Belt Valley times. [volume], February 04, 1926, Page Page Three, Image 3

About Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
■
y of Voices
I i
By GEORGE MARSH
Author of ''Toilers of the Trail." "The Whelps of the Wolf**
«
(Copyright by the rnt Pabltahlas Ch->
CHAPTER VIII—Continued
—13—
"Is this the same one we heard at
Walling RlverT" .
"Mebbe. Mehba *nodder one. 'Jib
way say plenty ov dem een valley o»
de Walling."
"But what do yon think. Michel?"
demanded Steele hotly. "Her* 1 am.
with David, giving up my time to help
you run this thing down and. If pw
Bible, save the post for St. Onge; and
you don't trust me. Why don't you
open yonr heart to me?"
Michel straightened and going to
the small fire David had built on the
beach, calmly examined his tattered
shirt and trousers, as he dried out.
"Ton are good man, M'aleu Steele
Daveed tell me, but I have de eye to
see. W'en yon come back on de snow.
I tell you so me fing."
That was all. and Steele understood.
It was evident that Michel had bound
blmrelf to secrecy. But why had he
told David?
"In the morning we must hunt for a
trail," Steele said, philosophically
bowing to the Inevitable. Now we'll
have to do what we can to quiet those
poor aquawa."
As the canoe landed on the beach
below the silent tipis, one by one.
dark shapes of Indian dbg» slunk
from the adjacent scrut, tails between
legs, to whimper st the feet of the
men.
"Scared stiff." said Steele. "And from
the sound the squaws are worse. tjo
snd talk to them. Michel. Tell them
It waa a mad wolverine or lynx and
we've hunted It out of the country
Til get a fire going while David brings
some tea from the Island. It will
cheer them up—the tea."
But both bis patience, and hts
knowledge of the woods Indian's be
lief In the anpernatnral, were taxed to
__ the uttermost before Michel succeed
ed In convincing the women that the
^Wlndlgo they heard On
was not now luring them to their
doom with the assumed voice of the
headman of Wailing River.
In the enJ, they crept from the tipi
to the friendly light of the fire, horror
In their ahtfios eyes, gray-faced chil
dren clutchlpg fhe*r skirts. There,
comforted by the it-v rud heartened
by the presence of the three men. who
kept a huge fire going, the circle of
stricken women passed the night.
In the opinion of Steele, who kept
vigil with his pipe, beside the snoring
David and Michel, rolled In their
blankets, the coming of the beast to
Big Feather before the freeze-up. was
the gravest menace which the for
tunes of Walling River post, and the
girl who had given him until spring
to accomplish the Impossible, had yet
encountered. For, as a forest fire
runs In dry timber, so rumors-of the
howling of the Wlndlgo at Big Feath
er wqnld travel from hunter to hunter
through the upper valley of the Wall
ing. The tale would spread, gather
erfng horror as It went aa a snow slide
gathers momentum, until In time the
whole region learned that a Wlndlgo
■was loose In the valley of the Walling
—a fiend fierce beyond belief and hun
gry for the flesh of the OJIhway. Then
would follow, unless the beast were
killed and the terror ended, swift
exodus from the valley of the families
still trading at the post, the resurrec
tion and revival of the ghastly tradi
tions surrounding the rapids and the
river below—the end of the 8L Gages
and the post at Walling River.
Steele's teeth bit savagely into the
stem of his pipe. This might happen
before the freeze-up, and until the
snow made it possible to follow a trail,
there was small chance of solving the
Mystery of the night walling.
Now. Rteele mused, when the
men
returned from their hunt to hear of
the voles In the night from the circle
of half-delbeoted women cowering
there around the Are. the tale would
straightway travel fo the four winds,
and hardy Indeed would he the hunter
who would drive hls dog team this
Christmas down the white valley of
the Walling to trade at the Ill-fated
post. With no Christmas, and little
prospect of a spring trade, unless the
mystery were solved by the running
«own of this beast with the miracu
lous vocal cords. Waning River was
doomed. Even if Denise married La a
csiles in the spring, the poet could not
he continued under a taboo.
True. St Onge bad sworn that she
should never make the sacrifies, but
the factor was at hls rope's end, and
she would override him. She would
not see him disgraced. Her pride
would drive her to It—that fierce pride
of race. She was a thoroughbred and
would go to her spiritual death with
• high head. In the spring.
I» ths morning Michel would go in
se ar c h of the caribou bunter«, for after
main alone at Big Feather. David
would croon to Portage lake to learn
If tha Wlndlgo had been heard on th«
Little Current. He, himself, would
cover the country back of tbo ridge for
a troll which he had little hope of
ÿfektng up. and
ivor to hold the
at (hair camp natii their men
r et ur n ed On the reran» of David they
atari tor Nepignn, leav
the canoe Bl Onge
bag Michel to
te
With Michel would go two letters,
explaining bta change of plana. The
sole hope of bolding the Indians now
was In scotching the Wlndlgo terror
early In the winter by tracking down
the beast on the first snow; snd so.
strongly as bta heart drew him toward
the post, be made bis decision.
CHAPTER IX
For three days Steele searched the
ridge and back country for tracks, hut
without success. David returned from
Portage lake with the good news that
the fishing campa were taking large
catches of pike and whlteflah, and
there was no Wlndlgo gossip. So. In
spite of the thrill protests and Indig
nant refutation of their squaws, Steele,
corroborated by his men, assured the
OJlbways that what the women bad
heard on the bnrnt ridge was the cat
erwauling of a lynx, ond at once start
ed with David for Ogoke lake and the
Neplgon.
It waa on a windless day In the
heart of the northern Indian summer
that the canoe bound south for the
Neplgon approached the islands guard
ing the east end of Ogoke. Like sil
houettes of anchored battle fleets they
rode the sleeping lake, their fighting
tops and stacks, of black spruce, their
armored hull», of age-worn rocks.
"Where la the post. David?" asked
Steele.
"Four—five hour paddle, yet. Bet
lie on long spruce point. You see eet
today ver' far off."
"You realize that you can't atari
anything at Laflamme'a place now,
don't you?"
Repeatedly, David's square shoul
ders leaned to the stroke, as his arms
swept the blade through, before he
turned his black head to hts chief.
"David has waited ten year, he can
wait leetle tam longer. We got plenty
•/
*■
7 i
f.
A
?
'It Looks aa If tha Whola Outfit la
Out to Mast Us."
troubles dees long snow on de Walling.
Daveed weal wait ; you not worry for
heem."
"I knew you wouldn't do anything
when we have this work down river
ahead of us; but I realize that it will
be hard. If we stay a day or two. for
you to keep your hands off of him. Hls
gang would get you anyway tf yon did
square it with Laflamme, and that
would put me to « hole at weft."
The reticent David had never di
vulged even to Steele the cause of the
ancient be bore the fr trader.
He had said simply that be wished to
meet him—had twice Journeyed far
for that purpose; once missing him.
the second time finding him camped
with bis fur canoes. As David had no
quarrel with Laflamme'» men, who
would bare come promptly to the aid
of their chief, be bad hided hls time,
lb some way. years before, Laflamme
had Injured the OJIhway. That was
the extent of Steele's knowledge.
Gradually, as they approached, the
clearing opened up and the buildings
of the fur post took shape. So keen
was his curiosity that Steele ceased
paddling to examine them through bis
binoculars. Here lived the man who
was waiting until tha snow flew for
8L Gage's answer to bis offer of a
partnership la the trade for the price
of Denise, the man who was luring the
OJlbways for hundreds of miles with
his whisky.
Although the freeze-up was little
more than a ftortnight away, tipis
squatted, here and there, on the post
clearing. This, of Itself, meant hot
on# thing to the roan who held the
glasses—whisky. For, throughout th*
wide north. September finds the hunt
ers on their winter trapping grounds,
preparing for the coming of th« long
"Wei '•'at yon fink ev dat place?"
asked David, aa Steel« pat Us glasses
la their case.
have a lot of people there
"He
—Mg bolldlngs, too."
"Tea. eet
beeg pi ace."
As they approached the long polst,
people moving about th« buildings On
the beach the post dogs already await
ed the strange craft, while a group of
l*wt people formed behind them. The
canoe was clow In shore when two
meh left the massive tradehoom and
drifted to the log landing stage, off
which a York boat rode at Its now
Ing.
"It looks as If tha whole outfit la out
to meet us"
David turned a grim face to his
chief. "Somet'lng strange here I"
"They may think we're a police
canoe," suggested Steele.
"Ah hah !"
"Is that Laflamme talking to the big
fellow on the landing?"
"Ah-hah ! He don' talk lak' dead
man." So low were the sinister
The OJIhway turned to hta chief a
face twisted with hate.
"He don' know—he
roan !"
"Some day yon can settle with him
—but not now. not now ! We have a
Job on the Wailing—you and Michel
and I," hastily objected Steele, fear
ing this meeting with the man he
hated had Jarred David off hla mental
balance.
words spoken that Steele, in doubt,
asked ;
"What's that?"
-dead
The set features of the OJIhway re
laxed. Hla narrow eyes glowed as
he reassured the man who trusted him.
"Daveed promise to meet Michel on
de November snow. We have de beeg
Joh—you an' Michel an' Daveed; 1
mak* no trouble here, boss."
Under the Inspection of many pair»
of curious eyes, the canoe slid Into
the beach. Leaving David to keep the
dogs off the canoe, Steele walked
through the silent huskies who In
stinctively drew hack from hla ap
proach and cloaed In behind him,
walking on stiff legs barely out of
reach of the paddle he carried, awed
bulky
breed, whose sinister face wore the
red gash of a scar from chin to ear,
Steele dismissed with a glance, tut
nothing, from the heavily beaded
moccasins of smoke-tanned moose
hide, to the wide-brimmed stetson of
the free-trader, escaped hla appraising
eye. To his aurplrse, also, the dark
features which met him with a look
both surly and questioning, were un
deniably handsome.
"Good day. gentlemen!" said Steele,
affably, Ignoring the coolnesa of hla
reception.
"Good day I" returned Laflamme,
coldly, probing the smiling face of the
stranger with a sharp look In which
doubt and concern patently mingled.
*T am headed for Neplgon, from
Fort Albany, and need some supplies."
C t on Steele. "Can yon sell me
e staff?"
With a curl of the Up Laflamme re
plied: "That depends on what your
business is on this lake."
The tawny-haired American laughed
In the face of the speaker.
"Business on this lake? Are you
Joking? You seem to have all the
business here. My bnslDMs Is to get
back to New York befqref Pm frozen
In. and report to the American Mu
seum of Natural History. I've spent
the last five months on the Albany,
collecting Now, I'm bound for Nep^
Igon and the railroad."
The half-breed and his chief ex
changed looks. Steele realised that
he was suspected of being s govern
ment agent In disguise, so, as he need
ed supplies and wished to study La
flamtne while David circulated among
the poet people, h# desired to relieve
the mind of the free-trader at once.
"You say you're from the States—
doing collecting among the Indians?
I should be glad to see some of your
stuff"
Laflamme was taking no chances,
and Steele welcomed the opportunity
to establish bis Identity.
"Yes. I've two pack« In the canoe.
My name is Steele. I've teen on the
Albany two years—left a thousand
pounds this year, at Fort Albany, to
go out by boat." Then be hazarded:
"You know Lascelleo, the Rev 11 Ion
man there?"
Laflamme'» reaction to the remark
was Instantaneous,
ened with anger.
Hla face dark
<TO nn COMTimJED )
Tragmdy of Honor Bladma
Those who are puzzled to know
what to do with used safety razor
blades may find a bint In the follow
ing. anya the Load«« Hall. A young
and pretty girt approached Battersea
bridge. She bald something tightly In
her left bond. When abe reached the
middle of the bridge she Mopped and
looked around.
Only one man was anywhere near,
and be, apparently, waa not paying
any attention to her doings. In a flash
abe raised her hand and flung some
thing into the river below. It glittered
and shone as It fell, and the man.
gazing over tha bridge la curiosity.
iw that ft waa a small glass phial of
th« sort la which powdered bath salts
arm told, twelve In a box. His curio«
Ity overcame Mm. and ho overtook the
girl. "Do tell
what you threw Into
the river," he begged. "My husband's
razor bladaa," was the astonishing an
Slants on Life
By J. A. WALDRON
7!7
Big and Small Cam «
T) ID you enjoy the hunt, captainT"
It had been a fox hunt, so
called, at Oorsemead. Jlie estate of
Jodab Glngermlll a rich American,
within an hour's ride of New York,
where the money cam« from,
Capt Jack Pawea-H o rt lngtoa eras a
ku»st. Miss Dorothea Glngermlll wan
of marriageable age. The captain
thought It would be a good thing for
both of them to change her name.
The question was asked by Mrs. Hun
gerfurd. an attractive widow, who
would marry again without Involving
an eligible party to such a scheme In
a chase for the honor. She had trav
eled a bit abroad, spoke French like a
native American, and was a sort of
chaperon and dispenser of deportment
to Misa Glngermlll.
"Really, ladles," observed the cap
tain. "I feah there Is no hunting worthy
the name hereabouts!"
"Then the foxes got away?" queried
Miss Glngermlll, In a tone that sug
geated abe might belong to some ao
defy for the prevention of cruelty to
animals.
'Aw—aw—realty, I cawn't say,"
»ponded Uie captSIn. "We didn't—aw—
glimpse one of the little beaata at
all!*'
Cspt Jack Dawes-Hurtlngton waa
the glass of fashion. If not the mold of
form according to symmetry standards.
Young fellows In the club» to which
the captain had cards took leas note of
his somewhat Gothic architecture than
they did of hla scenic equipment. Of
clothes he had so many changes, suited
to bo many occasions, that ha em
bodied a sartorial motion picture of
endless variety,
steadily caused a revision of attltndea
and polite slang In the select circle In
which he moved. It la true that no
society woman with whom lie had yet
come In contact raved over him as a
thing of beauty: yet he filled the aex
with amazement by hta eccentric
aplomb and his seeming unconcern for
anything on earth. In the heavens or In
the deeps. When ha laughed— «s he
assumed to do after his remark about
not having seen the fox—the Bound
wag like the subdued cackle of a hen,
emitted with that ventrlloqutal skill
which does not even slightly disturb
the risible muscles. No matter how
And hla manner
j
|
i
|
j
j
j
'
"And Hts Mannar Caused a Revision of
Attitudes."
internally hilarious he might be. the
captain never cracked a smile. In a
society not yet polished, be was a
wonder.
"But 1 understand yon have been
something of a hunter," Insinuated Mrs.
Hungerford. ,
"Oh, yaaa, I believe ao," drawled the
captain. "I've potted tlgahs In th«
Punjab, and have trophies of elephants,
lions and hippopotami met In Awfrtca,
while I've participated In llghtab sport
with the hyena, the giraffe, tha Jackal
and othea beaata In various regions of
the world."
"But yon always bad the animals st
s disadvantage, didn't you?" Innocently
asked Miss Dorothea.
"Haw-haw 1" cackled tfw captain.
"Clevab, bah Jove I If I hadn't, don't
you know, I wouldn't be beehr*
"But you hunt, don't yon, for sport
—for excitement 7" persisted Miss
Dorothea.
"Aw—aw—yams. No of hah object, I
assure you I"
"Well wouldn't there have bee*
more «port—excitement—If you bad
left your guns and things behind?"
The captain loyked puzzled for a mo
ment. "You—ah—seem to be frib
bling r
"Fribbling?"
"Yaaa, Spoofing. Ohawflng, don't
yon know! Hunting, my deab young
lady, has been the vocation or tha
pieasyah of—aw—man from antiquity
—from times when the ancient» wen
forth to beaata with nothing but the
Javelin, don't yon know!"
There was a call for the captain to
settle a little technical matter about
tomorrow'« pursuit of the fox. He ex
cused himself to the ladles with geo
metrical grace.
"My dear." said Mrs. Hungerford,
after be had gone, "the captain la a
very brave man."
"Is her asked Mias Dorothea.
"Tat And be wants to marry you."
"Does be? He hasn't asked me."
"But if ha should proposer
"I might marry him on one condi
tion."
"What condition r
"Well, be has asked me to (be circus.
Be may propose there. If he does, I
shall accept him after he has vaulted
Into the arena during the grand parade
•ntf killed tha largest elephant with a
Javelin." -—.
(C»prri»st)
VACATION FOR COW
FOUND PROFITABLE
Experiments have shown beyond a
reasonable doubt that It does not pay
to milk a cow continuously right up
to the dsy of her freshening. Almost
any good cow can give milk right up
to the day her calf la born but It la
a better and more profitable practice
to dry her up several weeks before
this. This rest that the cow gets be
fore her calf cornea enables her to
produce much more milk after freshen
ing and puts bar In s good strong con
dition to withstand the strain of a
heavy milking period without so much
danger of sickness and weakening of
her constitutional vigor. Continuons
milking up to freshening time un
doubtedly tends to reduce a cow's pro
ductive life. Generally It paya to dry
up a eew from six to ten weeks before
her calf la expected to be born.
Some heavy producing cows are not
easy to dry up. But It Is always pos
sible to dry a cow up within a period
of from two to three weeks by cutting
down on the amount of grain or meal
feed and green feed and by milking
her less frequently and by falling to
remove all the milk from her adder.
Do this gradually and get the milk
ings farther and farther apart until
she la giving only a quart or two of
milk daily.
As soon as a cow Is dry the should
be given all the rough feeds she needs
to get her In good sappy condition be
fore calving. It la not necessary or
advisable to feed a dry cow heavily
on grain or meal feeds. A cow should
be fat but not ovarly fat when bar
calf comes.
Do not let a cow go nnhred too long
after calving. It does not pay. It la
recommended that a cow be bred be
tween one and four months after cafv
ing. Failure to breed a cow promptly
results In financial loss and In some
cases long-delayed breeding la thought
to result In the cow's becoming bar
ren.— F, R. Edwards, Animal Husband
man. Georgia Experiment Station.
Pl enty of Water Needed
for Higher Production
An Iowa dairyman whom cows have
been making one of the best milk and
hutterfat records In the state at
tributes no small ahare of hla success
to the use of Individual drinking cups
In his ham. Tha drinking cups were
Installed about a year ago and the
dairyman says he noticed from the
first the good effect the handy drink
ing system had on the milk yield.
He uses one cup for two cows, hav
ing It attached to the feeding rack
)uat between each two stanchions. A
large tank la up against the ceiling (n
one end of the barn. This la filled
from the well by an electrically op
erated pump. The water flows on a
plate In the cup, a valve opens. When
the pressure is released, the valve
closes and water stop» flowing. Ttas
cpws very quickly learn to use them,
the dairyman says.
Since the cups let the cows water
themselves, they are a great labor
saving device. But that 1» not all. "If
you want to get high production from
cows," the dairyman says, "you must
see that they get plenty of water.
With the drinking cops right at their
beads all the time they are In the
barn, cowa drink much more than
they would If they were regularly wa
tered, or bad to go to a tank to drink.
You would be surprised to see how
often they take a alp at the drinking
cup. Taking Just a little alp that
way every now and then, they drink
ranch more In the course of a day
then they would otherwise. Another
thing, with the tank up near the cell
ing, the warmest part of the barn, the
water stays at a comfortable tempera
ture in tha winter, which la another
Inducement for the cows to drink
more.
Grinding Hay for Dairy
Cows la Not Profitable
Experiments conducted by the dairy
husbandry section of the Iowa experi
ment station Indicate that it doesn't
pay to grind alfalfa bay when It la to
be fed to dairy cows. At least It
wasn't profitable in these preliminary
teats. Eight cows were used In the
experiment
The use of ground alfalfa did not
increase the yield of either milk or
hutterfat In these teats and. In addi
tion, there was a greater amount of
ground bay refused by the cowa than
of the unground hay.
It cost 13.80 per ton to grind the
alfalfa and there seems little likeli
hood that this figure could be reduced
on the average farm, those in charge
of the teat say. The grinding coat
they state, represents from 20 to 28
per cent of the market value of the
hay on the farm In the average year.
DOtiCHMOOtftKHCHttCMOMHMHMHCHOHMl
Dairy Facts
CHOHCHMMHOOtiHBHOHDOtiOfiHfiHCHOHOHCHbOOO
The water supply la uf greater Im
portance than most
To produce 80 poun
requires 100 pounds of water.
rs realize.
of milk a cow
♦
Calves placed la the feedlot at
oeanlng time and continued therein
«mtii finished for market make from
66 to TB per cent more gain from tbs
■—
• ,
K
It Builds
Strengh
Just the remedy to aid
the system in throwing off
catarrhal wastes, help the
functional organs, restore
digestion and bring back
the perfect balance.
Pe-ru-na meets the need
which we aQ feel at this
season of the year.
Sold Everywhere
Tablets or Liqokt
•R
TTS
I
Keep your lions
"SPOHN'8." £
rem
From Producer to Conaumor
City Youth—What's that the calf la
licking?
Cow Farmer—That'« rock salt, my
boy.
City Youth—Geo whiz! I've often
wondered how corned beef was made !
The charm of a bathroom la Its spot*
leasnem. By the use of Rad Cross Ball
Blue all cloths and towels retain their
whiteness until worn out—Advertise
ment
Every man has in excuse for want
ing the earth, but It Is seldom satis
factory to his neighbors.
Sure Relief
•T
6 Be LL ANS
Hot water
Sure Relief
V
CLL-ANS
FOR INDIGESTION
254 and 75$ Pkja. Sdd Everywhere
^Nothing
eoodecciag
than "Vaâaliaa" Jolly. Emet
pain. Hastens nature's heal
ing. Wonderful for cuts,
scra tch es, brui ses and other
CHMEB ftOUfiH M FC. CO.
I — StMs Straw NswTosk
Vaseline J
h, ». a. rm. vrt
rmsuua rou.v ■■■■
Cuticura Soap
Best for Baby
FOR OVER
200 YEARS
haarlem oil bos been a world
wide remedy for kidney, liver «nd
bladder disorders, rheumatism,
lumbago and uric add oooditkna.
^HAARLffMOtt^C
organs. Three aims. AH druggists. Insist
on the original ««mine Ooua