| Show HOW HE GOT A PRIZE1 A TarSmeared Squaw Whose Father Ruled Him with a Gun I THE SAD STORY OF A YOUNG MAN He Dearly Wanted to Harry an Heiress but lIe was Deservedly Disappointed For Tun SUNDAY HERALD CopyrightedJ Justice though often slow and stiff jomtcd sometimes overtakes the fastidious faultfinder I know of one notable instance in-stance and the recollection of it is always Bwect it is a Horror that Dover loses its fragrance Some time ago Jim Swaggerty Oscar Scroggins Alouzo do Haven and I went hunting in the Indian Territory I had never seen Alono de Haven until the day we started from Fort Smith and so s > ont on-t as I set eyes on him I felt that the man I Who had invited him had made a mistake I feel as you do said Jim Swaggerty and I dont see why Oscar wanted him Just then Oscar came up and Jim turning turn-ing from me said Look here did you take this to be a Chinese lantern affair I Certainly not Why do you ask such a I question 1 HI simply wanted to know why you invited in-vited the beau Oh hes all right His appearance maybe may-be somewhat against him but he improves I mightily with wear He and I knew each at college you Know I But he wasnt all right for TTO had not more than started until he began to growl over the fatigue of the journey declared that the wagon jolted and lamented the misfortune of not having a plushlined riage When we fixed our camp on the shore of a beautiful stream fringed with rich grass and shaded by great trees he complained of the uncivilized surroundings as though he expected deer to be found in a carefully kept garden The cooking did not please him and the coffee he declared was dish water 4 1 i r i r t3 v 4 1 I I I F r i Id1 HE WAS WALKING WITH THE SQUAW Try to put up with it today for tomorrow to-morrow there is likely to be a creat change for the better said Swaggerty Why may we expect an improvement on the morrow J the beau asked What proof have you to offer J nave learned to accept nothing without proof The proof that you are going to do the cooking What he exclaimed do you take me for a hired man Do you think that I was graduated from a flatboat Let me tell you that the sun will come down and do your cooking as soon as I will All right if you wont cook you must put up with the best we can do for you Scroggins lost all patience with his friends and was on the point of driving him away when Swaggerty said No let him stay I want to use him I did not see how the fellow could be used but ho was used in a way that he will doubtless never forget Near our camp there lived an old Indian known as SnapShot Tom The old fellow was principally noted for his laziness and the savagery of his temper when aroused Tom had a daughter whom he called Scat I dont know that I have ever seen an uglier human being Her cheek bones were so prominent that she could hav hunga mortgage on them her hair looked like a rope that had jijst been untangled and then smeared with tar her mouth bore the appearance of an accidental gash in the face and hEr nose had been broken by a kick delivered by a small roan cow from which the girl had endeavored to persuade a few drops of blue milk One day I saw Alonzo walking with the girl This was astonishing especially awe a-we had all heard him express his disgust of her and when he returned to the camp I asked him if he had conquered himself or had some sort of magic powder been usedWhat What do you mean 1 he almost fiercely demanded Nothiuc offensive I hope Merely wanted to know what has caused you t o change your opinion of that Indian girL Sir if hitherto I have spoken of th ° lady in terms other than complimentary it was because I had not familiarized myself my-self with the sweetness of her disposition You may have observed sir that she i s not beautiful but some of the nobles creatures of this life have not been celebrated cele-brated for beauty But think said Swaggerty of what an awful nameshe has I care naught for her name It wa g given her by a peculiar even if an indul gent father and therefore shall not be commented com-mented upon farther than this that I can change it if necessary What do you mean I asked Is it possible that you have become so much interested in-terested in her that you think of banging her name It is i not only possible sir but is a fac To tell youthe truth I am going to marry her n I pr i P Ld i y = = GO ezra cow I could not have been more surprised had Le suddenly announced that he was going to do the cooking and should have thought that he was joking had I not known that he Was incapable of so great an intellectual achievement Yes he went on I have asked her to be my wife and she has consented and not only this her stalwart father has given his hearty approval 1 could hardly realize that the fastidious fool was going to marry the girl but Oscar declared that it was just like his friend to be siezed in the clutches of so eccentric a whim Several days afterward Alonzo invited us to the marriage Wb accompanied him i I c r C toold Toms house a cabin with a dirt floor The bride was dressed in a sort of white tent cloth and wore dogwood blossoms blos-soms in her hair The ceremony was performed per-formed by an Indian preacher but even after the words man and wife had been pronounced icould scarcely believe that he beau had married the hideous creature We sat down to a dinner of boiled nog and greens and immediately after the meal was finished old Tom got up stretched himself turned to his soninlaw and said Lonzo old Toms son now Yes the bridegroom responded Lonzo find mule in lot What is it Alonzo asked Find mule in lot Plow over there by fence Plow corn over yonder What do you mean 1i Alonzo exclaimed z Mean you go plow now or meshootyou You marry squaw White man marry squaw is fool Fool have to work You try run away Tom shoot you You do run away Tom follow kill you Mule in lot Go plow Old Tom took down his gun and the frightened husband started for the lot Soon afterwards we saw him leading the mule out to the field Tom holding his gun across his knees sat in the forks of a tree nedr the fence The next day we broke camp and started for home and as we drove along saw Alonzo plowing in a piece of stumpy land The Indian holding a gun sat watching him That beats anything I ever saw said L Any one can see that the fellow is weak but I did not suppose he was a complete fool foolThe The marriage was apiece of shrewdness on his part Swapgerty replied Shrewdness I exclaimed How do you make that out I d S pRtlvlsulrt S J V THE OLD MAN FOLLOWED HIM Ill tell you The other day Oscar and I decided to put up a job on him Didnt ire to tell you thought we would give you a pleasant surprise Oscar and I were lying under a tree when we saw the beau slipping up to hear what wo mght be sa Ting T-ing about him You have often heard of the Indian that offers an immense sum of money to the white man that will marry his daughter Well when Alonzo had come within range stealing along 1 said Yes old Tom although he lives in a cabin is worth a great deal of money And understand that ho proposes pro-poses to give 5200000 to any white man that will marry his daughter Tell you what Im going to do I am going to marry her Jive with her until get themoney and and then skip out But dont say a word about itsomebody might step in and beat mot When we looked up Alonzo was nowhere no-where to be seen but that afternoon we saw him walking with the girl Now his o h-is in for it and is too big a coward to risk running away Worth money Tl Why any sensible man ought to see that old Tom is not worth cents About two months ago I saw Alonzo in Fort Smith He was dressed in hemp trousers and a hickory shirt and was Carl car-l sing a bag on his back Old Tom with a sun under his arm slowly skulked behind him OrE P READ |
