The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1874-07-29
Kitty's Forty.

1t doesn't do men any good to live
apart froA women and children. I
never knew a boys school in which
there was not a tendency to .rewdy-
ism. And lumbermen, railors, fisher
men and other men that live only
with men, are proverbially a half
bear sort Of people. Frontiermen
soften down when women and chill
dren come-but forgot myself; it is
the story you want.
Burton and Jones lived in q shanty
by themselves. Jones was married
man, but finding it hard TO support
his wife in a downeast village, he had
cmigrated to northern Minnesota,
leaving his wife under her fathers
roof, until he should be able to make
q start" He and Burton had gone
into partnership and had "pre-empted
q town site" Of 320 acres.
There were perhaps twenty families
scattered sparsely over this town site
at the time my story begins and ends,
for it ends in The same week in which
it begins.
The partners had disagreed, quar-.
relied and divided their interests
The land was all shared between
them except ono valuable forty-acre
piece. Each of them claimed that
piece of land, and the quarrel bad
grown so high between them that
the reighbors expected them to "shoot
OF sight" In fact it was understood
that Burton was on the forty-acre
piece, determined to shoot Jones il
he came, and Jones had sworn to &C
out there and shoot Burton, when The
fight was postponed by the unex
pected arrival of Jones wife ano
child.
Jones' shanty was not finished, ane
he was forced to forego the luxury o
fighting his old partner, in his exer
tions to make wife and baby comfort
able for the night. For the winte,
sun was surrounded by "sundogs.
Instead of ono sun there were four
an occurrence not uncommon on thl
latitude, but one which always bode
a terrible storm.
In his endeaver to care for wifi
and child, Jones was mollified a little
and half regretted that he had beel
80 violent about tho piece of LAND
But he was determined not to b
backed down, and he would certainl,.
have to shoot Burton or DC shot him
self.
When he thought Of the chance o
being killed by his old partner, tn
prospect was not pleasant: He locke
wistfully at Kitty, his two.year.ol
child, and dreaded that she should b
left fatherless. Nevertheless, h
) wouldn't bo backed down. He woul
shoot or he shot.
While the father was busy cuttin
wood, and the mother was busy Other
wise, little Kitty managed to get th
; ! shanty door open. There was n
, latch as yet, and her prying little fl
gers easily swung it back. A gust (
: cold air almost took her breath ava.
but she caught sight of the brow
, grass without, and the new worl
!, seemed 90 big that the little feet wei
l fain to try and explore it.
She pushed out through the doo
caught her breath again, and startf
away down path bordered by sel
: grass and the dead stalks of tho WI
sunhower.
How often had she longed to {
T. cape from restraint and paddle o
& into the world alone So out in
J. the world she went, rejoicing in b
y liberty, in the blue sky above and Il
!. rusty prairie beneath. She won
It find out where the path went, a
what there was at the end OF t
world. What did she care if her nc
twas blue with cold and her club
v - :. (. y