Lippincott'S Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science, Volume 26 December, 1880. - Various None (e book reader android txt) 📗

Hurriedly Left The Game,  And With The Utmost Gravity Insisted That It Be

Continued From That Point!

 

On A Bright Sunny Morning We Sought Out The Judge'S Office,  Only To

Learn That He Had Not Yet For The Day Exchanged The Pleasures Of Rural

Life Across The Fontaine For Less Romantic Devotions At The Shrine Of

The Stern Goddess. Later We Were Informed,  Upon What Seemed Credible

Authority,  That Upon The Morning In Question He Was Intending To Sow

Oats. Though Cold March Still Claimed The Calendar,  And Hence Such

Action On The Part Of The Judge Might Seem Like Forcing The Season,  Yet

Reflections Upon His Advanced Years Caused Us To Suppress The Rising

Thought That Perhaps Some Allusions To _Wild_ Oats Might Have Been

Intended. Hence We Looked Forward To A Rare Treat--Judicial Dignity

Unbending Itself In Pastoral Pursuits,  As In The Case Of Some Roman

Magistrate. "A Little Better'N A Mile" Was The Answer To Our

Interrogatory As To How Far The Judge'S Ranch Might Be From Town; But

Having Upon Many Former Occasions Taken The Dimensions Of A Colorado

Mile,  We Declined The Suggestion To Walk And Sought Some Mode Of

Conveyance. There Chanced To Be One Right At Hand,  Standing Patiently By

The Wayside And Presided Over By An Ancient Colored Gentleman. The Coach

Had Been A Fine One In Its Day,  But That Was Long Since Past,  And Now

Its Dashboard,  Bent Out At An Angle Of Forty-Five Degrees,  The Faded

Trimmings And The Rusty,  Stately Occupant Of The Box Formed A Complete

And Harmonious Picture Of Past Grandeur Seldom Seen In The Far West. Two

Dubious-Looking Bronchos,  A Bay And A White,  Completed This Unique

Equipage,  In Which We Climbed The _Mesa_ And Then Descended Into The

Valley Of The Fontaine. The Sable Driver Was Disposed To Be

Communicative,  And Ventured Various Opinions Upon Current Topics. He Had

Been Through The War,  And Came West Fourteen Years Ago.

 

"You Have Had Quite An Adventurous Life," We Remarked.

 

"Why,  Sah," He Returned,  "If The History Ob My Life Was Wrote Up It

Would Be Wuth Ten Thousand Dollars."

 

While Regarding The Valuation As Somewhat High,  We Yet Regretted Our

Inability To Profit By This Unexpected Though Promising

Business-Opportunity,  And Soon Our Attention Was Diverted By A Glimpse

Of The Judge'S Adobe,  And That Person Himself Standing By His Carriage

And Awaiting Our By No Means Rapid Approach. He Was About To Go To Town,

And The Oats Were Being Sown By An Individual Of The Same Nationality As

Our Driver,  To Whom The Latter Addressed Such Encouraging Remarks As

"Git Right 'Long Dere Now And Sow Dat Oats. Don'T Stand Roostin' On De

Fence All Day,  Like As You Had The Consumshing. You Look Powerful Weak.

Guess Mebbe I'D Better Come Over Dere And Show You How."

 

[Illustration: The Judge.]

 

Judge Bradford'S Career Has Been A Chequered One,  And It Has Fallen To

His Lot To Dispense Justice In Places And Under Circumstances As

Various As Could Well Be Imagined. Born In Maine In 1815,  He Has Lived

Successively In Missouri,  Iowa,  Nebraska And Colorado,  And Held Almost

Every Position Open To The Profession Of The Law. From The Supreme

Bench Of Colorado He Was Twice Called To Represent The Territory As

Delegate To Congress. In 1852,  When He Was Judge Of The Sixth Judicial

District Of Iowa,  His Eccentricities Of Character Seem To Have Reached

Their Full Development. He Exhibited That Supreme Disregard For Dress

And The Various Social Amenities Which Not Infrequently Betray The

Volume 26 Title 1 (Lippincott'S Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science) Pg 5

Superior Mind. Never Were His Clothes Known To Fit,  Being Invariably

Too Large Or Too Small,  Too Short Or Too Long. As To His Hair,  The

External Evidences Were Of A Character To Disprove The Rumor That He

Had A Brush And Comb,  While The Stubby Beard Frequently Remained

Undisturbed Upon The Judicial Chin For Several Weeks At A Time. The

Atrocious Story Is Even Told That Once Upon A Time,  When Half Shaven,

He Chanced To Pick Up A Newspaper,  Became Absorbed In Its Contents,

Forgot To Complete His Task,  And Went To Court In This Most Absurdly

Unsymmetrical Condition. But,  Despite These Personal Eccentricities,  A

More Honest Or Capable Judge Has Rarely Been Called Upon To Vindicate

The Majesty Of The Law. Upon The Bench None Could Detect A Flaw In His

Assumption Of That Dignity So Intimately Associated In all Minds With

The Judiciary,  But,  The Ermine Once Laid Aside For The Day,  He Was As

Jolly And Mirthful As Any Of His Frontier Companions. Judge Bradford

Was No Advocate,  But By The Action Of A Phenomenal Memory His Large

Head Was Stored So Full Of Law As To Emphasize,  To Those Who Knew Him,

The Curious Disproportion Between Its Size And That Of His Legs And

Feet. These Latter Were Of Such Peculiarly Modest Dimensions As To Call

To Mind Goldsmith'S Well-Known Lines,  Though In This Case We Must,  Of

Necessity,  Picture Admiring Frontiersmen Standing Round While

 

                   Still The Wonder Grew

    That Two Small Feet Could Carry All He Knew.

 

The Judge'S Mind Is Of The Encyclopaedical Type,  And Facts And Dates Are

His Especial "Strong Holt." But His Countenance Fails To Ratify The

Inward Structure When,  Pausing From A Recital,  He Gazes Upon Your

Reception Of The Knowledge Conveyed With A Kindly Smile--A Most Innocent

Smile That Acts As A Strong Disposer To Belief. Whether It Has Been A

Simple Tale Of The Early Days Enlivened With Recollections Of

Pitch-Trump And Other Social Joys,  Or Whether The Performances Of Savage

Indians And Treacherous Half-Breeds Send A Chill Through The Listener,

It Is All The Same: At Its Close The Judge'S Amiable Features Wear The

Same Belief-Compelling Smile. Under Its Influence We Sit For Hours While

Our Entertainer Ranges Through The Stores Of His Memory,  Pulling Out

Much That Is Dust-Covered And Ancient,  But Quickly Renovated For Our Use

By His Ready Imagination And Occasional Wit. With A Feeling Akin To

Reverence We Listen--A Reverence Due To One Who Had Turned His Face

Toward The Rocky Mountains Before Colorado Had A Name,  Who Had Made The

Perilous Journey Across The Great Plains Behind A Bull-Team,  And Who

Has Since Been Associated With Everything Concerned In The Welfare And

Progress Of What Has Now Become This Great Centennial State,  Toward

Which All Eyes Are Turning. Not Without Its Dark Days To Him Has Passed

This Pioneer Life,  And None Were More Filled With Discouragement Than

Those During Which He Represented The Territory In congress. He

Describes The Position As One Of Peculiar Difficulty--On One Hand The

Clamors Of A People For Aid And Recognition In Their Rapid Development

Of The Country,  While On The Other,  To Meet Them,  He Found Himself A

Mere Beggar At The Doors Of Congressional Mercy And Grace,  Voteless And

Hence Powerless. Truly,  In The Light Of His Experience,  The Office Of

Territorial Delegate Is No Sinecure.

 

No One Has More Closely Observed The Course Of Events In The Far West

Than Judge Bradford,  And His Opinions On Some Disputed Points Are Very

Decided And Equally Clear. Many Have Wondered That Pueblo,  Which Had The

Advantage Of First Settlement,  Had Long Been A Rendezvous Of Trappers

And Frontier Traders,  And Lay Upon The Only Road To The Then So-Called

Pike'S Peak Mines,  That _Via_ The Arkansas Canon--That This Outpost,

Volume 26 Title 1 (Lippincott'S Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science) Pg 6

Situated Thus At The Very Gateway Of The Far West,  Should Have Remained

Comparatively Unimportant,  While Denver Grew With Such Astonishing

Rapidity. But,  In The Judge'S Opinion,  It Was The War Of The Rebellion

That Turned The Scale In Favor Of The Queen City. The First Emigrants

Had Come Through Missouri And Up The Arkansas,  Their Natural Route,  And

As Naturally Conducting To Pueblo. But When Missouri And South-Eastern

Kansas Became The Scenes Of Guerrilla Warfare The Emigrant Who Would

Safely Convey Himself And Family Across The Prairies Must Seek A More

Northern Parallel. Hence,  Pueblo Received A Check From Which It Is Only

Now Recovering,  And Denver An Impetus Whose Ultimate Limits No Man Can

Foresee.

 

Many Strange Things Were Done In The Olden Time. When The Plains Indians

Had Gathered Together Their Forces For The Purpose Of Persistently

Harassing The Settlement,  The Mountain Utes,  Then The Allies Of The

Whites,  Offered Their Services To Help Repel The Common Enemy. Petitions

Went Up To The Governor And Legislature To Accept The Proffered

Services,  But They Were Steadily Refused. Our Long-Headed Judge Gives

The Reason: The Administration Was Under The Control Of Men Who Were

Feeding Uncle Sam'S Troops With Corn At Thirteen Cents Per Pound,  And

Other Staples In Proportion,  And The Indian Volunteers Promised A Too

Speedy Ending Of Such A Profitable Warfare.

 

Thus Eventfully Has Passed The Life Of Judge Bradford. During His

Threescore-And-Five Years He Has Moved Almost Across A Continent,  Never

Content Unless He Was On The Frontier. Long May He Live To Ride In His

Light Coverless Wagon In The Smile Of Bright Colorado Sunshine,  Honored

By All Who Know Him,  And Affording His Friends The Enjoyment Of His Rare

Good Presence!

 

[Illustration: Old Adobe Fort.]

 

Thirty Years Ago This Whole Rocky-Mountain Region,  Now Appropriated By

An Enterprising And Progressive People,  Contained,  Besides The Native

Indians And The Mexicans In The South,  Only A Few Trappers And Frontier

Traders,  Most Of Them In The Employ Of The American Fur Company. These

Were The Fearless And Intrepid Pioneers Who So Far From Fleeing Danger

Seemed Rather To Court It. Accounts Of Their Adventures--Now A Struggle

With A Wounded Bear,  Again The Threatened Perils Of Starvation When Lost

In Some Mountain-Fastness--Have Long Simultaneously Terrified And

Fascinated Both Young And Old. We All Have Pictured Their Dress--The

Coat Or Cloak,  Often An Odd Combination Of Several Varieties Of Skins

Pieced Together,  With Fur Side In; Breeches Sometimes Of The Same

Material,  But Oftener Of Coarse Duck Or Corduroy; And The Slouched Hat,

Under Whose Broad Brim Whatever Of The Face That Was Not Concealed By A

Shaggy,  Unkempt Beard Shone Out Red From Exposure To Sun And Weather.

The American Fur Company Had Dotted The Country With Forts,  Which Served

The Double Purpose Of Storehouses For The Valuables Collected And Of

Places Where The Employes Could Barricade Themselves Against The

Too-Often Troublesome Savages. For Such A Purpose,  Though Not Actually

By The Fur Company,  Was Built The Old Adobe Fort The Ruins Of Which Are

Still To Be Seen On The Banks Of The Arkansas At Pueblo. How Old It May

Have Been No One Seems To Know,  But Certain It Is That For Long Years,

And In The Earliest Times,  It Was A Favorite Rendezvous. Here Was

Always To Be Found A Jolly Good Party To Pass Away The Long Winter

Evenings With Song And Story. Here Kit Carson Often Stopped To Rest From

His Many Perilous Expeditions,  Enjoying,  Together With Fremont And Other