The Life of a Loafer, Los Angeles Herald, 19 December 1897

THE LIFE OF A LOAFERMotto?A tramp lam In the land, a so-

journer as my sires.?King David in 35thPsalm.

When the Almightywent into the crea-tion business. He took clay from thelowest strata and formed and shaped

from it the lowest order of beings,

pamely, the animals, while the man Heformed out of the lincst sort of clay. As

God is the potency of wisdom, and wis-

dom is the potency of economy?ascience not yet comprehended, especial-ly by the United States presidents?soGod in his wisdom piled up the shavings

ofthe clay and formed from them a sortOf creature, and called them the loafers.

As soon as the loafers were able to\u25a0land on their legs, they came beforeGod, demanding a place whereon toStand, and the Lord replied: "1 am verysorry, my dear creatures, you have cometoo late; for I have divided the worldamong men and beasts alike. The for-ests are occupied now by hunters andhighwaymen. The mountains are in-habited by prospectors and consump-tive people. The ocean I give to piratesand sailors, while the cities are takenpossession of by merchants and cor-rupted officials."

The Loafers did not lose courage, andby the impudence which is natural tothat caste, they begun to bother the Lordin the hallelujah tune. At last the Lordwas moved in HJs loving kindness, andsaid to the loafers: "Behold, I havefound an empty spot, not yet claimed byany of Adajn's family. It is the cornerOf the saloons, and there you shall dwellas if in your own homes." Since thattime the loafer claims the corner of asaloon, as the Indian his reservation,allotted to him by a heavenly decree. InEurope, where personal freedom is only

found in the dictionary, the loafers wereunable to exist: and like the most of theold country folks, the loafer migrated toAmerica to enter his promisi d land,Where beer and whisky ilows ?the cornerof the saloon.

THE TRAMP FAMILY(1) The Dervish.?The loafer is a mem-

ber of the great tramp family, whichforms the bulk of Adam's race. Takingit literally, as life is not a stable one, weall can be called tramps; and accordingto Theosophy our soul does the greatestamount of tramping, as it wheelsthrough the successive laps of the rein-carnation cycle track. Inthe Orient wherethe primal nurses of humanity were Re-ligion and Superstition, the tramp hasassumed a divine dignity in th" shapeof a religious order. The author of thepsalm. King David, was a royal tramp;as he cried to the Lord that he is only"a tramp in the land, a sojoui ncr" as hissires. The same conception of tramp-ing is still visible In tho mod' 1 of life oftho Orientals; and tho trend of In ggingruns through the veins ofail Asiatic na-tions in the form of "baksheesh" dips}which Is asked from you for the slightestservice done in addition to the wages.The baksheesh is demanded by thepasha as well as by the bashl-bazouk.The monkish order of the Islam, knownunder tho name of the Dervish, wasfounded on a tramp scale; and they havea proverb In Egypt which character-ises Its tendency. The proverb in ques-tion runs as follows:

Falus Mafish,Amal Dervish,

Which sounds in English!Xl money gone?Dervish dress don.

The orient is the El Dorado for tramps,for every home is a charity Institutionwhich welcomes the weary wanderer.Poverty Is not there considered a crime,and the government Is not burdened tomaintain almshouses or asylums. Thetramp at largo is a Herbert Spi ncer Inhis own philosophical way, and "Tak ?life easy" seems to be the keyn itoofhlsphilosophy. "It is better to let otherswork," said a knight of tho road to meonce; "it is a principle of life pursuedeven by our Vanderbilts and th > Goulds."In one respect the tramp is right, andthe only difference is that while the mil-lionaire wears out others, the wearywanderer wears himself out.

THE TRAMP IN "HALF-ASIA"Russia and some portions of Austria

are Included in tin region ..f "Half-Asia" The oriental spirit prevails stillthere, under a thin screen of moderncivilization. Begging in "Half-Asia" islooked upon as a national ?: harai teristlc,and the Turkish bakshl esh has only an-other name there, known as "bribe."The rolling rouble wanders into the openpocket of the pristav (chief of police),as well as into the gilded i> -rtm-mnaie ofa member of the holy synod or senate.The Russian soldier, aft"!' doing his mil-itary drill and duty, is free to go out andmake money by his own handiwork.Some of them you will find working dur-ing the few free hours as honi si lab -r-ers, while .th-. bulk of th- m goes beggingin spite of the brass buttons of the czar.The Russians are pure Asiatics. "Scratchthe skin of a Russian nnd you will dis-cover either a Tartar or a Mongolian,"

THE JEWISH SHNORERThe Jews are a peculiar people, hence

their tramps are the most peculiar olthe tramp class. While the tramps ofother nations wander without any aimexcept to have three square meals aday, the Jewish shnorer has an aim, andn noble -me, namely, to make money forhis children.

Tho Jewish shnorer is divided into fouiclasses?(l) the common shnorer, (2)the commercial traveler, (3) the Impos-tor, (4) the honest shnorer,

THE COMMON SHNORERThe common shnorer ia a pitiable sight

to hehoia, and in his appearance heshows that he is a worthy member ofthetramp craft. A heavy sack, packed witha bric-a-brac of a variety show, he i or-ries on his shoulder while marching onthe road. In his sack you will And Oldclothing and sh-.es, prayerbooks for thewhole year, th- prayer mantli s, phylac-teries, and some native pi. ces ofchei sewith a Mmburger odor, covered withhard crumbs of rye bread, worn out withold age. When he arrives in a town hemarches straight to his quarter, to thecosmopolitan hotel whose proprl tor laJehovah, ami th.. hotel bears the nami"Beth Ha-Mldrash" (House of Learn-ing), being considered ni xt to the syna-gogue in sanctity.

Some of them prefer the "klaus," aplace of worship of the Cassidlm (thepious ones), an old Beet ol the PolishJews, from whom Madame Blavatsl ?obtuined her reincarnation ideas, which|he pretended to bay..' 1 n taught herby the mahatmas. The klaus i. a <?. m-bination of a saloon and a church; foron the pedestal of the sacred shrine thesexton keeps his case of whisky, Whichhe sells on various occasions to tho wor-shipers. He drives a roaring trade whenthe members are in a good humor, after

having listened to a celebrated preacheror witnessed tho now mysterious featsperformed by their mahntma, the won-der working rabbi. On such occasions,the fire-water ilows freely, nnd thetramp, of course, gets his share. Herelies the rub, which causes so many ofthem to prefer the klaus to the Beth Ha-Midrash.

Whin the tramp reaches his hotel, hoputs his bundle on tho long bench whichencircles the big black stove; and, aftera "rest awhile," ho goes out to his busi-ness. He purchases from tho sextonsome small tin coins, of which he getsforty for a cent. Each of these coins isstamped with Hebrew initials, corre-sponding to P and L; and these signify"Afarthing to the poor." He then com-mences his rounds. Coming to a house,the common tramp does not speak aword, but simply stretches out his handand receives according to the good willof the housewife, which varies from afarthing to a cent. The farthings, fortyto a cent, which he bought from the sex-ton, ho uses to give change to anyonewho has not a coin small enough to givehim. Having made a house-to-housevisitation, as if ho were a census scribe,

he returns at night to God's hotel, and

waits at tho door after the eveningprayer, to see Ifsome one will not pressa farthing Into his hand, or invite himto supper, which is often the case. Whenthe praying, studying and gossiping isover, ami the members have left Jeho-vah's hotel, the tramps make themselvescomfortable on the big benches aroundtho heated brick stove; and by the lightof tho sacred lamp they tell their fairy-tales?how many farthings they havemade that day, who showed herself a

tenevolent woman, and so forth. Whilehey thus discuss these events, Interest-ng to a tramp, a large cup of hot tea-mnch makes the round, imparting a pol-

sh of hilarity to the assembled guildTo the honor of the Jewish shnorer, itmist be recorded that, although th*churches are stocked with valuables, in-cluding silver and gilt crowns to thescrolls of the law, und finely woven sill!mantles, besides costly lamps and otheidivine furniture necessary to the houseof the Lord, there never has been aof theft known.

On the Sabbaths nnd holy days, thetramps array themselves at the doorsof the synagogues and places of worship,

and each worshiper invites a tramp t.his home for the holy day or for supper.The Christian may look with jealouseyes on tho happy lot of the Jewish

THE BAGMANTho commercial traveler is every Inch

a common tramp, with one exception-he makes mor« money, and is of a moretalkative nature, with a decided mani-festation of business ability. He comet

into a house, not as a beggar, but us acommercial traveler, offering to the pi-ous Jew some show threads for his

bands for his worn-out phylacteriespocket psalms and tiny wax candles, uswell as wolf's tooth as a talisman foichildren, and amber pearls for babygirls. While hi. is showing his divinegoods, he begins to tell his tale of manywoes. That he was burnt out and hitwile is on a sick bed while his overgrowndaughters need husbands badly, foiwhom ho is now trying to bring theirunder Hymen's canopy, By such wofu.narratives ho knocks at the door of hu-manity.", heart, which is always open tctho appeal of sufferers. It is often theease that when a tramp dies in tho hos-pital they iind in his socks imperial banknotes amounting to thousands ofllorins.

THIC IMPOSTORThe Imposltor is a shnorer of the high-

est order; in tho language of BlackstoneIho would be termed a "commonswindler." Ho is as a rule a learned He-

Ibrew scholar, and dresses himself in along caftan embroidered with red andwhite ribbons like a church fresco, aheavy turban on his head from which

ia red Turkish fez Is peeping, a broadheavy sack of a girdle circles his loins,and his whole appearance looks as ifhewere a Mameluke of Muhommed All's|age. His vernacular is that of a by-gone classic Hebrew, in which Moses

Istuttered, and In which the fiery tongue[if Isaiah inflamed the heart of his!hi arei s. When ho comes to town he goesstraight to the rabid and Introduces

I himself as a son of tho beloved Zion and| shows him on parchment his lineage, thatib- is a direct descendant from Herodthe Great, lie ti-l!s him of the persecu-tion of the Jews by the Moslems and ofother natural calamities which visited

the Holy Land. He often claims to bea messenger sent to the brethren of theexiles for aid. As most of them do notunderstand classical Hebrew they ad-mire him the more, as it Is the case, theless we understand a lecture the morewe think of it. The people of course be-stow upon him tokens of love, in theform of swelling his pockets with theirshekels.

In addition to this he sells rain water

for the liquid of the Jordan, and nativedust and clay for that taken from thedear soil of Jerusalem. The latter arti-cle fetches a high price, for the Jewsmake from them a small cushion that

their dead shall rest upon it In the grave,

and so make their earth lighter to them.You can imagine that he Is doing aland office business. As the Jews in HalfAsia are not geologists they, in theirsilly superstitious ideas, take the soil oftheir own homos ns that from their mi-forgotten soil of Salem.

THE HONEST SHNORERAnother sort of shnorer Is the honest

shnorer. He is a wandering preacher;and in every town ho lectures In thesynagogue on the Sabbath afternoon,

for which he takes the privilege as acompensation to go around from houseto house on Sunday with an open little-sack to etilect tho pennies. Such avenerable pious-looking knight of theroad recalls to one's mind the "FahrendeBchuler" Of tho Middle Ages In Germany,

whom Victor yon Schaffel has im-mortalized In his illustrious poems.

GERMANY'S FECHT BRUDERTho Germans. In spite of priding

themselves on being ofpure Aryan stock,

have one trult of their nationality in

common with the national characteris-tics of the Semites, especially with thatof ihe Jews: the instinct to wander. TheGerman fecht bruder is a half-mechanicand half- tramp. He wanders for thepure and simple reason?to see theworld. I met in my extensive travelsthese wanderers on the rocky mountainsof Judaea as well as in the marshy plains

lof Sumatra; in the Nubian desert aswell as in the flowery empire of Con-fucius. With some or most of them itis a delight to speak, when they unfoldtheir knowledge of a Hegel, Fiehte orof the religious, gloomy philosophy of aSchlelermacher. Nearly every one of theguild knows some trade which he utilizes

?in times when circumstances are press-ing very hard. Although a tramp, hetries his best not to appear as one; to,dress well and to spend his time at thelager beer saloon is his sole ambition.AVh"n he comes to town he has many-ways and means of obtaining money,either by working a short time in oneplace and then wandering onward, orby writing heart-rending letters tobenevolent rich people. In these lettershe touches the tender spot of humanity

iby the btautiful style of phraseology,founded on a fairy taio of woes and mis-fortunes. He is :i cosmopolitan in ( veryjrespect and aspe< t, nnd in his travelinghe loses the Teutonic characteristics,with the exception of tho lager beer. He

icares neither forWilliamnor forLuther,jnor even for Him who lives somewherein the vacuum of the universe.

TlliC AMERICAN TiUJiPThe American tramp is the most prac-

tical phllospher of the wanderingschool. Ho is too patriotic to leave his

Ibeloved country of Columbus to roam'? around the world. Like the CaliphOmar, who thought that the great li-brary of Alexandria was useless, as what

lit contained could bo found in th.'Koran, so the American tramp thinksthat everything which tho world has,

with the execeptlon of crowned heads,'can bo found in America, and so it is

useless to see the world. Ho Is too much'of a philosopher to b an on others, and;In his original philosophy ho came to the'conclusion that tho mind is only theastral body of the stomach; hence hisvim to have daily three square meals

\u25a0to fill out the vacuum of that wonderful: littlespace. He is too much of a Christ-ian to care for his children, when thereare so many asylums and orphanages

', where they can be cared for Without dis-turbing him from his meditations.Apropos of his, meditation, he does notmeditate upon his own nothingness,but upon the folly ofmankind. He med-itates why people are so foolish as toclimb up trees and tear their clothing

(for the sake of getting the fruit, when,if they a little, the wind willbring it to their feet. He laments themaking of wars and the killing of theenemy, when if they would only waitthey would die of old age Of all the

tramps, the American la the mott Jolly,for he likes fun and gets plenty of It.For fun's sake he steals a ride on theblind baggage car, and prides himselfon having cheated the railway com-pany. As soon as this fun Is finished, another awaits him; ten days In thepublic hotel (the jail), where he is ban-queted by the state. As a good Ameri-can he Is well posted In politics, andknows Tammany's creed by heart. HeIs, as a rule, a Democrat in politics forvarious reasons; first, he is a freetrader, and never pays for his goods;secondly, for the fun which that party

?affords him on Its own expense; at elec-tion time he Is planted in some of thevast colonies, where he Is provided withfree board and lodging; at that timethe tramp citizen talks politics, while he

sits on the banks of the River Fire-water, keenly observing the tide of thatwonderful element. On election day hecasts his vote for the Republican can-didate and there comes In the fun of Itall.

THE BLACK SHEEPIn the great tramp family the loafer

is regarded as the black sheep of thefold. The loafer tribe is divided Intotwo distinct classes, one the commonloafer, the other tho respectable loafer.The common loafer is too proud to worknnd too lazy to walk, and like a parasitehe nestles in one place, the corner of asaloon, until he is removed from thatplace by force. Contrary to the tramp,the loafer's aim Is, not to eat, only todrink. Each saloon has its own kind ofliving parasites, and they are called InLot's language, the "hungers on."

When you enter n saloon in the largecities, you will notice a motionlesscreature of the human kind sitting ona chair, or leaning on the counter. Hiseyes will tell you of many sleeplessnights, and his copper-colored nose willreveal to you the secret of transforma-tion. Although he is still in the primeof life, yet he Is ripe now to bo planted,in some cemetery, where he willblossomup again at the resurrection day. Thefree lunch counter supplies his wants.andhis menu consists of a slice of bread,horseradish, with a piece of old pickledpigs' feet. When the bartender sendshim out on some errand he gets his glassof rum. To drink Is the sole desire, ofthat sort of a being, and when the beergets Into a second fermentation, to be-come yeast, the loafer gets it and he re-gards is as a loving token from tho bar-tender. Often he gets drinks from jstrangers and his life goes out betweenib-- smoke of cigarettes and the vapor ofthe rum.

THE RESPECTABLE LOAFERThe common loafer Is not so dangerous

to sot iety as the respectable one; the lat-ter, as a rule, possesses all the vices, butthey are covered with the mask of re-spi ctable clothing. In the daytime someof them do their business, while at nightthey gamble, and they are not strangersto the saloons. Their chief industry is ito entrap virtuous young women of thehard working class, who have no friendsto protect them, and for such purposethey lounge about the cigar stands atthe time when the type-writing andother working girls are returning homefrom their duties in the afternoon. Theyassume what they think io be a veryfascinating attitude, with their hat'scocked on one side, a monocle In theirright eye, and a dainty cane carelesslytwirled round their thumb and fore-finger, to the great danger ofthe passer- 'by; and, obstructing half th> sidewalk,they wink and leer at every good-look-ing girl that comes along. They are ofall ages, from the brainless dude of18 to the toothless dandy of SO, whosemost fitting occupation would be to oglethe daughters of the grim messenger,death. This kind of leafor is the mostdangerous, despicable and dastardly ofall the loafer genus. The happy hunt-ing ground of this scamp Is MarketBtreet, San Francisco; and it is very re-ft, siting to come to Los Angeles andfind oneself fairly free from that Intol-erable nuisance.

PROFESSOR NAPTHOLI HERZ IMBER

Prof. Naplitall Herz Imber, an unaspiring gentleman, is known throughout thoWhole world as a Cabbalist, mystic, and author. He has many disciples amongwell known modern scientists and the government of the I'r.ited States hasalready published two of his work3. He traveled extensively and his writings

are innumerable. His works on music are famous. He claims to have a mis-sion to fulfillin Los Angeles sent by the 86 masters.

A CRUSHED HERO

On a log behind a pigsty of a modest littlefarm

Sits a freckled youth and lanky, red ofhair and long of arm:

Cut his mieti is proud and haughty, andhis brow is high and stern.

And beneath their sandy lashes fiery eyesWith purpose burn.

Bow before him. gentle reader, he's thehero Wo salute.

He Is liiram Adoniram Andrew JacksonShute.

Search not Fame's Immortal marbles,never there his nam? you'llllnd.

For our hero, let us whisper, is a hero Inhis mind;

And a youth may bathe In glory, wade Inslaughter time on lime

When a novel, wild at.d gory, can be pur-chased for a dime,

And through reams: of lurid pages has hasiain the Sioux and Ute,

Bloody Hiram Adoniram Andrew JacksonShute.

Hark: a heavy step advancing?list! hisfathers angry cry:

"Ho hain't shucked a single nubbin;Where's that good for nuthin' Hi?"

"Here, base caitiff!" comes tho answer,"Here am I w ho was your slave,

But no more I'lldo your shuckin', thoughI til! a bloody grave.

Freedom's fire my breast has kindled;there'll be bloodshed, tyrant brute,"

Quoth bravo liiram Adoniram AndrewJackson Shute.

"Breast's a blazln', is it. Sonny?" asks hislather with a smile;

"Kinder like a stove. Ireckon, what theyeali 'pas burner' style.

Good 'base-burner' 's what you're needin' "here he pins our hero fast?"Come, young man, we'll try the wood-

shed, keep the bloodshed till the last."And an atmosphere of horsewhip, Inter-

spersed with cowhide bootWraps young Hiram Adoniram Andrew

Jackson Shute.

Weep ye now, oh, gentle reader, for thefallen groat of heart,

As ye wept o'er Saint Helena nad the ex-iled Bonaparte,

And a picture, sad as that one, to yourpity I would show

Of a spirit crushed and broken?of a herolying low;

Por where husks are heaped the highest,working .swiftly, hushed and mute,

Shucketh Hiram Adoniram Andrew Jack-son Shute.?Joe Lincoln in L. A. W. Bulletin.

Her Annual TroubleHer brow is deeply wrinkled,

And she has a troubled a.!r;Why, O comely little woman,

Should she have a worldly care?Ah, the story's oid and stupid,

It has oft been told before;Many another has been like her.

There will still be many more.She la thinking of tho absent?

Of the gift she has to sent!,To be opened Christmas morning.

By some far-off, gladdened friend.And she wonders, as she gazes

Away out into space,If anything as costly

Is to come to take Its place.?Cleveland Leader.

AKLONDIKE CHRISTMASNEW YORK, Dec. 13.?(Special Corre-

spondence to The Herald.) In the ten-der memories of Christmas that come tome, now that Iam once more among thefriends and relatives in the east whomI left to accompany my husband to theIce-bound regions of -Alaska, there arenone that Icherish more fondly than mytwo Chrlstmnsps In the Klondike. Theabsence of those things that wo havebeen accustomed to, but which we can-not have makes us value more highly thopossessions that are at hand. If aneastern woman, wife and mother, wishesto learn how to appreciate a little of thoblessings of this life and to cease pining

for those things which are beyond herreach then let her make a trip to theYukon and spend Christmas among thominers of that region. It will not be thesame thing quite, however, ns the Christ-mas that I spent there with my husbandand children, for since then the goldseekers have flocked to Alaska, to theirsorrow most of them, and newcomershave at least the advantage of associa-tion and numbers In making provisionfor a merry time.

Tho first Christmas I spent in thoYukon district was three years ago. Wolived in a log house at Fort Cudahy, fifty

miles from what is now Dawson City,

and besides myself there was only onewhite qparried woman there. It was acomfortable little community, happyand peaceful. The gold fever hadn't be-come epidemic then. My husband in-vited two of his forlorn bachelor friendsto spend the day with us and I made ex-tensive preparations for a feast that was

to be a real Christmas treat. Turkey?

Oh, dear no! Turkeys don't wanderaround in the Klondike waiting to beshot for Christmas tables. Mince pieand plum pudding? Not in the Yukon.Our dinner consisted of a huge haunch ofroasted bear meat, cut from the carcassof an animal that had boon shot hun-dreds of miles away, and glad enough wewere to get such royal fare. litar meet

is very much like roast pork and quite adainty dish when properly prepared. Wetalked all day, with the wooden blocksheaped up on tho blazing hearth, and thorough log walls of our house reflectingcheerily the light from the flames thatdanced and sparkled around the chim-ney corner. Outside it was: a very coldworld. Christmas weather in the Klon-dike Is not very comforting. The windhowled around our log house and thesnow fell steadily, piling around oursturdy little habitation a white cover-ing that effectually kept any draughts

from finding their way in between theinterstices of tho walls. We wanted

'none of that intrusion to chill thowarmth of our little Christmas party,

for tha thermometer outside registeredfifty degrees below zero, and that Is coldweather. Inside we were as cosy andwarm as any eastern home Heated bymodern appliances could bo, and In ourquiet way, many thousands of milesfrom what we called home, we all en-joyed ourselves and were happy. lamsure the men wore grateful for somehome-like fireside to gather around onthat Christmas day In the Yukon.

The next Christmas day Ipassed In thoKlondike, that is to say last Christ-mas, was very different to tho previous

one, and approached somewhat nearerto the ideal Christmas of the east. Weactually got up a party at the post andhad a Christmas tree and games, and areal old-fashioned time. No one wh« hadseen us on this occasion could have de-nied that the Klondike region had ad-vanced to tho height of civilization. Itall came about through the efforts ofthe Rev. James Naylor, an Episcopal

minister who had buried himself in theKlondike and devoted his life to workamong the half-breeds there. He hadgathered at tho post a numerous con-tingent of little half-breed children whohad been Christianized and civilized andmade permanent attaches of the station.Having taught them tho meaning ofChristmas, Mr. Naylor decided to showthem that It was a time to be glad andnot sorry, by giving a party in whichSanta Claus was to make his initial bow

to a mixed audience ofwhites and half-breeds and go through his customaryperformance of distributing toys andother gifts. But where should we gettoys In that region, where every onewas only too thankful to procure suffl-

'dent to cat and wood enough to cookIt when procured. We secured our toysby a great stroke cf luck, but before

itelling you about that I want to men-tion that our three little children had notbeen deprived of their presents from oldSanta. We couldn't give them much,

but something had to be done and so thethree little stockings were hung up ontho rough log mantel the night beforeChristmas and Santa Claus didn't over-look our little wood-built house. Whenthe children awoke In the morning theyhnd an abundant supply of presents andcandy, procured in the same way that

Mr. Naylor got his presents for the littlehalf-breeds' party.

Tho good angel was a man named Wil-son, who had recently arrived In theKlondike. Whatever put it into thedear man's head to stock his packs fullof children's toys and candy I can't

think, but ho was a real blessing to usand It paid him well. Every whitemother in Alaska was willing to pay Itsweight In gold for any pitiful looking

little toy that bore tho trade mark ofa

city store. Mr. Wilson sold his toys andcandy at his own prices, and so SantaClaus managed to keep his contractwith the little folk In the Klondike forone Christmas at least.

Well, Christmas day, 1896, camsaround at last, and we got ready to driveover to the mission, where the greatparty was to be given. Thermometer atits Klondike lowest, and frost bites forany nose that showed Itself above thefur. We had about three-quarters of amile to drive from our log house to themission, part of this distance being overa river bridged by solid Ice thick enoughto bear the weight ofa locomotive and atrain of cars.

My husband hitched up our team-consisting of half a dozen sturdy sleighdogs, and I climbed In with the threechildren enveloped In furs to their eye-brows. We made the trip to the mis-sion burled beneath a pile of furs, withthe dogs trotting along at their bestpace, down the valley, across the frosenriver to the door where hospitable Mr.Naylor awaited us. Inside all was mer-riment and laughter. The members ofthe Little half-breed colony, about ascore of children, were In such a state ofgleeful expectation that they were readyto stand on their heads with joy at ev-ery fresh arrival. I had fixed the chil-dren up so as to make their dresses lookpretty, but they had to paddle aroundall the evening In their fur boots. Thehalf-breed children were all gotten upIn their Sunday best, and the scene wasa most delightful one. But that won-derful Christmas tree! Nothing like Ithad ever been seen In the Klondike be-fore. Mr. Wilson, the toy angel, haddone nobly. There were real dolls, gailyattired and with genuine eyes and noses.Instead of the featureless baseball headswith which the Klondike children hadbeen used to satisfy themselves. There,were horses and wagons, dancing fig-ures, tiny drums and all the other ec-centric contrivances that bring Joy tothe- Juvenile heart. The toys werepacked In a bag made from mosquitonetting, thnt having been the only ma-terial available. Then Santa Clauscame down and distributed the toys. Thelittle half-breeds were making Santa'sacquaintance for the first time andthought him perfection, but my eldestgirl was Inclined to be critical. Santawas gotten up for Yukon weather. Ahuge furry "parka" with the hoodturned up around the face was Santa'sroyal robe and In lieu of a genuine whitebeard he had powdered his own whis-kers to make them look like the typicalappendage of the dispenser of.presents.No one knew who he was, the "parka"and the whitened beard disguising himeffectually. He did well with the dis-tribution of the toys, and every littleheart was gladdened.

After that we went In for a series ofold-fashioned games. H!lnd man's buffproved the favorite, the half dozenadults In the room threw themselvesinto the spirit of the occasion, and I forone confess that I enjoyed It as much asthe children. The mission house, likeour own home, was built of rough, un-trimmed logs, but some attempt hadbeen made to decorate the Interior, andthere being plenty of light and warmthand the cheerfulness of children's mer-riment. It needed no very strong stretchof imagination to forget about thefrozen earth outside, and fancy thatwe were celebrating Christmas aroundthe worm fireside of our old home in thecast. Refreshments were provided forthe children and the party broke up atmidnight, every one declaring that Ithad been a thoroughly Jolly Christmas.Our three children fell asleep under therugs on the way home, but they all heldon tightly to their presents

These were my two Chrlstmases In theKlondike. The notion that there Isnecessarily much carousing In that re-gion Is entirely erroneous. Every onewas quiet and well behaved, rowdyismbeing a think unknown during my so-journ in the Yukon. Hut oh! the satis-faction of being in the east for Christ-mas time once more.

PHII.ETE ENGEL.

SANTA CLAUS DISTRIBUTING PRESENTS

An actual Christmas scene at Klondike, drawn under the direction of Mrs.Phillie Engel, tho famous wife of the millionaire Klondike!-. The writers standsbeside her daughter, opposite the half-breed children.

32 LOS ANGELES HERALDt SUNDAY MORNING. DECEMBER 19. 1897

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?«,L-f~~ij i|_£_fz^S^ll

? STANFORD AVENUE ?

ONE HALT BLOCK fAon SCHOOL. LQSArtOCLti CITY.

1 r? ~~Ninety City Uots For Sale. * . Choice, Cheap, Close In . . .Cement Curbs and Walks, Shade Trees and Water on. Don't fall to sea them.

Price of Lots From $325 to $800.?«-. i -Terms?One-third cash; balance, i, 2 and jyears, or by the Monthly InsW.lmeOlplan to suit. Special inducements to parties paying cash and building; at once upoa

the tract. Color and building Restriction. Enforced.

Maps and allparticulars at the office on the tract, 938 Stanford Avenue.- E. N. FLETCHER