BUFFALO NEAR THE BIG BEND 



by this man, who, as Jack said, *'wore the map 

 of Ireland on his face," I remarked : 



"When I hear such names as O'Shaughnessy, 

 Finnegan, or McCarthy given for an Irishman, 

 they seem natural and Irish enough, but now 

 and then I find an Irishman with what seems to 

 be a very un-Irish name, such as Costillo's, for in- 

 stance. How do you account for these misfit 

 names. Jack?" 



"Oh, that's 'asy," replied Jack. "You see, ould 

 Ireland is a sea-girt isle an' is visited by ships of 

 various nations, an' now an' then some foreign 

 sailor, in an Irish port, falls in love with an Irish 

 girl an' marries her, an' the childther, of course, 

 will bear the foreigner's name, though they be as 

 Irish as Paddy's pigs." 



"Well, that is a reasonable explanation of a 

 question that has occasioned me a good deal of 

 speculation," I answered, "and, accepting your 

 solution of the problem, my mind will be much 

 easier in the future." 



At these roadside ranches, which had sprung 

 up at every important camping place along the 

 road since the Pike's Peak gold discovery, liquor 

 was sold and a small general assortment kept of 

 such goods as were in demand by travellers. 



No attempt was made to cultivate the soil or 

 raise crops; they were there merely for the trade 

 of the road and — at points farther out — for In- 

 dian trade. They also bought worn-out stock 



89 



