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Show THEY SAW THE PEASANTRY. How a Kansas Cowboy Astonished British, Visitors to Grant Colony. The report from a Hays City paper of the neglected condition of Georgo Grant's grave will recall to old-timers ln the West many Interesting things a-b'out the colony of Britishers established estab-lished by Grant In Ellis county, Kansas. Kan-sas. One Is still spoken of by early residents with considerable amusement. Not long after tho centennial fair at Philadelphia, whoro Grant took a hatful hat-ful of prizes on the first herd of polled Angus cattle imported into this country, he was tho host of a big- party of celebrities celebri-ties at his ranch ln Ellis county. A number of these guests were from England. Some were the possessors of titles of nobility. Accompanying them were three well-known Americans from New York, Philadelphia and Boston. One of the speakers of tho day was T. De Witt Talmage, the great pulpiteer. To meet them the leading local citizens of the region were Invited. For their entertainment two of the prize polled Angus steers were barbecued. To houso them a great circus tent was erected. To cheer them champagne was provided. pro-vided. And to amuso them and instruct them Grant assembled his many cowboys cow-boys with somo of their herds. At tho time Grant had a foreman, John Duncan by name. Duncan was six feet four inches in his stocking feet, a raw-boned, loose-Jointed, round-shouldered round-shouldered typo of the Western American. Ameri-can. Ordinarily he was of a rather gentle gen-tle and retiring disposition. But when sufficiently filled with the great American Ameri-can beverage he became like unto the roaring lion or the Western blizzard which bowls over those who incautiously incautious-ly get within its way. Duncan had been invited, or, rather, ordered, to appear on the scene. He slouohed around, listening to tho Britishers, Brit-ishers, who had considerable to say about tho "peasantry." Occasionally he would drift around to the tent prc-parod prc-parod for the "servants" and take on a few drinks of Kentucky rye. With each drink the stirrings of democracy grew stronger within his bosom. With each drink, too, he took greater offense at tho rather supercilious Britishers, who looked upon the cowboys as hu-mans hu-mans of another kind. Finally the hour for dinner arrived, the .great party seated Itself within tho big tent about the tables, the prize steers were freely partaken 01, and washed down with plenty of wine, and tho toast list was well under way. But Duncan was not there. Ho found that he had been assigned to a place ln the tent of the understrappers. Ho did not cat anything, but he consumed . more and more of the beverage which had been provided for his kind. Presently he arose and went quietly away. The next moment a formidable apparition ap-parition appeared at tho door of the great tent. It was in the form of a big man In a red flannel shirt. Clutched in either hand was a Colt's .4-1. "Want to see the peasantry, do ye?" he shouted, as he stood with legs spraddled sprad-dled out and the two guns wabbling around in the atmosphero ln erratic curves. "Well, watch the peasantry perform. Whoo-ooo-pee!" And bang' bang! bang! went those guns, while the British Lords and the Eastern dudes bogan to dive for the tent flaps and stood not on the dignity of their diving. "Wah-hooh!" shouted tho voice of Western barbarity in high glee, as It observed the sensation it was creating. "Look at this poor, humble worm' of the soil!" he pleaded. "Gaze on this den of wildcats and a volcano all rolled into one! Whoo-oo-o-pec! Hear the coyote howl! Do we eat with tho aristocracy? Well, I guess yes!" By this time the tent was n3 empty as the weapons with which Mr. Duncan had been bombarding the atmosphere. Ho took out a knife and cut a few of the guy ropes, and let one end of the pavilion fall in ruins upon the deserted tables. In the meantime the guests had taken to the underbrush, and here and thero could ba seen a cautious head lifted to look upon the performance. At this point in the proceedings, however Duncan was surrounded by hlB cowbov contemporaries and was carried away' ' shouting his defianco to "them duke-lets' duke-lets' as he called them, who had talked about the "peasantry" of western Kansas. Kan-sas. Kansas City Journal. |