The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 16, 1902, Page 10

10 TH s = UNDAY CALL, AN under false colors d in a stri was mati- give intly with a Fourth of just hat .I hadn’t teiling him a betwe I wouid my ow lience as some romised to keep t seaters t overflowed the lly Bard, an old miner. went back in the wings after b were laughing and g what sort of They found out in hole house was roar- d reached the center of the n't blame them, for The most striking feat- get up were a blazing red a flaring unkempt beard that been molested for weeks and A bandana handkerchief met around my throat and served to set off an old faded suit of yellow maciinaw. Hip rubber boots with the tops turned over down to the knees fin- ished me off at one end and an old cow- the “MONAR.CH OF ALL 1 SURVEYED oN A STERNWHEELER ¥ boy bhat formed the crowning touch to this picture of a musical miner. I was hugging my violin and with a slight nod to the crowd in front I stood and waited for the orchestra of four or five musicians to get through laughing and let me have my innings. They kept on giggling until one of them came to his senses and began to give me A on the piano. I fumbled around and began to run over the strings; this I did several times “and always out of tunme. Then I took off my cowboy hat and ran my fingers through my hair. Once more I bowed the strings and this time the dis- cord was worse and more of it. The or- chestra and audience were both in con- o0 = P Bl = vulsions of laughter by this time, but they politely refrained from doing any- thing worse out of sympathy for me, I suppose. They did not know that all the time I was laughing in my sleeve at them. Then I thought it was time to do ‘some guying myself, so I started in with a flourish and played a cadenza. The first violin In that orchestra put his instru- ment down and started up over the foot- lights with his mouth open. The faces in the audience changed and the laughter died away like a breeze after a storm. I kept quiet for a moment or so and enjoyed watching them from behind my AMND “THE FOUR OF US HARNE-SSED up DrRAWING work at the Columbla, when a company offered to send me up there to look after their interests, and not being averse to a chance to pick up a little gold for my self, I decided to do some exploring just for a change and rest. But 1 hardly thought that in addition to my other experiences I should add that of belng the captain of a Yuken River steamboat. But I was monarch of all I surveyed on a stern-wheeler, and for foug or five mon too. It came about in this way In our journey T had so much trou- ble with pilots that I began to study the THE egan to pl ; at ement of a T TFrovatore Yegan to realize then that I had not been brought up as a miner, I think, and Pader i himself might have felt complimented at the way in which my uncouth appearance was lost sight of in appreciation of the ever beau tiful airs of the opéra. And when it came to an end the house g vent to its f ings in a way that made .he new walls fairly shake and caused me to smile a broadly as a miner would have done if he had struck it rich. For it certainly struck me that all Daw- son and 1 were enjoying a rich joke to- gether. 1 got out into the wings to be joshed by Billy Bard, but they called and recalled. so I swaggered out once more and played a Spanish fantasfa. This was more showy and took them quite by s.ormr, but still they didn’t realize that a simple musician stocd before them. One man was heard to remark audibly that “That cove had never ought to gone in the mining business." All this time I was in the wings being joshed on all sides and getting ready to present a normal appearance -once more. The buzzing outside continued, with an occasional hurrah and when the man who was managing programme went out to make the next announcement they would not allow him to speak, but called for more music from ‘the fellow with the beard.” Finally when he could get a word in edgewise he told them how they had -been hcaxed and that they had been listening to the musical director of the Columbia Theater, San Francisco, who was in town on business and had taken this mode of giving himself a littie pleasure. Then the applause, mixed with laughter, broke out again louder than ever and I had to go out and bow. After the show I thought I should never get away alive, so great was the joshing I received. The very next day I received an offer of a permanent engagement to play in the orchestra there at a salary of $25 a night, for as many nights as [ wan ed. Ard that was my first public ap- pearance as a musician in the Klondike, and I think every one called it a success. ecep- the Anyway, 1 shall never forget the tion I got as a miner who could play tiddie. But I had other experiences in the rorth which were hardly so pleas: among which 1 may mention the jc from Fort Yukon over the ice to Daw- son, which Mr. Roncovieri, two others and myself made together. We had to tramp it in, and we slept three nights on Lake Lebarge, with no protection from the icy ground save rubber biz That lake is about 150 miles from Skag- way and about thirty miles long. Then onward we tramped, the four of us b nessed up and drawing the sle same as horses or dogs. Then I realized that the Klondike was not exactly the place to pick out to take a vacation in. That was about the reason that I went up there, though. After five ,years of ets. MANY PALL BY THE WAYSIDF SLEIGH " own account. The water In I 1 T T money good ones are paid $2 Cn the Indians are the best pilots to look at the water o conform to th ed, and before 1 was Capta steamer Clara forgotten how ides, and soon I had ier running all over the river I remember het incident that happened c short days of about dusk and £ in the boat. when wildiy along the s for me to come The shore was a here somehow and racky on he called 3 For God's sake take me on & I think I am going to die. 1 aid oard the Clara, and found sondent to the verge of insanity. one of the many wood- choppers cabins are scattered had been at that ks for the N. A. T. Com- )id and silence, save a faithful dog. A amer had come along d the man was alone in along the derness. too much for strength an 1 kept him, nu A 2 and then s ng ones to remember. 1 rememper for the favors me In that country are the ted police. as abie a body r saw, but about rentary things h called the mounted police, ough as a matter of fact they are on foot, except in Ottawa or other towns. In their little stations along the river I often met them, and I know of many s in which they were a great a poor traveler. That Is a ¢ all work and net much one. Lake Bennett and connected in my mind s we had. There 1 I had a bet of a champ Captain Ritchie of t ment Company, who m just a little before us, t there T have nev His several ice for a stead of fortune may again some day