Bears, Chapters I-III [pp. 33-50]

42 ~ears. [July
I said gravely. "And Charley, while here dently of his own composition, with refiecsuch talk may give no one a shock,it would be tions upon the wrongs of society, and a reworth while,I think,if we would stop to figure frain to the effect that,
what good we get from what would wound "The grandeur, and beauty, and air blowing free,
the finer sensibility of those sincere people Of a mountain land and a genial band,
that you call`narrow minded.` And a life in the woods, does me,"
`An Atheist-laugh's a poor exThange -in which refrain Jack joined with a deep,
For Deity offended!' baritone voice, like the fourth string of a
When I was a boy, too, I once heard an violoncello. I took prompt exception, howold sinner tell that same tale, as having hap- ever, to the "social cant" of its sentiments.
pened to one whom he knew when himself This brought forth a long monologue on
a boy; and I think I have seen it in detail the land question, on which it seemed Charseveral times in print. So it has not even ley held strong opinions.
originality to redeem it.,, "Henry George says,`our land laws are
"When you come to know Charley as more unjust than the English,'" he said
well as I do, you'll swallow his yarns with a rising, and showing a good deal of warn~th;
power 0 allowance," confided Small. "and while I take issue with him in gener "Be careful of your personalities, old al, I endorse this.`The firmest of social
satyr!" growled Charley. "But Jack, tell bonds, and the most potent source of patriotic
your yarn about the big trout you caught in inspiration spring from the possession of landDeer Creek, two foot between the eyes, and ed property; and a permanent, well-proporlonger than your boat, you know. Come, tioned distribution of such property among
I'll stand sponsor for the truth of that." the citizens is and always will be one of the
"That war a sturgeon we caught in the principal objects of a wise government.' The
Sacramento," corrected Small. most notable free people of antiquity so
But," persisted Charley, "you said considered it, and they even went so far as
your footing was slippery, and when you to make some landed possession one qualispeared him, he took you over the riffle, fication of citizenship. They sought by
into deep water, where you had to swim legislation to prevent a monopoly of the
for it.,' soil in the hands of the few to the cxdusion
"That war a salmon I speared in Fall of the many; and th~ir failure to accomRiver that I tole you on, that weighed nigh plish this was, in the opinions of the wisest
ninety pounds," Small again amended. judges, the root of all those evils that finally
"Ves, and you said the trout was as big resulted in their downfall.
as a salmon, and you said the salmon was "Now see how wisely we have profited
as large as a sturgeon. How do you con- by the experience of past ages! California
form all that, old prevaricator?" Charley for instance -To induce early settlement
sternly demanded. the Mexican government granted land to
"Wal, if you know the yarn better than such of her citizens as established a specified
I do, you just go ahead and tell it," said settlement thereon. When that country
Small, proceeding to take out his violin. ceded the territory to the United States, we
Among Charley's other volumes, there agreed to acknowledge all grants made by
was an old copy of Byron. This I now her prior to the treaty. Our government
opened; and while Jack "invoked the in- took no proper measures, however, to devisible spirit of harmony," I wandered in cide as to the validity of these grants; and
the Alps with Manfred. Presently Charley a law firm in San Francisco sent one of its
begun to sing a song whose words were evi- members to the City of Mexico for the sole