Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel], December 08, 1907, Page 10, Image 46

About Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
CHESTER; A HERO.
N 1893, when the lands known
as the "Cherokee Outlet"
were thrown open to settlement,
Mr. Wallace made the "run"
and was successful in securing
a I i lit- claim. For some weeks
after the opening, he and his
son Harry were very busy build
ing a house and barn, besides
digging a well and making other
improvements necessary to es
tablish a residence in the new
country.
Building a house did not con
sist simply of making a frame
and boarding it up, as one would
naturally suppose, for lumber
was expensive, in fact, it was
almost impossible to obtain it
at all, at that time. So that in
stead of frame buildings, the
houses and barns and other
¦ out buildings were, in a great
, many instances, made of sod.
The sod, which was plowed in
•'strips about two feet wide, was
broken or cut, making
pieces, and when turned
grass side down and placed
carefully, made a very substan
tial wall, there being enough
planks used to keep the walls
from slipping down or caving
in.
Mr. Wallace's house, however,
was not made of sod, for on one
corner of the claim there was
some good rock, and of this the
front and two sides were built,
the mortar used in putting the
walls together, being made of
mud, sand, and water, instead
of lime and sand.
The back of the house was,
for the most part, a solid wall
of earth, Mr. Wallace having ex
cavated into the side of a slope
which would, he knew, afford
excellent protection against the
high winds which are of fre
quent occurrence in that coun
try. With space left on the west
side — or side of the slope, for a
large window in the gable of
the roof, and a window on each
side of the door in the eastern
end, there was ample sunlight
and ventilation. When the rock
walls had been smoothed over
nicely with the "mud plaster"
and whitewashed and the in
side of the roof covered with
canvas, a cozier or more com
fortable home could not have
been found in all the length and
breadth of the newly settled
1 country. When the sod barn
and cow stable were completed,
Mr. Wallace and his wife re
turned to their former home in
Missouri, leaving Harry on the
claim to keep bachelor's hall
until the following spring.
It was not without many mis
givings that Mrs. Wallace con
sented to leave her son, who
had been brought up in a city,
and had never been alone a
night in his life before, on a
farm seven miles from the near
est town, but Harry was seven
teen years old, and with three
horses and a cow and pig to
care for, besides Jack and
Beauty, the hunting dogs, and
Black Tom, the cat, for com
pany, the prospect of a winter
on a farm had no terrors for
him.
c/4n Oklahoma Incident
LAURA ELLEN BEALE
Then, besides, there were several near neigh
bors, as every claim of one hundred and sixty acres
was occupied, and on some there were two or even
more families who were contesting for the rights
of that particular quarter section, so before the
winter had fairly begun, neat little cottages, sod
houses, or frame "shacks" dotted the entire coun
try.
Harry's work consisted mainly in "breaking
out" as much of the land as possible, and when
the weather was pleasant, the lad worked faith
fully. His happy hours, however, came with the
inclement weather, when all of his time was spent
in hunting. Harry had often hunted with his
father and brothers in Missouri, but the largest
game he had ever found there was the "cotton
tail," so easily captured after the first snows of
winter.
But this hunting was different — and it was one
of the proudest moments of his life when he killed
his first gray wolf. There had been quail and
prairie chicken in abundance, as well as wild
geese and the great jack rabbits of the western
plains — but a gray wolf was indeed a prize. Harry
had by this time become thoroughly familiar with
the barking of the coyotes at night, and had often
jumped up and slipped quietly out to get a shot at
them if possible — but more especially to see that
none of the nine new little pigs disappeared from
the pen near the barn.
Several of his neighbors had suffered consider
able loss from coyote raids of late, and whenever
there was a single wailing bark, soon followed
by a louder and closer coyote yell, there was a
great answering clamor from the dogs who were
off like a flash after their game. That was exactly
what the clever coyotes wanted. The dogs were
enticed farther and farther away by one or two
of the coyotes, then the rest of the wolves had
nothing to interfere with their plans for the cap
ture of young pigs, sheep or chickens.
After several dogs belonging to neighboring
farmers, had been led astray in this way, and
killed by bands of coyotes, Harry kept Jack and
Beauty chained up near the door of the house, and
as soon as he heard a coyote yell close at hand, he
quickly brought the dogs inside. They soon
learned to keep perfectly quiet while Harry
climbed out of the window in the west end of the
house, and crept cautiously to the corner of the
roof, from which point he had an unobstructed
view of the pig pen. If the wind blew from the
direction of the house, the coyotes did not venture
near, for they have a keen sense of smell and al
ways know if a person is near, but if the breeze
carried to them no warning scent of danger, they
came boldly on, and each time one and sometimes
two fell victims to' well-timed shots.
It was in this way that the brave young rancher
soon gained the reputation of being one of the
best shots in the country, which pleased him
greatly, although he knew well that his success
was not due as much to his skill with firearms as
to the study of the habits of the cunning animals,
which enabled him to become more than a match
for them in cleverness.
At last the winter, which had been at times
lonely and dull, but for the most part delightful,
drew to a close, and Harry's parents and two
young sisters would soon be with him. One even
ing he sat thinking about how the partitions which
were to divide the house, could be arranged to the
best advantage, when it suddenly occurred to
him to build a sod house as a sleeping room for
himself near the "shanty," as he expressed it.
The next morning he was hard at work plowing
sod, now wildly enthusiastic over the project.
The more he thought of the plan, the more
elaborate became the details, so when he finished
the sod walls, he at once began preparations for
the blasting and hauling of enough rock to put a
stone wall inside of the sod, which he intended
to plaster and whitewash like the main room.
As a rule, Harry carried his gun with him when
working any distance from the house, as he was
continually on the lookout for jack rabbits, and
the day he began blasting rock for his "den" was
no exception to the rule. In his anxiety to hurry
matters, he had that morning used an extra heavy
charge of dynamite, and the explosion was ter
rific. Just as the sound was dying away in the
distance, Harry caught sight of a large gray ob
ject, moving rapidly along the ridge, but in the
shade of the bank in the early morning light he
could not see it distinctly. His first thought was
that a wolf had been disturbed by the explosion,
and crouching low, was scurrying away from the
scene of danger, so snatching up the gun, he took
steady aim and fired, just as the animal disap
peared into a hole in the hillside.
A bunch of gray fur told that the shot had
taken effect, and leaving the unfinished wall, he
began digging for the animal. The task was not
an easy one, and before it ended Harry knew this
was not the abode of a wolf, but some other gray
animal, he knew not what — and he proceeded
more cautiously. When at last he reached the
nest, he sprang back in delight, exclaiming, "A
Badger!"
His pleasure was very soon changed to the deep
est sorrow, for when he fully uncovered the nest
he saw three little baby badgers trying vainly to
hide beneath the body of their mother. As he
stooped to see if the badger was indeed quite
dead, the little ones fled with frightened cries to
the farthest end of the nest.
For the first time, Harry regretted his good
markmanship, and tenderly caressing the fine
coat of the dead animal, he said aloud, "I'm so
sorry; I wouldn't have done it for anything if I
had known. You poor thing! Hurrying home to
protect your little ones from danger, and I had
to kill you. It's a shame, that's what it is." Al
most a man, though he was — great tears welled
up into his eyes, and even when one splashed
down onto his hand he was not ashamed.
Speaking of the incident afterward to his
father he said, "I tell you, pa, I just felt as if I
wanted to fight some one, when I found I'd killed
that poor mother badger."
Seeing the little badgers still endeavoring to
escape from their enemy, he covered up the nest
again, and hurrying to the house, returned with
two gunny sacks— into one of which he placed the
three little ones — not, however, before receiving
several "nips" from their sharp little teeth. After
carefully wrapping the old badger in the other
sack and throwing some earth over her until he
could come back to bury her properly, Harry went
to the house to give the little animals some milk.
That was a difficult problem, as they were too
young to know how to feed themselves, but with
Jack and Beauty and the cat as interested spec
tators, Harry worked with the little strangers
until he succeeded in feeding them from a spoon
enough milk, sweetened and warmed, to nourish
them for a while.
The greater part of the next two or three days
was spent in much the same way, although Harry
found time to bury the old badger near her former
home. The stone wall, as may be imagined, pro
gressed slowly, only the west and part of the
south sides being finished when a letter came stat
ing that Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, and Clara and
Bessie would arrive on the following day. Anxious
to have the "den" make as neat an appearance as
possible, Harry covered the unfinished walls with
sacks, ripped open, and fastened up with wooden
pegs, intending to complete the other sides as
soon as possible.
Clara and Bessie were delighted with the baby
badgers, and at once named them Chester, Carl
and Tip. Under the skillful ministrations of Mrs.
Wallace, who fed them on a bottle, Chester and
Carl thrived and grew rapidly — but Tip, who had
never seemed as strong as his brothers, was in a
few days buried in the same grave with his
mother.
As the weeks passed Chester and Carl became
very tame, and were on the friendliest terms with
the dogs and cat. When Carl was three months
old, the wheels of a wagon put an end to his exist
ence, and only Chester remained. The death of
Carl caused such deep grief among the children
that every precaution was taken to prevent Ches
ter sharing a like fate.
By the time he was eight or nine months old,
he had been taught several very clever tricks and
furnished much amusement for the entire family.
He learned to catch and bring back a ball, to
feign death, sit up and ask for food, and do many
other interesting things. What pleased the family
most, however, was the cute way he had of throw
ing back his head, and actually laughing after he
had performed one of his tricks.
Being raised with Jack and Beauty, he had no
fear of dogs, and when strange dogs came near
the house, Chester would walk quietly up behind
them and if he could get near enough, would
give them a little nip on the leg. When the dog
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