Mr.Nordhoff, who is an old friend, once wrote to the Harper "Drawer" about his shrewd way of restraining the over-keen traders and laboring men who tried to impose upon him.

He heads the pleasant bit of gossip, "Captain Thompson's Club," and says: "Captain Dixie is, to all appearance, the man of most leisure in all leisurely Santa Barbara.

He and his horses and carriages are always at the service of a friend.

But while he seems to be the idlest of men, he is, in fact, an extremely capable business man who has many irons in the fire--tills much good land, has horses and cattle and pigs of the best breeds on many hills and in several rich valleys, and keeps all his affairs running in good order.

Still, he is an easy-going, not a bustling, man of business.