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THE EASTMAN TIMES.
THURSDAY, AUG. S'; "A
♦M. L. BURCH, E B. MILNER
Editors and Proprietors.
Official Organ ok Donee County.
Official Organ of Tklfaik County.
Official Organ Town or man.
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BORDER LIFE.
A Narrative of Texas ami Mexico-.The
Career of Burl WeCluue, Hie Dar¬
ing- Desperado.,
From tlie Cincinnati Enquirer.
“Burt McClane is in town.”
“Is he?”
“Yes; I was talking to him in No¬
lan’s saloon last night.”
“Who is this, you say?”
“Burt McClane, as good-heartod
a boy as ever breathed, although
he has always been crooked.”
“Did you know Ben Thompson,
tho Austin desperado, who was mur¬
dered in San Antonio?”
“Did I? Me and my friend here
and Burt were in the variety dive
the night Ben was shot. That was
a sad night for Burt, for he and
Ben had been quite good friends,
and he mourned in his sleeve all
that night, and barreled up to get
over it quicker. As I said, Burt
was a good-hearted boy, and when
he took a liking to anybody, they
could count on him for a solid
friend. Burt served a term of five
years in the Joliet (Ill.) pen for
some dirty work in southern
nois, where he had a wife and two
or three children.”
“If you have ever been down
through the Chihuahua country,
you will, perhaps, remember an old,
tumble-down hacienday that stood
on tlie Presidio del Norte road, at
that time about half way between
Conyame and the Cdiichbs river.
It set well back from the road, in a
jestically wrapped in its own soli
tude, and, judging from the mode
of ingress and egress—a narrow foot
path—had been for years consider
ed an isolated and out-of-the-way
place by therancheros in that part
of the country. That was my first
impression of the place, aud I dare
say it was thus with all others who
for the first (i M tehoMit. Thore
who gathered up enough courage
to force themselves through tho tall
weeds to the building, if not halted
and ordered to leave, found, upon
a near approach, a long, low, ram
shackle house, with a broad reran
da running its entire length on the
east side, covered with moss and
ivy, and a handsome little garden
spot, carefully kept, in the rear.—*
The welcome visitor was always met
by a .little, old, dried-up, saddle
colored Spaniard, who gave the
name of Senor Jaral, and, if invi
ted to return, was usually present
ed to the senor’s daughter, a young
Mexican girl about twenty or twen
ty-two years of age, who was seldom
seen and never heard by the visitor
whil. ho
THE YOUNG lady
was not strikingly handsome, but,
strange as; it may seexn, she had
large, bright blue eyes, and flaxen
hair, and a demure way of passing
to and fret about the house that was
very attractive. I was introduced
into the house by Bull, and evi¬
dently made a favorable impression
upon the Senor, as he always wel¬
comed me.
“In November, 1883, Burt and I
found ourselves in El Pass broke.
Yffe had been holding down Silver
‘City for several weeks, but luck was
against us, and we saw our last dol
farefdealer i.. r f , r , fi, e rrreen ^ cloth of +!ie
Burt was desperate
and X wasn't naoh better.
tarmined to make a break for our
old quarters in southwest Texas—
In Demingl met a friend and made
a raise, so that we went into
Paso in shape, and lasted for about
„ pi- Tbit „il couldn't Lut erpt on too
„ Burt h»,
cided to shoot a Chinaman “just to
change his luck” when a pal of his
came in from Eagle Pass. They
Chiliuahua.
They were either trying to
y# H 71 a si H 71 / I rrpi / -i « + 710
S' M — / :
i__u__Li_J UJi ■
.
A- ■ * K ’
VOL XIV
me, nowever, or changed their mind
very suddenly, for they left town
over the Texas Pacific, ran down to
Colorado City, thence down into
Tom Green county, by following
the river, to San Angelo. A young
fellow named Golden, hailing from
near Carney, 111., was a driver on
the stage line that ran from Abi
line to Fort Concho, and Burt evi
dently got some pointers from him,
for in a few days there was a big
sensation created throughout that
country by the report that a lone
highwayman had robbed the Con¬
cho stage. The stage was stopped
about a mile from the Colorado riv
er on the Runnels-side, the daring
highwayman losing himself to the
frightened travelers by gliding in¬
to the thick cliapparnl that grew on
each side of the road, as soon ns he
had relieved them of their valua
bles. That the highwayman
acquainted with the country was
evident, for again, within the week,
the performance time was repeated, ex
cept that this two men made
the demand to “throw up your
*
hands.’
“It is unnecessary for me to tell
you who these modern Clauder Du
vals were, for you can guess as ea¬
sily as I did when I read a report
of It.
“The hoys laid low around Buffa¬
lo Gap for a while until the talk
died down. Luckily for them there
v .-rs a stage stage robbed robbed between between Lam
pa pasasand g as an( j San San Saba, Saba, which which turned turned
tbe attention of the officials*in
direction. This highwayman did
not cover his tracks as well as our
boys, for he was nabbed down near
p ort Mason, and during the excite
ment Burt and his pal pulled out
without creating comment. In n
few days I got a letter to join them
a t Uvalde. Hastening there I found
th^m flush and playing gentlemen
0 f leigura Burt was acquainted
with Major Smith, in command at
Fort Clark, and would occasionally
put on his clerical duds and run'
down to see him. But there was
method method in in his his madness, madness, for for he he told told
us us one one day day that that if if we we wanted wanted to to bo bo
in in the the saddle snddleior fbr a a few few days days that that we
could could make in; ike some some money, money, and and told
to me hi m -heme. I was i> run
down to Eagle Pass and bring up
snmo men whose names he gave me
men who had “been tbcflfe" before
and could bo relied upon; and we
were to run a “drive” of cattle over
the Grande and bring back horses,
I cannot explain to you the dilBeul
ties of such an undertaking. It is
simply a breach of the laws of both
countries, as we intended
LlPr^Uo glipg them across between Pilares
.1.1 fcir, „„di f
fed by tlie officials meant imprison
ment, or by the vigilantes hemp.—
Mounted anrl accoutered, we were
a malt er of two or three days
reaching the range from which the
cattle were tube “nipped”—the
lower Pecos and we kept scattered
out , as well as we could so as not to
attract attention. I aud one of the
Allimanni were deputed to do the
advance reconnoitering, and an easy
job it was up to the time we sighted
the river. It was early in the after
noon> when we looked down from
au eminence and beheld the Bio
Grande.
“The river was nothing,
an( j we would have forged ahead,
thankful that so much of our jour
ney had b«n passed Bafaly, when
my attention was attracted to a
small body of horsemen riding to
the south along the bank of the
river, apparently looking for
thing, and I didn't need to ask
, v bat
“The cattle had been missed, and
a prasso ot men had come in pur
it. By some chance they hud
passed the main body of our gang,
and had beaten us to the river.
| They tbe were fords now to engaged if we in hadcross- search
in S sec
,
ed tho river. Our only chance of
successfully crossing now lay in our
waiting until nightfall, and hoping
that our pursuers might go on down
the river.
“I ami my eoiapaitioii waited un
til the-men came up with the cattle,
It was then near dark, and instead
of camping on this side, we
eluded we had better try and
across that night. To show the dare
: devil that always animated Burt,
W oul, to toll you ot he did
.
that night. Calling the mem to
gather, and giving them explicit
directions what to do in case he
now bo seen in tlie distance as tlie
darkness closed in, and try to enter-
EASTMAN, OEOKGIA, TUI USDAY, AUG 2<5, 1880.
tain them, while we got the cattle
across and safely yito the
With the parting admonition tome
to be careful, and if successful in
crossing to drive as fast as we pos
sibly could to Senor Jaral s, he rode
j away.
“Pausing only long enough to eat
a bit of dried beef, we drove the cat
t-le as fast as we could in a westerly
direction to a deep ford that Burt
had pointed out to us, knowing that
a little swim would refresh both the
horses and cattle, determined to
make hay before the sun shone
again.
“What Burt did in the camp of the
rangers he never told to any one but
me, and I still consider it his se
cret, but ho had a tip on his left
ear when ho lo! t us that evening
! that no one ever saw again.
j tho “Y\ river, e were, and successful some two in crossing or •three
lodes in the Country, and were con
t .
gratulating ourselves that we had
no cause for further fear, and were
discussing the question of camping
at once where we were for the bill -
of tho ni 8 ht > and drive the re
j niaining twenty or twenty-five miles
the following day and evening," lion
we heard the sound of rapid hoof
beats behind us. Listening, wo
could only distinguish the click
clack of one horse, and concluded
^ was Burt returning. ^i >ut \\ ly
was he in such a hurry? We wait
j Gd od 3 doub llis his approach approach t nyt that wiUi with the rein anxiety, anxiety, trembled ^ui<l mid
in 8CTOl,ftl of ij f P°° r riders ’ hands *
j Burt drew rein oidy when he
; * n Bie midst o' tfig rm o, nml quick
! shouted: ‘Scatter the beasts in
| tiro chnpparnl and take care of J'our
solves as host you can, they lurei
^ erossed and after IIow many
are us.
are armed?’ He might as woll-haw
asked,‘how many ducks can swim?
j for « cowboy wijj|put his navy six
would Vie thought a curiosity. Even
while he spoke wo could hear the
hoof beats of our pursuers’ fleet
horses. *
“They had ignored political Iioun
darie, and were after ns still, deter
j j m3lied mined to h>havc have their their property, propel ty, h u »ot not
j revenge, Tcvenge. Me scattered Die
as as Wkly as jmssible in the brush,
! aud ia doingwo sepernted oursdo s
from each oilier. Before we could
, again tlie
j together rangers v.oio
| u P° n A skirmisli took place
'"'tween tho two gangs with lit tie
or no evil effect, luckily, until they
spotted Burt I won t say but what
I he done them a dirty trick; he must
lmvo; for they were after him as
| soon ** they saw liim - leaving Hie
balance of us unharmed, and,
seemed, uncared for. The border
-P
protect their lives, never tlunk ol
Talling on another for assistance,
and 1, heedless of the presence of
half a dozen trusty boy^v ho would
willingly have helped had I asked
put spurs to my horse and
dashed away hi the •direction Burt
had gone, with tlie rangers in pur
,
suit.
I followed them only by the
sound of the horses’ hoofs and an
occasional shot for eight or ten
miles when the thought suddenly
came to me that Burt was going
toward tho old Spaniard’s haci
ernla. Once, he is safe, I thought;
y et before the thought had framed
itself another flashed through my
brain: Will Burt jeopardize tlie
old maaMidlm lovely chmghl rbj
seeking protection as a fugitive. I
-lashed spurs to my horse
determined to overtake them, but
the beast, already tired by his long
day'a travel ,van enable to go fa-iter..
f hey would reach the place m an
other hour at the rate they were
riding now und i trembled as
thought ot the consequences tot he
old senor ar.,1 lus ehnnmng senorita
The miles hew by. We appear^
to be keeping aoout the same dis
iance apart, they not gaining
Burt, nor 1 on them. I can give
you no idea of the excitement un
j < ei nt i ‘ mi! ta * a
ride of twenty miles. It was with
[Bart clearly a matter of life and
Jrath, I tre m M«Uo,t «,me o
the occasional shots I hear, l would
take effect either m him or mins
horse. I .passed a horse with
empty sadiUe.flmt it was not Luri «,
j and only human I knew target he had during not that been ran- the
• lug ^
I now began to ....... recogmz. Lie
scenery and my surroundings as I
fl cw pa8 t, and knew we were near
bruin. But I had reckoned without
my host when I thought he was mi-
able to care for himself, as he very
quickly proved. When within a
mile oi the * hacienda ho, put on a
fresh spurt, leaving his pursuers
several hundred yards in the rear.
Ho dashed up to the Senor Y- stable,
tranferred his saddle ton large roan
standing there, that acted as if it
had seen Burt before, and no doubt
it had, leaped upon him, and amid
a fusilade, ho dashed away, again
leaving the rangers far in tile rear,
During the excitement at the eta
ble I had dashed into the crowd.
recklessly shooting right and left
until I got this (pointing a finger
p, bis head ) and fell from my horse,
j Ifi their haste to ho olf after Burt,
i they pronounced mo “quiet,” and
left me where I fell.
• “\\ hen my senses returned l was
in a room in tho old hacienda, my
Doml so nearly covered with band
n „ os that j scarcely had room left
f,, r my eyes to take in the form of
m y friend and savior, Burt, seut
0 q at an opposite window, with the
[ovoIy se norita*8 hand in his, con
j verg i n g in a low tone, and I’ll l>ot
fllis bottle of beer,” continued the
“that there isn’t, another
inan { u (be United States or Mex
ico t]mt cou](1 lmvo dono it . That
be a quoer ending to a story,
but I will have to go now or I shall
bo loo j. e j out nt my hotel”
“Did I understand vou to say he
*
is i u the city?”
j “Youdid! I believe."
» W horc is he stopping?”
“I could tell you if I wanted to,
v>nt ...” mu i j lo gftve a falling intleo
^ wor q as jf bo j Jft d fin
,q ( |«m’t wish to appear importu
im f 0i of course.”
“Tint’s all right; but it would be
funny jf J Jurt was to go back to
Texas and do valuable service for
... i:i . , r . in which he is outlaw
’ AV ouldiTt it?”
----
A WELL-UEAD MAN.
y . • i ~ *m H , v
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inbtcratmi'-vct such
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ruiidlv and'v,! { lod
unDrstan l
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’ who
. I'S of being well itejriS read
^ >oomnrellend ^ each sen
^ ftnd w . n h h Pspl . OHH i on
f roIli the pem
not f(l H s alone, but seed thought
w]i - d , wiil develop into large crops
ro fl Rct j OJlg i n his ' own mind j He
t|n be fouJJfl *. e (ill
.' ’the rea d iu „ 0 ‘conversation
* all topics towliichhis
]hir ^possible , llftB ext emlcd. Of course |
for an omnivorous
l(l or fi> bo well read e’xcentional unless b.
n mernorv of
o!f( . rv;i ds much hv far I
a An * f> _ T ^ , nr Hna nf ^ Ids rendino '_ {
^ ^ ^ (1) in-!
l"' 7 Dim will
? number .' ofhooks 7 which
• 1 , p may b e
tllo „
much readin" man is a poor
y roa a ra£m . Jb s w ho hue scanned
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J be 1 J rironotmccd not so well
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® judicious frieml,
d u reo d B l., w y J anil with oloae
at t«ntnm. |
ENTEKI’RISINfi, REMABLEBOI SE,
^ Kalman, Ga.,
always lie relied upon, not only
lo carry j n stock the best of every
tiling, but to secure the agency for
raj* £
^ t ereby the reputation
0I , n . in „ a ( wa y g enterpnping and tv
JJtor ll.t J !
“
f hf . M
R on a positive grantee, it will ,
* ure | y ctire anv uud every affection
* jfr
t0 ca g au .j a trial Uttle free,
The Chinese alphabet contain*
power 11. resiling machine and run
i>v Mcaio.
^
BURNED AT THE STAKE.
The Awful Fate of a Georgia Slave
Before the Mar.
A letter from Lexington, C*a, re**
cently appeared in the New York
dispatch which tells of the burning
before tlm war of a negro uiur
derer.
In conversation with l ndo Jerry
Thomas, nu old and esteemed resi- |
dent of this place, he said: ‘T was
reading recently the particulars of
tlre burning of a negro rapist alive
in Alabama, with all the fiendish
b rturo imaginable. It vividly
brought to my mind an affair which
1 witnessed right hero in this
county a quarter of a century ago,
the recollection of which haunts my
memory. One of the best citizens
in Oglethorpe was brut illy murder
ed m a most treacherous
by a negro. The murderer escaped,
but as soon as the news of the deed
reached the ears of the
hundreds of excited men were on
the tralL Tho fellow was found ill j
,lB h;uJik pen anil dragged forth from
hia place of concealment. At that
time there lived m our county hgv
end crl,(d aild desperate men, who
f,ad of money aud feared
neither God nor devd ’ 3nto tll0ir
haud8 ’ unfortunately, this negro
fel1 - ] ”or three days he was kept
cllained il1 811 old outhouse and the
most horrible tortures inflicted up»
on him. He was even whipped with
h,m ums ’ BDdd tor '
mGntors P° ured s P u ltd ot turpon
tme on llls wou,lds to add to his
suffering. 'Elio negro was very stub¬
born and courngecaa, nnd was iiiBo
lent to tho end. It seemed irnpos
sible to break his spirit, and this
fact onl v enraged his captors the
luom Tl,e m(,st horrible stories
vver0 told of tllG cruelties iuilicted
u P on tlie ne « ro > l " ltof 1 knew
nothing, until the news spread over
the surrounding oouutry like wild
fire that on an appointed day the
murderer would be burned alive.
“There is always a mysterious at
traction in 8110,1 llorrors for tho
ina88es » nnd ' vdl0n 3 Teached the
scene of tho murder 1 found the
highway filled with men going to
witness tho death of a human being
by lire —the most poiufulandhor
rible of all methods of death. But
all of those parties did not come to
Pal * ti *7 1B o i r thirst for the horrible,
but their motives were of a higher
order, and their mission was to try
and persuade the mob to lot the
law take its emum Tho Into Jinn.
Zaeh Clark was tho loader among
this law-abiding class. But it was
liko boating strews against a cy¬
clone to tiy and stay the vengeance
of the vigilantes. Tho murdered
mail was one of Oglethorpe’s lionz
and popular citizens, and even
those who did not lake a band in the
burning felt no disposition to inter¬
fere.
"i’bo sable prisoner was chained
in Ul ° ytm1, ' inJ whil ° h } H facc bore
evidence ofmuch suffering and tor
lltre thr °ugb winch he had passed.
tilL ‘ ru wa8 a resolute, defiant look
on his faco that showed ho was not
co<Ved - Tliis Iost tUo ne K ro niuch
sytu b atby ’ A half dozen men had
taken upo “ tllem0elve8 33ie
ment of the eutire matter, and they
were c°ld-blooded and merciless,
At 11,0 a Pl )oiuted tim0 the leader
walked UI) to tl,e negro, unloosed
‘‘imlro-n thetneto AUtin
ct:ainod > und ,Ui nounced that tbe
8CfIltGllc J pa88ed “ 3 ” n “ ,0 pri8 °“ er
was that he should be burned alive
<lt ,be H,!lko ’ alld they trere about
now to put the .entenee into e»eu.
turn. Throwing one end of tbe
drain over hi. shoulder, the judge
^
h.nd «tb . gnu on hi. black tace
“ Rtterw.rds s,,,d tbut he satd
uo wll, ‘ 6 *“» w0 ” W 8 “° d
property like him, as ho was wolth
too much money for that. Tho fol
low thought that after being sor
verely punished ho would be run off
and sold in the Mississippi swamps,
as was done with all unconquerable
staves. The crowd followed close
^ 1 * ,J *“ T “l
prisoner, [here were a number of
negroes also in the party, as the
^ and place tbou to « teach llt , tU them “ a g<X a ? lesson. ,iuie
if Ins race had any sympathy for
the (homed man they did not show
^ «* ~ ’*" M
down a hiil aud a charing was
reached.
BUC KING SIGHT.
tors Ufck( a tu gIltLer f agot8 and pile
no. :m
them around the human offering ou
the shrine of revenge. Only a few
lint their assistance. There were
several little children of the doomed
negro who had followed the pfoces
B j on from the yard. They saw the
white men gathering brush anil
piling it at their father's feet and
innocently set at work. Up to this
time a number of the white men
present did not believe that the
ino p would carry out their threat,
fUK j they hurriedly held a consul
tatioQ. It resulted in Col. Clark
springing upon a stump and beg
gi»g the mob not to resort to such
bvutaldy, but let the man be tried
and executed according to law. But
Colonel Clark was ordered to keep
lfis mouth closed or he would get
i u t 0 trouble himself,
“At this time a match was struck
and the funeral pyre ignited. The
f U el being very ihy.it at once
blazed forth, aud for the lust time
(ho murderer realized his doom.
He cast a most appealing look at
his tormentors end exclaimed
aloud:
“‘Great God, white folks! You
ain’t goiu’ to burn a man alive.’
“Ho was answered with jeers
from tho crowd, and fresh fuel was
thrown on the blaze, it was a most
horrible sight. 1 never want to
witness another such a seono, for it
haunted mo for years afterward.
While the negro did not speak
ngnin, f could see that ho was suf¬
fering all tho agonies of tho
damned. The flames would raise
great blisters on Ins flesh, aud these
would soon burst. His body and
limbs would brown and wither. HU
contortions wero horrible. Ho tried
like a madman to tear himself loose
from tho chains, and would squirm
and writhe about in groat agony- A
sickening odor of burning flesh
floated in tho air. At Install strug¬
gles censod. More brush was heaped
mound tho now dead body, and fi¬
nally cremation began. The limlm
would burn off and full to the
ground, aud tho head dropped from
tho shoulders. At length a pilo of
charred flesh was all that remained
of a human body. This was raked
up in a heap with sticks and pino
knots and chunks of wood heaped
the root). At lmt it was sup
posed that everything was con¬
sumed, hut it is said that the next
day a curious neighbor passed the
spot, und raking in the ashes found
the murderer’s heart shriveled and
dried but still unburned. lie dug
a hole nt tho root of the tree and
buried it. This terrible affair cer¬
tainly was a salutary lesson on tho
negroes of our county, for there had
lately been several outrages and
murders, and they at once ceased.
Low, if any, of the better class of
citizens indorsed tho burning, and
it was a source of deep mortilica*
lion to them. To tho credit of old
Oglethorpe 1 will say that not a
single man who iiad a hand in that
outrage is now living in our county.
They are all dead or have moved
away, and it seems that a curse lias
followed them through life. They
first lost their property, and seemod
to reap nothing but trouble and
misery and disappointment. Tho
place where this negro was burned
lms long borne the reputation of
being haunted, and 1 liavo passed
it at all boars of the day and uiglit
and the only thing that haunted
me was tlie picture of the victim at
the stake, and that will never leave
my mind. Although I had no hand
in the burning of that poor devil of
a negro, I would give #1,000 if [had
away. The murderer belonged
to a very smart but bad family of
negroes, one of whom was hanged,
two shot and killed while resisting
arrest, and another, a mere youth,
murdered his father. The family
is thinned out now, hut a few of
them yet live in this county, but so
far as 1 know conduct themselves
well.”
WOXDEKITI. CUBES.
W. I). Iloyt & Co., wholesale and
retail druggists, of Koine. Ga., say:
Wd have been selling I)r. King’s New
Discovery, Electric Bitters an.1 Buck
len’s Arnica Salve for two years —
Have never handled remedies that
sell as well, or give such universal
satisfaction. There have been some
wonderful cures effected in this city
by these remedies. Several cases of
pronounced consumption have been
entirely cured by the use of a few
bottles of Dr. King’s New Discovery,
taken in connection with Electric
Bitters. We guarantee them always.
Sold b> Herrman <fe Herrmau, drug
gists, Kastman, Ga.
and registered.
—■
FROM HILL M E.
Aii Ohl-Faxhloaed Father’s Letter to a
New Fancied Son.
tlrmnw, Wis , June 30, 1886.—Mr
I)eak Sjk—.Y our letter willi vour
picture In it cnmc yesterday afters
noon. I was over to the village for
the grist and got the letter and our
home paper at the same time.
Your picture don’t look as you did
when van went away, though very
likely it looks as you do now. Yon
look odd around the top of the head,
and your hair stands up over your
forehead like a scant scrubbing
brush. What makes your hair stand
up that way, Henry? It never used
to. Still you had an uncle that
couldn’t make his hair stay down—
an uncle cm your mother’s side.
Doubtless you get it from him. Your
cousin Ctera says that you have got
this Pompy Door Bang on it, but it
occurs to me that you look more like
the little yaller mule that 1 reached
last fall.
1 honestly believe, though, that if
you pie: severe, Henry, you enn make
that hair stay down. I’d never give
up if it were mine. I’d wear a pile
driver in my hat, or something that
would tend to flatten it out. Your
head now looks as if you had rush
of blood to the jib-boom.
Your mother has also taken to
monkeying with her hair. She now
has her hair gnawc;l oil over her fore
head, and lied up in a row of lead
sinkers along the edge ot. her face.
She is generally about a year behind
the times on such things, and after
everybody else is worn out with a
fashion you’ll generally find her just
catching on, ns the fellow says. Af¬
ter everyone else is tired hanging
their hair, here cornea your mother
with her hair done up in the loudest
and most earepiercing bang.
I wish you could see her in the
morning, Henry, with a row of lead
wads along the gray, sagebrush edge
of her brow. Us enough to drive a
stronger man than me to drink. I
dashed off a little poem in my mind
this morning as I lay half asleep. It
regarded your mother, I will now
draw it off for yov:
O, why Is year mother so cussed vnin?
Ami why am I uo longer young.
And why does your moltnr weep again
Be cense her bangs will not stuy bung?
These few desultory lines, of course,
do not give you a fair sample of what
1 cun do, but they show the easy lope
ot my muse.
bull I wouldn’t have you gather
tho idea, Henry, that I am kicking
about your mother. Slto Is getting
to ho iron gray around the foretop
now, but she still looks gay and
beauteous to me. She is always
young and fair lo me, as the fellow
says.
Your mother and me met by chance
the usual, way, and later on yon joined
the caravan. You will find other las
dies with more suplo Augers aud
darker, murkier eyes than your moth¬
er's, but you will never And one more
patient and lender than the lias been
to you.
She don’t laugh so often a3 she
used to, but her heart is in the samo
place, und if I should receive a tele—
graft, she would get white around
the mouth nnd scared, nnd the first
word would be, “What’s happened
to HenryV”
So you sec that a mother’s love
lives on and on, my son, even while
you may forget her aud forget to write
her, and scorn tlie old home where
she she is at this moment peeling po¬
tatoes on an old oilcloth covered ta¬
ble, while the old dark red clock ticks
out the seconds, and the dried apples
sputter nnd slew on tlie cook stove,
aud tlie juice drops over and per¬
fumes tlie whole institution. yhe if
like the Star Sprangled Banner, Hen¬
ry, she is still there, and you can bet
high on it every lime.
If you should go astray, llenry,
when sntermclons are ripe, and wake
up some night to fin 1 yourself in a
strange melon patch with the brow of
your pants full of No, 2 shot, yoij
could call on your mother, or me
either, for that matter, and we would
come in oor dreams und pick the shot
out of you and put anarchy on the
sore places acd treat you right.
You may think that because your
hair is reached, and won't stay down,
that we have gone back on you, but
there’s where you arc wrong. What¬
ever misfortune may befall you, Hen¬
ry, remember that your parents will
never sour on you.
Your mother is very anxious to
know how you are getting along with
your essay on insects, wuich you are
going to read the last day. Why no$
call it “Half-Hour* with Eminent
Bugs?” I just throw this out kind
of free—you ueedn’t use it if you
don't waul to.
Uur Forilund Chinese ben is once
a parent. She is very much so. Thir¬
teen little, fuzzy lamp cbimbly clean
ers lnive come to gladden her home.
They are very cute little chickens,
and wilt look well fried in the early
uulusin in a little butter.
Etiis leaves all pretty well, except
old Charley, who has the lumpers,
and hope tins w ill find you enjoying
the same great blessing. Nj'S,
Your father. Ifli-l,