo began? It was this way: At
THE SPIRIT OF SPRING.
that evening meeting of which I spoke,
there was a little boy, one of the children
here today. Did you notice him the one
with the big, earnest eyes? Such a pitiful
little tot he was, strayed In from the
street and the outer darkness! And he
sat there and listened to the pinging with
such a wistful expression on his dear, dir
ty little face that my heart went out to
him.
Others Like Him.
"It occurred to me with startling sud
denness that there were others like him In
. this neighborhood,' and I made up my
j mind, then and there, to hunt them up and
' gather them into some place where I could
teach them and give them some of the
things they lacked.
I "I don't like to put things off, you know;
and I never do. Before I slept that night,
my plans were formulated, and the kinder
garten, so far as I was concerned, was an
J established fact. The next day I tele
phoned Ethel. She said she would help,
1 and I got Mr. Simpson to go with me to
jeee the mothers in this region. They fa
( vored the Idea, and we rented a room and
opened the school."
"Oh!" cried Ethel, with a little gasp of
recollection, "will you ever forget how
frightened we were that first morning
while we sat here waiting for the children
to arrive? We kept looking at each other
helplessly and asking. 'What In the world
shall we do with them when they get
here?" We, neither of us, knew much
about teaching, and I don't now."
"Oh, yes, you do; I could not possibly
get on without you. But It waa eaey
enough when the children came. They
were so little end so helpless mere babies,
some of them and so In need of attention
that our hands were full, and we had no
time to stop and wonder what to do next.
Tasks crowded thick and fast, and, before
we realized It, the first forenoon had
passed and we were committed, heart and
soul, to the work.
She paused a moment, her lovely, face
ajl, aglow with earnestness and enthu
siasm. She Is so young, like a just-opened
rose one of the prettiest of Portland's
society women, one who never does any
thing by halves, and who, when she un
dertakes a thing of whatsoever nature,
carries It to a successful conclusion.
Generons Assistance.
"We soon discovered," she continued,
"that we must have funds. The place was
eo bare and cold and altogether unlovely.
We spoke to some of our friends and they
responded generously. Mr. Llndhard gave
us all the paint for the doors and windows
and things. Mrs. Fulton collected, on her
own account. $25 and brought It to me;
Mrs. Ladd, Miss Flanden, Mrs. Good and
others gave money. We hired a man to
whitewash the wall, another to make our
table and sandbox and benches and to put
up these shelves. St. Helen's Hall sent ui
a blackboard, and we bought some bookn
and slates and other working material.
"But I wanted to know Just what I could
depend upon regularly, and so I sent out
120 notices to as many people wnom 1
knew could give 10 cents each month and
never miss It."
"They all answered In the affirmative, of
course?"
She smiled. "A good many of them."
she" replied, "have not ancwered at all.
But I am sure. If they could come down
here just once and see tor themselves the
need, they would willingly give 10 times 1C
cents a month to help carry on the work.'
"And do you think." I asked, "that you
will keep It up; that you will not tire 01
It?"
Tire of It!" she cried, with Just a touch
of Indignation In her tone "You do nol
know me. If you dream that I will. Be
sides. It Is not a thing that can be dropped
at will."
And I wondered vaguely If any rujponel.
blllty, once assumed, can ever be laid
down. ,- .j -.
EXPERIENCES IN GOTHAM
WEALTHY "WESTERN GIRL AC
QUIRES INFORMATION.
Finds That There Are Some Thins
Money Will Not Buy In
Greater New York.
A Western girl, whose father own3 a
mine and a ranch and a quarter of a
county, end who has recently been seeing
New York, relates her experiences In en
tertaining fashion to the New York Press.
She took with her the unalloyed self
confidence which the respect paid to her
father's fortune had bred In her, and a
breezy self-assertion, which had Its root
In the same source. She learned In a
few weeks a great many undreamed-of
things, that money will do, and, what sur
prised her more, some things It will not
do.
She carried a letter to some uptown peo
ple, who, for a generous consideration,
receive a few persona Into their family,
but who expect the favor to be appreci
ated as If there were no money In the
transaction. "Heaven knows what I
should have done If I hadn't a letter to
them," says the girl: "for the best hotels
and boarding-houses seem to cherish the
principle that a woman traveling alone
must be a thief, an adventuress, or a hor
rible creature of some sort. I never saw
J such a suspicious town as New York; Jhe
J people have to have a guarantee for every
1 thing and everybody.
"Some of the persons In our house tried
to snub me at first: but they didn't make
j much headway, and I guess now they wish
CARICATURE PORTRAITS
THEODORE ROOSEVELT,
they hadn't. I found out it was because
I didn't have a chaperon. I just Inform' d
them that I had managed to get along
I pretty well for IS years, without an old
cat to look out for me. and I wasn't going
to berin now. I guess rm to be trusted
all right. I know what's what.
Nice Old Lady.
" 'But your mother?" suggested one
really nice old lady that I, think was Inter
ested In me. 'Oh, she doesn't like to go
out. and I do, so she stays at home.' 1
explained.
"Well, they've seen that I don't do any
thing dreadful simply because I'm sot
watched, so they've become resigned, es
pecially as they're oil glad enough to be
my chaperon to the theater, opera, or any
thing that costs money.
"But It wasn't only there, but every
place, that people are so suspicious.
Speaking of hotels and restuarants, there
are lota of them that refuse women after
I 6 o'clock. If you are with a man It's all
right, although It may be all wrong.
That's funny sort of propriety.
"The stores all have tho some spirit.
When I order any goods to be paid for on
delivery at the real swell places, they
hum and haw and say: 'Beg pardon, you
have an account?" I say, "No; ril pay for
them at the house.' And then they sug
gest references or a deposit, which I make
and go away feeling tired.
"I heaTd of a swell dressmaker and I
thought I'd like to have something made
by one of the best. I might as well have
tried -to go to a reception at Mrs. Astors
without an Invitation. A boy with the
newest livery and shiniest buttons Im
aginable let me .Into a formal reception
room, where a severe-looking woman at a
desk looked at me inquiringly.
" 'I came to see about getting some
work done.' I said.
" 'You are?"
" 'Miss .'
" 'I don't find your name upon our
books,' she said, after referring to some
elegant affairs in leather and gilt.
'Ivo; I never had anything done here.
" 'Who sent you?"
" 'Why, no one," I admitted; "but I will
pay for what I get In advance. If you
want It."
"She shook her head and looked at me as
if she commiserated my ignorance.
Don't Work for Strangers.
" 'We don't do work for strangers, ex
cept occasionally at the request of som
regular patron. Besides, we couldn't take
any more orders this season. Very sorry.'
"And before I realized what had hap
pened, the boy had shut me out. I was
in the street, reflecting that even the
dressmakers hero turned away money
when presented by a stranger. I had
thought that bad enough, when I tried to
open a bank account and found myself
regarded with as much suspicion as If I
had been trying to steal money. Instead
of merely depositing It. References, ref
erences and guarantee in every quarter.
"One day I wasn't feeling well, hadn't
been for several days, and, as I happened
to pass a doctor's office. I thought I would
go In and get a prescription. It didn't oc
cur to my unsophisticated mind that there
would be any difficulty about this, al
though I ought to have known It, seeing
It was In a Bwell street.
"A flunkey showed me Into a reception-
room and demanded a card.
" 'You come by appointment?" he in
quired as he took It. 'No," I said, where
upon he let me know that It was the
height of presumption to try to see the
great doctor In such circumstances, and
that I should have to write to him for an
appointment. "And furnish references. 1
suppose?' I added. 'It would be better,"
said Flunkey, after a moment's consider
ation. "You can't even get medical attention
without red-tape measures in this town.
They wouldn't believe that out where I
live.
"I'm getting hardened now. I carry a
supply of references around with me to
meet all requirements, but it did keep me
stirred up at first to be suspected at every
turn. However. I realize that that Is one
part of one's education In New York."
QUININE FIENDS.
People Are Too Free and Careless
"With the Druir.
The druggist was In a talkative mood,
says the. New York Mall and Express.
In the last hour he had sold quinine to
nine customers, and he felt called upon
to make a mild protest.
"It is strange," said he "what simple
faith most persons have in the virtues of
quinine and whisky as a cure-all. If
the average man sneezes a few times he
buys a lot of quinine, capsules and a pint
of Jersey lightning and goes to bed with
it. He washes 10 or 12 grains of quinine
down with half a pint or so of the whisky
and the next morning he gets up feeling
old. bedraggled and generally unfit for
publication. He might better have had
the cold than to subject his system to
such a strain.
"People don't seem to realize that qui
nine Is a drug which should be handled
with as much care as any other. Why,
some customers of mine are regular qui
nine fiends, and take the stuff on the
slightest pretext. Perhaps they want
some excuse for setting away with the
whisky. But It's a pretty small man who
would look at in that way. What people;
don't seem to understand Is that quinine
baa certain, defined uses, and Is not a
- MEN IN THE PUEUC EYE.
GOVERNOR OI MiW YORK
panacea. When you put whisky with it
you get a mixture which should be han
dled with as much care as aconite or any
thing else.
WELL EQUIPPED FOR TASK
ADVENTUROUS CAREER OF NOVEL
IST F. A- CUMMINGS.
Writer of "Path Beyond the Lexee
Was Sailor, Soldier, Woodsman,
and Folltlclan.
Tho death of Mr. F. A. Cummings, oS
Bangor, Me., occurring on December 13
last, after a brief Illness, recalls the
case of the author of "David Harum,"
who died before the realization of his suc
cess as a novelist. Mr. Cummings waa
the author of "The Path Beyond the
Levee," the powerfully written novel, the
first installment of which as a serial, pre
liminary to its proposed final publication
In book form, appears in last Sunday'a
Issue of The Oregonlan. Hla career was an"
adventurous one. and serves to illustrate
the fact that the new type of writers of
fiction Is apt to be men of action rather
than recluses of the study. Mr. Cum
mings was. by turns, a sailor, a soldier, a
railroad builder, a woodsman, a politician,
a Mayor and a Postmaster. At 17 h went
to sea as a sailor before the mast, and
he once said. In speaking of this experi
ence: "I have been slhpmate with every
class of men that poverty, crime or in
clination drove to a sailor's life."
One would think that seafaring under
these conditions would not be a particu
larly dull life, but to "vary the monot
ony," In Mr. Cummings" own phrase, he
finally enlisted at New Orleans In a mili
tary company, recruited to support the
filibuster, William Walker. In his en
deavor to make a conquest of Nicaragua.
The United States Government Interposed
ana the company was not permitted to
Join Walker.
Cummings thereupon made his way
Into the woods of Canada: had a tough
time of It there: managed finally, by some
desperate device, to make his way down
to Portland. Me. and then went to sea
again. He cruised about In various direc
tions, and the Winter of 1S33-G0 found him
In Cardenas. Thence he shipped as sec
ond mate In a brig bound to New Orleans
with a cargo of molasses.
Enters the Union Army.
Arrived at New Orleans, he tried his
fortune on land again, and became boss
of a gang of laborers on a new railroad
that was building from some point In Lou
isiana into Texas. Here he remained un
til the breaking out of the Civil War,
when he made his way northward and se
cured a p'ace in the Commissary De
partment, acting for a time as Captain
and Commissary on the staff of General
C. D. Jamteson. In Kearny's Division,
Helntzleman's Corps.
After tho battle of Williamsburg he re
turned to his home In Maine and helped to
recruit a company for the Eighteenth
Maine Regiment, and became a Second
Lieutenant. He was soon promoted, snd
finished the war with the rank of Captain;
he was wounded at Spottsylvanla.
After the war Mr. Cummings was made
tho Mayor and Postmaster of Bangor.
Me.; explored and surveyed timber and
mineral lands In Maine. Virginia and
Texas, and also made a venture or two
on his own account In the development
of such lands. The literary Impulse that
seemed to be Inherent In him prompted
him to write occasionally of his various
experiences for the lecal newspapers, but
"The Path Beyond the Levee" was h's
first serious literary undertaking. While
It Is strictly a work of fiction, and very
romantic and thrilling fiction, too, yet it
is based largely on fact.
It is the story of two young men who
undertopk as a purely business enter
prise, so far as they were concerned to
run off negro slaves from Louisiana and
deliver them to an abolition society in tho
North. All the ground over which tho
story moves was as familiar to the au
thor as his native town, and his own ad
ventures and encounters on sea and land
suggested when they did not directly sup
ply, the incidents and the characters.
Not n Yonnc Writer.
While Mr. Cumlngs was a new writer
when he wrote the novel begun In today's
when he wrote the novel begun in last
Sunday's Oregonlan. he could then scarce
ly be called a jour.g man: when he died be
was about 59 years old. Indeed, he must
needs have been at least that old to have
seen and done as much as he did. and to
have gathered the store cf good stuff for
literary uso that he put In 'The Path Be
yond the Levee."
He was always an out-door man. Dur
ing the yachting season he sailed about In
a yacht of his own building; and he said
of himself: "I have caught sable, mink
and loup-cervler In traps; I have caught
all kinds of fish, from salmon to smel's
and cod to herring, in fresh and salt
waters, and I have shot deer In the woods.
I have walked hundreds of miles on snow
shoes, and slept alone In the woods many
times."
Certainly a man who was equal to so
"strenuous" a life as all this was a eturdy
fellow for a novelist We may be pretty
sure that in what has come from Mr.
Cummings' pen there Is no flavor of d(j
cadence.
NO CORKSCREW NEEDED.
Hotr to Open Bottlen Willi Knives or
"No Tool nt All.
The talk turned on the opening of bot
tles without the aid of a corkscrew, ana
the freshest man In the party called for
two pen-knives and a bottle with a cork
tight In It. Everybody else pushed back
from the table and gave him plenty of
room. He opened the biggest blades of
the two knives and then Inserted one be
tween the glass of the bottle and the
cork. He pushed It down as far as ho
could. Then he took the other knife and
shoved It down the same way on the op
posite side of the bottle. Seizing the han
dles of tho knives, he pressed them to
gether and pulled upward. Up came the
cork with them.
"That's a neat trick." said the Kentucky
Colonel, "but what are you going to cto
if you don't have two knives? Here, now,
I'll show you how to open a bottle with
out any paraphernalia. You know we oc.
caslonally get caught out In Kentucky
with nothing on us but our guns. Give
me a bottle."
The waiter brought a fresh bottle.
The Colonel took his handkerchief out,
wadded It up, and then seized the bottle
firmly by the neck. He put the handker
chief against the wall, and, poising tho
bottle, drove It bottom first against tn
wadded handkerchief. Everybody dodged
and protested that he'd smash the bottle.
The Colonel did not heed the protests, but
again drove the bottle bottom first against
the wall. There was a little snap that
sounded like the cracking of the gloss, and
that brought out more protests. The Colo
nel grinned and offered to bet the drinks
that he'd pull the cork without breaking
the bottle. The bet was taken. The Colo
nel drove the bottle solidly back again
and then a fourth and a fifth time. At
the fifth drive the cork flew clear across
the room. The Colonel upended the bottle
quickly.
"Didn't lose a teaspoonful," said he.
"Drinks are on me." said the man who
had taken the bet, "but I don't see how It
was done."
"You must have seen how It was done,"
said the Colonel. "If there Is an Inch of
air space In the bottle between the bot
tom of the cork and the liquor, the cork
Is bound to come every time. The air
drives it out. and there isn't any danger
of breaking the bottle, either."
Ail that party are around this town now
winning drinks on the Colonel's idea. If
you meet a fellow who wants to bet he
can null the cork from a bottle without
I using corkscrew, knife or teeth, don't
take him up, -for he'll win your money.
New York Sua.
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