| OCR Text |
Show JIM BRIDGER WAS A COLORFUL STORY TELLER "Did I ever tell you about the time ..." And Jim Bridger, most colorful of the early trapper figures, fig-ures, would be off on another tale of the old west, as fascinated audiences au-diences of Indians, fellow trappers, tenderfeet, or pioneers, hung on every word. For old Jim knew how to string a tale with a flair for heroic detail never excelled. But through the years, rash persons have dared to intimate that old Jim was somewhat given to exaggeration; in fact, some unlearned un-learned scholars have come boldly out to suggest that Baron Munchausen Mun-chausen was a piker compared to Bridger. Now this is slander of a base sort, for new evidence has come to light which indicates clearly that old Jim was a very modest fellow, and never one to do himself justice in telling a tale. To confirm this statement, the Utah Writers' Project, W. P. A., calls attention to the following : , abridgment from an item in the Millard County Chronicle of some years ago. According to the account, ac-count, old Jim was talking modestly mo-destly to a tenderfoot: "Yessir, as I was sayin', I discovered dis-covered that there Great Salt Lake and later sold it to Brigham Young. But 'tweren't salty then; 'twere as fresh and sweet as any-thin' any-thin' yuh ever did see. But yuh see, it were like this, when Brig-ham Brig-ham didn't pay me fer it, I spoilt it fer 'im. Yessir, jest throwed a han'ful uv salt in 'er." And when the tenderfoot went down to the lake? Why it was salty, of course. Old Jim wouldn't lie; he wouldn't even stretch the truth. On the contrary, notice how he modestly understated the facts by passing it off as just a "han'ful" of salt not wanting to boast that actually he had poured pour-ed 6,000,000,000 tons into the lake! |
