Month: May 2016

The Daily Paine

by Ira Paine, Posted on

“True faith is not blind acceptance. It does not dispense with reason, evidence, and argument. It is, on the contrary, ready to prove all things with sincerity, to investigate earnestly, to institute a thorough search.”
–John Peter Lange

“One of the greatest hindrances to internal peace which the Christian encounters is the common habit of dividing our lives into tow areas–the sacred and the secular.”
–A.W. Tozer

I don’t like snakes. I wrote a few weeks ago of some experiences I have had with snakes. At Heaven-Sent Hunting Camp, Christian family/hunting camp I belonged to years ago, we put welder’s gloves near the door in case we had to go get wood for the fireplace during the night. Just in case one of those varmints was in the woodpile. A friend of mine was working in the yard and cutting down some palms. He went to pick them up and carry them away and as he was walking a pygmy rattler stuck its head out of the refuse. Watch out!
I can remembering once burying a snake we had killed. A few hours later we came by the same spot and the snake had uncovered itself. The muscles moving and relaxing and the dead snake had come up from its grave. Once at the camp a fourteen foot rattlesnake was killed. It was as big as a man’s arm and I saw it the day after it was killed and it was dripping venom.
Snakes like to visit campsites as they like the warmth of the heat. It was a common practice for those on the trail to loop their lariat around their bedroll. The thinking was that the rough rope would irritate the snake’s belly so it would not crawl over the rope. I don’t know if it worked or not.
Monday, I came across this reading and thought I would pass it on. It was written by Elliot Johnson of “Trail Ride Magazine.” “Rattlesnakes were hazards on trail drives. They remain dangerous even after being shot with a .45 or beheaded! One study shows that 15% of rattler bites occur after the snake has been mortally shot, bludgeoned, or even beheaded. One man decapitated a snake, waited five minutes, then picked up the head–which struck him once on each hand! Touch sensors in the snake’s skin and the heat-seeking pit organ between nostrils and eyes can trigger the strike reflex for an hour after. Some say a decapitated rattlesnake should be treated as a very short rattler!”
See that old serpent is dangerous, alive or dead. Adam should have been more aware in the Garden. You may recall the “Passion of the Christ” by Mel Gibson. I love the scene where Jesus steps on the head of the snake. However, what still happened to Jesus? That old serpent still took Him to the grave. The apostles warn us to be alert, be diligence, be wary as we walk through this life. There may be a snake just waiting to strike.
Back to Elliot Johnson’s article. “Satan is a snake who has been decapitated by the Lord Jesus Christ. He cannot harm us if we walk in the light. But the ‘venom’ of sin is still dangerous.” Even though Satan is defeated he can still strike and infuse our body with venom. Sin is still deadly. We must be wary, we must also depend upon the Holy Spirit to guide us along the trail.

Ira Paine

“Then the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
–Genesis 3:14-15 (HCSB)

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on

spurs at halfI was feeling a little pain, and was stiff but no worse for the wear, especially considering the alternative. Wells Fargo wanted to me check the wagons that traveled out of Silverton to the little mining towns, and I felt that Molly and the other ladies would be safe now that Bates was out of the way. Old Nickleson, the undertaker, said that he was planning on a section of the cemetery dedicated to me. Guess they call that graveyard humor.
The train ride to Silverton wasn’t bad, and they had a car where a person could go up and get sandwichs and coffee. Sure did miss not having a stove in the car and the coffee handy, but it was better than nothing. However, the car was still cold, so except for the one excursion I stayed bundled up. I didn’t even bother to get out when the train stopped to take on more water.
Wells Fargo had a room reserved for me at the Silverton Hotel. The plan was to stay there, and I could leave anything I needed to in that room and then travel with one of the wagons up through the mining areas and into the neighboring communities. It would be a rough trip, as there was still snow and the roads had not been worked on since the snow had been melting. The plan was to visit Howardsville on the way up and by-pass Eureka and make a stop there on the way back. We would spend the night in Animas Forks. All three of these mining camps were seemingly at peak production.
My job on this trip was just to ride along, see how the transfers were made, evaluate the guards, and to make small-talk with the driver and guards. Amazing what a person can learn about an operation with just some down-to-earth get-to-know-you talk. A person can learn attitudes, character, what they think about their jobs and employers, and the best places to eat where they keep the coffee strong and hot.
We were not planning on picking up much in the way of gold. The mines had been working with skeleton crews through the winter and the mills had not produced much, but in another week they would be moving toward full production again. Miners were coming up from Durango, the passes were open, and they were looking for jobs. That was another side-line to this trip; finding out who was hiring and how many.
It was a time when people were hired, and if they couldn’t do the job, got hurt, or did some thievery, they were fired or place in jail. Mining was hard work and dangerous and if a person was hurt, well, it was tough. There were actually very few attempts at robbing the mines; the ore was too heavy and still had to be milled. Most robberies was went to gold was shipped out of Silverton to Durango, or from Durango over to Denver. Even then there were few because it was so heavily guarded.
The road was washed out in places and it was slow going. There were a few times that we all had to get out and help push the wagon. Coming back wouldn’t be as bad, but the teamster had to be careful not to go too fast, he sure didn’t want to break a wheel.
We arrived near evening at Animas Forks. It was getting a mite chilly as the sun was dropping behind the mountains to the west. I dropped my stuff off at the Mercer Hotel. This was the first time I had been up this far and was surprised at the size of the camp. In fact, it was no camp; it was a small city. Mostly tents or store-front buildings, but things were being built to stay. I was staying at the Mercer, but there were two other hotels in town–the Kalamazoo and the Flagstaff, and they had a solid-built jail.
“Do you always carry that shot-gun around?” asked one of the guards as we were going off to eat.
I smiled, “It’s a comfort to have in my hands; sorta like holdin’ my wife’s hand.”
He snorted. “Ever had to use it?”
“Time or two, but usually it gets a person’s attention and I don’t have to worry ’bout pullin’ the trigger.”
He snorted again. I wondered what his problem was. It was a good meal; we had our choice of bear, elk, or mountain sheep. Not much on the side, a few shriveled up potatoes, and not even a piece of pie. The coffee wasn’t bad though.
I was getting ready to go in my room, when this feeling came on me. I kicked open the door…

Echoes from the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

There was nothing slower than time when you wanted it to move along.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Spirit Valley)

“Your fathers cried out to the Lord, so He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them, engulfing them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt. After that, you lived in the wilderness a long time.”
–Joshua 24:7 (NIV)