Desert Dust

She snorted.

"In among them Mormons? My Gawd, young man! Where they live in conkibinage--several women to one man, like a buffler herd or other beasts of the field? I guess your mother never heard you talk like that. Denver--well, Denver mightn't be bad, though I do hear tell that folks nigh starve to death there, what with the Injuns and the snow. Denver ain't on no railroad, either. If you want health, and to grow up with a strictly moral community, you throw in with North Platte of Nebrasky, the great and growin' city of the Plains. I reckon you've heard of North Platte, even where you come from. You take my word for it, and exchange your ticket."

It struck me here that the good woman might not be unbiased in her fondness for North Platte. To extol the present and future of these Western towns seemed a fixed habit. During my bri