Month: October 2021

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

His lips were cracked and his eyes red-rimmed, and he wanted to quit. He wanted to, but knew he could not and would not.”

                    –Louis L’Amour  (Last Stand at Papago Wells)
 
       “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
                    –2 Timothy 4:7 (NKJV)
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Back at the homestead for a week or so, then hitting the trail again so we have to be getting down to the truth, hone in on it, and take it to heart.  Yesterday I used a quotation by Ernest Haycox, “But he knew he would never quit…”
       Have you ever had thoughts of quitting?  Just chucking it all, tossing life and your job, career, school away?  There were a few times in my/our lives that we said, “Let’s quit this mess and head for the high lonesome.”  It wasn’t that I couldn’t handle the job, but sometimes the nonsense can become almost (and the emphasis is “almost”) unbearable.  Quitting wasn’t really an option; it was just venting of some frustration.
       Perhaps you have had a notion that you’re no good–not a winner.  Hmm, what is a winner anyway?  Is it the person with the most medals?  Is it the person with the highest accolades or the most money?  I knew a man who made $50,000 a week.  Was he a winner?  Maybe in the eyes of some in the world, but he lost his family.  He went through a divorce and both his kids got hooked on drugs.  Did money make him a winner?  It may have been Vince Lombardi who said, “Quitters never win, and winners never quit.”
       I think of the speech by Winston Churchill where he uttered those quite profound words, “Never, never, never quit.”  Did I leave something out?  Maybe, perchance, there is a time to quit, to give up, to throw in the towel.  Some may say he actually said, “Never give in,” or “never give up,” but the concept is the same.  Don’t quit!  However, he did throw in an exception, “except to convictions of honor and good sense.”  Give up on things that are immoral; give up on things that are unrighteous or wicked; give up on sinful habits and wickedness.
 
               “Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to the convictions of honour and good sense.  Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
                              –Winston Churchill
 
 As believers we could add–never give in to the devil, never give in to the things of the world, never give in to things contrary to the Word of God.
       Possibly one of the saddest stories in the Bible was written by Paul toward the end of his life.  We know Paul’s famous words regarding the notion of quitting, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7, NKJV)  He realized that his life was over and that he was ready to meet his Lord and Savior face to face and receive his reward for not quitting.  However, at the end of the chapter he tells of someone who became derelict in his duty–Demas.  “For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world…” (2 Timothy 4:10, NKJV)
       Demas had been a companion of Paul.  He had known the way.  Paul doesn’t tell us exactly what it was that caused Demas to go back into the world; he doesn’t have to say the particulars but to understand that Demas loved the world.  Do not give so much credence to the world that it causes you to quit.  John tells us, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15, NKJV)
       No matter what happens–don’t quit.  No matter the pestilence, the disease, the plague–don’t quit.  No matter how hard the storm rages and the tempest blows–hang on, and don’t quit.  Don’t run from life–don’t quit the call that God has place upon you. You may be weary from the fights, the trials, the testing that have come your way in life.   Don’t–don’t–don’t QUIT!

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on
Charlie and I met with Wallace, the president of the bank, along with two of the major mine managers.  I suggested that they send out notices to hire a city marshal and a town doctor.  I didn’t think they would have much problem filling either position, but they would have to be careful with the character of the marshal.  Many mining communities have been swindled and held hostage by an unscrupulous marshal.
       The only one of the three I knew was Jakub Brewlinski.  He and I went back as far as when I worked for Wells Fargo–a good man, tough, honest, and dependable.  Chadwick Morgan was the other manager in attendance and I had never met him before.  My contact with Wallace was only casual.
       Jakub was nodding his head in agreement with me when Wallace blurted out, “I’ve already taken action to secure a marshal,” he paused, swallowing before continuing, “at least temporarily.”
       That took the four of us by surprise.  I guess it was within his right as Silverton didn’t have a city council or commission.  Things happened and changed so fast that there was hesitation on the part of many to have such a structure.  The big mine owners through their managers usually took charge.
       Wallace glanced quickly at Charlie then over to me.  “It’s not that we don’t appreciate what you two have been doing, but we know the Sheriff can’t stay here forever, and I hear that you, Forrest are leaving this week,” he spluttered.  “We need action now, so I contacted a man in Denver and he’s agreed to be marshal.”
       I turned my head slightly toward Charlie, then Jakub spoke up.  “This man have a name?”
       Wallace sort of ducked his head, but then lifted it and thrust out his chest like a rooster.  “Masterson!” he declared.
       “You mean the gunman, Bat Masterson?” inquired Morgan.
       Quickly Wallace answered, “He’s honest, he’s dependable, and he has a reputation.”
       Chuckling, I added, “And he’s not cheap.”
       I knew Masterson from the times I’d spent in Denver.  What they said about him was true, but I figured it would come with a price.  So did Jakub as he questioned, “Just how much is this going to cost the mines?”
       Wallace was shaking his head.  “Not a dime,” he declared proudly.  We’re going to have a sales tax in the city to raise funds for his, uh, regular salary.”
       “How much is that?” hollered Jakub.
       “What do you mean by ‘regular’ salary?” questioned Morgan.
       “His regular salary will come from the tax, and he’ll be subsidized by fines from the hoodlums he jails,” replied Wallace.  “I need to go get ready to meet him as he is coming in on the next train.”
       I don’t think that Wallace put much thought into his plan.  Masterson would be a good man, but the town would pay a price.  He started to leave the meeting when Morgan grabbed him by the shoulder of his jacket.  “How much?”
       For some reason sweat broke out on Wallace’s forehead.  “$200.”
       That brought a laugh from Jakub which soon Morgan joined all the time shaking his head.  “You’re going to get all the merchants to go along with a sales tax?” he paused.  “Does that include the saloons, brothels, and dance halls?”
       “Well, uh, uh, I haven’t discussed that with them, yet.  Gentlemen I really must go,” and with that Wallace left us.
       I pulled on the end of my moustache then told the men.  “Reckon I’ll go down and meet the new marshal,” and followed Wallace out the door
       The train pulled in on time as I waited on the station platform.  When Bat stepped down out of the train, one could see why he was a force to be reckoned with.  He wore a gray derby, a style he began to wear a few years back.  Gone was the buffalo hunter and scout.  Before me now stood a man who used a gun when needed, force when required, and wouldn’t take nonsense from anyone.
       Upon seeing me, he gave a slight grin as he walked up to me.  “Miles, why did they call for me, if you’re here?”
       I reached out my hand in greeting, Bat didn’t hesitate but firmly shook it.  Some who called themselves gunmen and card-sharks usually refuse to shake a man’s hand for fear of having their fingers crushed, not Masterson.
       “Hotel’s a couple of blocks up the street.  Let’s talk…”