Audubon County journal., April 03, 1913, Image 2

About Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Iowa

                
Pway,wouldwas
MOLLY MCDONALD
A.
Carroll shrank back like a whipped
fehild, his lips muttering something
distinguishable. The sergeant, sat
ed, turned and foundered through
.8 drifts to the bank of the stream,
was alert and fearful, yet deter
mined. No matter what danger of
JilBoovery might threaten, he must
|build a Are to save Carroll's life. The
King storm was not over with
ere was no apparent cessation of
lolence in the blasts of the icy wind,
And the snow swept about him in
blinding sheets. It would continue
.11 day, all another night, perhaps,
'and they could never live through
^without food and warmth. He real
ised the risk fully, his gloved
(gripping the butt of his revolver, as
|he stared up and down the snow-
|M
E
•draped bluffs. Ho wished he had
Icked up Wasson's rifle. Who was
lit that had shot them up, anyhow,
jffhe very mystery added to the dread!
(Could it have been Dupont? There
'.was no other conception possible, yet
fit seemed like a miracle that they
loould have kept so close on the fel
trail all night long through the
EtOW'B
torm. Yet who else would open fire
sight? Who else, indeed, would be
|SD this God-forsaken country? And
^whoever it was, where had he gone?
(How had he disappeared so suddenly
nd completely? He could not be far
that a certainty. No plains
Ban attempt to ford that icy
stream, nor desert the shelter of these
bluffs in face of the storm. It would
[be suicidal. And if Dupont and his
{Indians were close at hand, Miss Mc-
Ead
'onald would be with them. He had
no time in which to reason this
0Ot before, but now the swift realiza
tion of the close proximity of the girl
£tame to him like an electric shook.
^Whatever the immediate danger he
must thaw out Carroll, and thus be
free himself.
He could look back to where the
(weary horses huddled beneath the
Stank, grouped about the man so help
lessly swaddled in blankets on the
ound. They were dim, pitiable ob
cts, barely discernible through the
ylng scud, yet Hamlin was quick to
perceive the adyantage of their posi
tion—the overhanging bluff was com
plete protection from any attack ex
~~pt along the open bank of the river.
Two armed men could defend the spot
against odds. And below, a hundred
yards away, perhaps—it was hard to
judge through that smother—the bare
limbs of Beveral stunted cottonwoods
•waved dismally against the gray sky.
Hesitating, his eyes searching the
barrenness above to where the stream
bent northward and disappeared, he
turned at last and tramped down
ward along the edge of the stream.
Across stretched the level, white prai
rie, beaten and obscured by the storm,
fwhile to his left rose the steep, bare
bluff, swept clear by the wind, reveal
ing its' ugliness through the haze of
enow. Not in all the expanse was
there visible a moving object nor
track of any kind. He was alone, in
the midst of indescribable desolation
•—a cold, dead, dreary landscape.
He came to the little patch of for
est growth, a dozen gaunt, naked trees
at the river's edge, stunted, two of
them already toppling over the bank,
apparently undermined by the water,
threatening to fall before each blast
that smote them. Hoping to discover
some splinters for a fire, Hamlin
kicked a clear Bpace in the Bnow, yet
kept his face always toward the bluff,
his eyes vigilantly searching for any
skulking figure. Silent as those des
ert surroundings appeared, the ser
Igeant knew he was not alone. He bad
•a feeling that he was being watched,
spied upon that somewhere near at
hand, crouching in that solitude, the
ieyes of murder followed his every
movement. Suddenly he straightened
tup, staring at the bluff nearly op
posite where he stood. Was It a
tilowly, Noiselessly, His Colt Poised
for Instant Action.
dream, an illusion, or was that actual
ly the frgnt of a ca])in at the base oi
or
UVIX
By
rn EK0NI1ER
iLstra/ioa$ As
V.LBanJOi
CORyRJOHT t91S BY A.C.M»CLURO & CO.
tne bank? He could not believe it
possible, nor could he be sure. If so,
then it consisted merely of a room
excavated in the side of the hill, the
opening closed in by Cottonwood logs
It in no way extended outward beyond
the contour of the bank, and was sc
plastered with snow as to be almost
indistinguishable a dozen steps away
Tet those were logs, regularly, laid
beyond a doubt he was certain he
detected now the dim outlines of a
door, and a smooth wooden shutter, tc
which the snow refused to cling, the
size and shape of a small window. His
heart throbbing with, excitement, the
Sergeant slipped in against the blufl
for protection, moving cautiously
closer until he convinced himself ol
the reality of his strange discovery bj
feeling the rough bark of the logs.
It was a form of habitation of some
kind beyond question apparently un
occupied, for there were no tracks in
the snow without, and no smoke of
fire visible anywhere.
A E II
Hughes' Story.
Hamlin thrust his glove into hit
belt, drew forth his revolver, and
gripped its stock with bare hand. This
odd, hidden dwelling might be de
serted, a mere empty shack, but he
could not disconnect it in his mind
from that murderous attack made
upon their little party two hours be
fore. Why was it here in the heart ol
this desert? Why built with such evi
dent intent of concealment? But foi
what had occurred on the plateau
above, his suspicions would nevei
have been aroused. This was alreadj
becoming a cattle country adventur
ous Texans, seeking free range and
abundant water, had advanced along
all these prominent streams with theii
grazing herds of long-horns. Little bj
little they had gained precarious foot
hold on the Indian domains, slowly'
forcing the savages westward. The
struggle had been continuous foi
years, and the final result inevitable.
Yet thlB year the story had been
different one, for the united tribes had
swept the invading stockmen back,
had butchered their cattle, and once
again roamed these plains as mas
ters. Hamlin knew this he had met
and talked with those driven out, and
he was aware that even now Black
Kettle's winter camp of hostiles was
not far away. This hut might, oi
course, be the deserted site of some
old cow camp, some outrider's shack,
but—the fellow who fired on them! fle
was a reality—a dangerous reality—
and he was hiding somewhere close
at hand.
The sergeant stole along the front
to the door, listening intently for any
warning sound from either -Without or
within. Every nerve was on edge all
else forgotten except the intensity of
the moment. He could perceive noth
ing to alarm him, no evidence of any
presence inside. Slowly, noiselessly,
his Colt poised for instant action, he
lifted the wooden latch, and permitted
the door to swing slightly ajar, yield
ing a glimpse within. There was light
from above, flittering dimly through
some crevice in the bluff, and the
darker shadows were reddened by the
cheery glow of afire place directly op
posite, although where the smoke dis
appeared was not at first evident.
Hamlin perceived these features at a
glance, standing motionless. His
quick eyes vlstoned the whole interior
—a rude table and bench, a rifle lean
ing in one corner, a saddle and trap
pings hanging against the wall a
broad-brimmed hat on the floor, a pile
of skins beyond. There was an ap
pearance of neatness also, the floor
swept, the table unlittered. Yet he
scarcely realized these details at the
time so closely was his whole atten
tion centered on the figure of a man.
The fellow occupied a Btool before
jhe fireplace, and was bending slight
ly forward, staring down at the red
embers, unconscious of the intruder.
He was a thin-chested, unkempt in
dividual with long hair, and shaggy
whiskers, both iron gray. The side
of his face and neck had a sallow look,
while his nose was prominent. The
sergeant surveyed him a moment, his
cocked revolver covering the motion
less figure, his lips set grimly. Then
he stepped within and closed the door.
At the slight sound the other leaped
to his feet, overturning the stool, and
whirled about swiftly, his right hand
dropping to his belt.
"That will do, friend!" Hamlin's
voice rang stern.
"Stand as you are—your gun Is ly
ing on the bench yonder. Rather
careless of you in this country. No,
I wouldn't risk it if I was you this
Is a hair trigger."
The fellow stared helpless into the
Sergeant's gray eyes.
"Who—who the hell are you?" he
managed to articulate hoarsely, "a—
a soldier?"
Hamlin nodded, willing enough to
let the other talk.
"You're—you're not one o' Le
Fevre's outfit?"
"Whose?"
"Gene Le Fewe—the damn skunk
you know him?"
Startled as he was, the sergeant
held himself firm, and laughed.
"I reckon there Isn't any one by
that name a friend o' mine," he said
ccolly. "So you're free to relieve
your feelings as far as I'm concerned.
Were you expecting that gent along
this trail?"
"Yes, I was, an' 'twa'n't no pleas
ant little reception I 'lowed to give
him neither. Say! Wouldn't yer just
as soon lower thet shootin' iron? We
ain't got no call to quarrel so fur as
I kin see."
"Maybe not, Btranger," and Ham
lin leaned back against the table, low
ering his weapon slightly, as he
glanced watchfully about the room,
"but I'll keep the gun handy Just the
same until we understand each other.
Anybody else in this neighborhood?"
"Not unless it's Le Fevre, an' his
outfit."
"Then I reckon you did the shoot
ing out there a bit ago?"
The man shuffled uneasily, but the
sergeant's right hand came to a level.
"Did you?"
"I s'pose thar ain't no use o" deny
in' it," reluctantly, eyeing the gun In
the corner, "but I didn't mean to
shoot up no outfit but Le Fevre's. So
help me, I didn't! The danged snow
was so thick I couldn't see nohow, but
I never s'posed any one was On the
trail 'cept him. Thar ain't been no
vhite man 'long yere in three months.
Didn't hit none of yer, did I?"
"Yes, you did," returned Hamlin
slowly, striving to hold himself In
check. "You killed one of the best
fellows that ever rode these plains,
you sneaking coward, you. Shot him
dead, with his back to you. Now, see
here, it's a throw of the dice with
me whether I fill you full of lead, or
let you go. I came in here intending
to kill you, if you were the cur who
shot us up. But I'm willing to listen
to what you have got to say. I'm some
on the fight, but plain murder don't
appeal to me. How is it? Are you
ready to talk? Spit it out, man!"
"I'll tell yer jest how it was."
"Do it my way then answer
straight what I ask you. Who are
you? What are you doing here?"
"Kin I sit down?"
"Yes make it short now all I
want is facts."
"Wal, my name is Hughes—Jed
Hughes I uster hang out around San
An tone, an' hev been mostly in the
cow business. The last five years Le
Fevre an' I hev been grazin' cattle in
between yere an' Buffalo Creek
"Partners?"
"Wal, by God! I thought so, till just
lately," his voice rising. "Anyhow,. I
hed a bunch o' money in on the deal,
though I'll be darned if I know just
what's become o' it. Yer see, stranger.
Gene hed the inside o' this Injun
business, bein' as he's sorter a squaw
man—"
"What!" interrupted the other
sharply. "Do you mean he married
into one of the tribes?"
"Sorter left-handed—yep a Chey
enne woman. Little thing like that
didn't faze Gene none, if he did have
a white wife—a blamed good-looker
she was too. She was out here onc't,
three years ago, 'bout a week maybe.
Course she didn't know nothin' 'bout
the squaw, an' the Injuns was all
huntin' down in the Wlchitas, But
as I was sayin'. Gene caught on to
this yere Injun war last spring—I
reckon ol' Koleta, his Injun $tther-in
law, likely told him what wus brewin'
—he's sorter a war-chief. Anyhow he
knew thet hell was to pay, an' so we
natch'ally gathered up our long-horns
an' drove 'em east whar they wouldn't
be raided. We didn't git all the ent
ers rounded up, as we wus in a
hurry, an' they wus scattered some
'cause of a hard winter. So I come
back yere to round up the rest o'
ther bunch."
"And brand a few outsiders."
He grinned. 4
"Maybe I wasn't over-particular,
but anyhow I got a thousand head
together by the last o' June, an' hit
the trail with 'em. Then hell sure
broke loose. 'Fore we'd got that
bunch o' cattle twenty mile down
the Cimarron we wus rounded up by
a gang o' Cheyenne Injuns, headed by
that ornery Koleta, and every horn of
'em drove off. Thar wa'n't no fight
the damn bucks just laughed at us, an'
left us slttin' thar out on the prairie.
They hogged hosses an' alL"
He wiped his face, and spat into
the fire, while Hamlin sat qilent, gun
in hand.
"I reckon now as how Le Fevre put
si' Koleta wise to that game, but 1
was plum innocent then," he went on
regretfully. "Wall, we,—thar wus
four o' us,—hoofed it east till we
struck some ranchers on Cow Crick,
and got the loan o' some ponies. Then
I struck out to locate the main herd.
It didn't take me long, stranger, to
discover thar wa'n't no herd to locate.
But I struck their trail, whar Le
Fevre had driven 'em up into Missouri
and cashed in fer a pot o' money.
Then the damn cuss just natch'ally
vanished. I plugged 'bout fer two er
three months hopin' ter ketch up with
him, but I never did. I heerd tfeH o'
him onc't or twice, an' caught on he
was travelin' under 'nuther name—
some durn French contraction—but
thet's as much as I ever did find ovt.
Finally, up in Independence I wus so
durn near broke I reckoned I'd better
put what I hed left in a grub Btake,
an' drift back yere. I figgered thet
maybe I oould pick up some o' those
Injun cattle again, and maybe some
majerjekp, .^4' ,89 Btprf. 'nuther herd.
Jouanal Ads.
Bring Results
ivv-
•V i-
BOW TO CUT POTATOES
Hand Cutting Better Than Machine
Method.
By G. K. BLISS, Iowa State College.
Careful attention to the cutting of
the seed potato to insure proper seed
wil! aid materially in getting a good
"stand" of potatoes and a high yield.
The method of cutting must depend
upon the size and shape of the tubers
and the number of eyes. The variety
has a very important bearing on this
subject. It is best to cut lengthwise
in case of all the roundish or oblong
varieties. Such types have few eyes
and these are usually grouped near
the seed end. In order to get them
evenly distributed one must cut
lengthwise.
The long varieties have more eyes,
which aref more evenly scattered over
the entire tuber. Because of this fact
and the ungainly shape when cut
lengthwise, it is best to cut crosswise
in many cases.
It is advisable to choose medium
sized tubers, regular in shape, free
from prongs with single, strong, but
shallow eyes. Cut a potato weigh
ing one-half pound into four quarters
lengthwise. A potato weighing a
pound may be cut into eight pieces.
Halve one weighing less than half a
ROUNDISH POTATOES HAVE FEWER
EYES—THEY SHOt'LD BE CUT
LENGTHWISE.
pound. Two strong eyes is enough
for any piece, but a liberal supply of
reserve food or "flesh" should go
with them. Planting whole potatoes,
especially small ones, is objectionable
because of the large number of eyes.
The number will vary from ten to
twenty in a Rural New Yorker to al
most twice as many in one of the long
type. Usually only a portion of these
eyes will produce sprouts. Invariably
the number is too large, however. It
will average close to 70 per cent and
sometimes run up to 100 per cent.
Two or three strong stalks per hill
is sufficient
It is best not to cut potatoes long
%,
w.
'(•w*
©1
TIIE BYES ABE EVENLY DISTKIHLTED
IN LONG
POTATOES—THEY
CAN
BE CUT CROSSWISE.
before planting. If cut and piled up
for several days they heat and spoil.
If cut for any length of time before
planting put in sacks or si.. piles
and sprinkle dust or slacked lim over
them to prevent rapid evaporation of
the moisture. When nlants im
mediately this is also advisable be
cause it prevents the moist pieces
•ticking together when being planted.
Treat with formalin for scab before
cutting.
Few machines for cutting potatoes
are satisfactory. They cut too fine
and do not distribute the eyes proper
ly. For a 40-acre field it would pay
to hire reliable men or boys to cut
properly by hand rather than use the
average potato cutter. The only cut
ter which can be used to advantage
is one which quarters. Even then the
tubers used should be carefully selec
ted and of uniform size and shape.
For roundish smooth potatoes aver
aging one-half pound each such a
machine can be used to advantage.
HAVE YOU NOTICED?
That one bad apple may ruin the
sale of a whole box
That a single ear of musty corn
casts suspicion on all your seed?
That a touch of shoe blacking on a
prize hen's lone gray feat er has been
known to throw out a poultry fan
cier's whole exhibit?
That even for the sake of the dol
lar, honesty is the best policy?
Weigh and record the milk of each
cow at each milking. The record will
enable you to check each cow's work.
If anything is wrong, the milk flow
will show it, and loss will be pre
vented.
f«
i. SWl
WEBSTER'S
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DICTIONARY
THE MERRIAM WEBSTER?
TUmn*» It is a NEW CBJSA
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Because defines over 400,000
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G. C. MERR1AM CO.tPablUhers,Springfield,Man.
Mention tfeii apar, receive FREE Mt of pocket mapt.
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ONE
WAY
I
W
J. W. WISSLER.
Contractor & Builder
C'° D0'
t-o
Wrsj MY MOTTO:
W O N E S
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slight my work and
steal a profit.
All My Work Is Guaranteed
UPhone 185 Exira, Iowa
SPECIAL TO WOMEN
Do you realize the fact that thousands of
women are now using
A Soluble Antiseptic Powder
as a remedy for mucous membrane af
fections, such as sore throat, nasal or
pelvic catarrh, inflammation or ulcera
tion, caused by female ills? Women who
have been cured say "it is worth its
weight in gold." Dissolve in water and
apply locally. For ten years the Lydia
E. Pinkham Medicine Co. has recom
mended Paxtine in their private cor
respondence with women.
For all hygienic and toilet uses it has
no equal. Only 50c. a large box at Drug
gists or sent postpaid on receipt of price.
The Paxton Toilet Co., Boston, If ass.
giiromm
OH'S'Way Colonist Tickets ||f|§|
on Sale
March IS to April 15
Correspondingly Low Fares -v
Korth Pacific Ccj,st.
Tickets honored in Tourist
Sleeping Cars upon payment
cf berth rate about half
the standard Pullman fare.
Choice of Three Routes
Via Colorado Scenic Route to Salt Lake City thence V/estern
Pacific through Feather River Canyon via Colorado Scer.:c Route to
Salt Lake City and Ogden thence Southern Pacific via El Paso and
New Mexico— the direct route of lowest altitudes in conr.ecticr. with
.the E. P. & S. W. and Southern Pacific. a,
Call on me for information about the low fares, tickets, reservations, etc.
R. G. NANCARROW, Agent, Exira, Iowa.
'if SSI
HAL. S. RAY, AasUtant General Passenger Agent
Moines, Iowa
Land Value Almost Doubled
HEN a Lee county, Illinois, farmer
bought a run down 4bo-acre farm,
his neighbors thought he had made a
bad bargain. After three years' soil
treatment by scientific methods, ho
raised more than eighty bushels of corn to the
acre on land that produced less than thirty
bushels the first year he farmed it. *1
It is no longer unusual for us to get reports
from farmers who have been using manure
spreaders consistently for periods ranging from
three to five years, to the effect that their land
is regularly raising so much more produce that |.
the value of the land is almost doubled.
Manure Spreaders
are made in various styles and sizes to meet
all conditions. The low machines are not too
low to be hauled, loaded, through deep mud or
snow. I spreaders are made with trussed
steel frames in wide, medium and narrow
styles all of guaranteed capacity. There are
both return and endless aprons. In short,
there is an I spreader built to meet your
conditions and made to spread manure, straw,
lime, or ashes as required.
I re ad re ad an re
en the level, going up hill, or down. The
wheel rims are wide and equipped with Z-shaped
lugs, which provide ample tractive power. The
rear axle is located well under the body and
carries most of the load. The apron moves
on large rollers. The beater drive is posi
tive, but the chain wears only one side. The
I dealer will show you the most effective
machine for your work. You can get cata
logues from him, or, if you prdfer, write
International Harvester Company of America
'lncoroorated)
Council Bluffs la.
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