ountry." If you attributed their
existence to man's passions, inhumanity or cruelty, or woman's weakness,
he checked you at once.

"Every woman that becomes a crooked woman does so from choice; she
needn't to if she didn't want to. The way to stop prostitution is for
every honest man and woman to refuse to have anything to do with them in
any way, or with those who do recognize them. 'Tain't right."

In this matter 'Lige Clark had no sympathy nor charity. "'Twa'n't
right"--and that settled it as far as he was concerned.

The ladies of the church sided with old 'Lige in his stand on the
hospital board, but the other two men wanted the doors of the
institution to be opened to all in need of medical attention or care,
regardless of who they were or what caused their ailment. 'Lige gave in
on the whiskey, but stood out resolutely against the soiled doves, and
so matters stood until midwinter.

Half the women in the town were outcasts from society--two dance-houses
were in full blast--and 'Lige soon became known to them and their
friends as the "Prophet Elijah, second edition."

The mining town over the hills, at the end of 'Lige's branch, was
booming, too, and wanted to be the county seat. It had its church,
dance-halls, etc., and the discovery of coal within a few miles bid fair
to make it a formidable rival.

The boom called for more power and I went over there to pull freight,
and 'Lige pulled passengers only. Then they put more coaches on his
train and put my engine on to help him, thus saving a crew's wages.
Passenger service increased steadily until a big snow-slide in one of
the gulches shut up the road. I'll never forget that slide. It happened
on the 26th of January. 'Lige and I were double-heading on nine coaches
of passengers and when on a heavy grade in Alder Gulch, a slide of snow
started from far up the mountain-side, swept over the track just ahead
of us, carrying trees, telegraph poles and the track with it. We tried
to stop, but 'Lige's engine got into it, and was carried sideways down
some fifty or sixty feet. Mine contented herself with simply turning
over, without hurting either myself or fireman--much to my satisfaction.

'Lige fared worse. His reverse lever caught in his clothing and before
he could get loose, the engine had stopped on her side, with 'Lige's
feet and legs under her. He was not badly hurt except for the scalding
water that poured upon him. As soon as we could see him, the fireman