American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-02-07
VOL. XXIV.

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| himself.
He stumbled through the drifts, calling
out to Kitty in his distress, but not know
| ing whittier he went. After an hour of
| despairing, wandering and shouting, he
came upon a house, and having raped
on the door, he found himself face to face
with his wife.
He had returned to his own house in
his bewilderment.
When we remember that Jones had not
| slept for two nights preceding this one,
on account of his mortal quarrel with
| Burton, and he had now been beating
against an arctic hurricane, and tramping
| through treacherous pillows of snow for
an hour, we cannot wonder that he fell
over his own threshold in a state of eX-
IRENE exhaustion.
Happy for him that did not fall bewil-
| dered on the prairie, rs many another
| poor wayfarer did on that fatal night
As it was, his wife must needs give up
| the vain little searches she had been max
| ing in the neighborhood of the shanty.
| She had now a sick husband, with frozen
hands and feet and face, to care for
Every minute the thermometer fell
lower and lower, and all the heat the
| little cook in Jones' shanty could
| give would hardly keep them from
| freezing.
Burton had stayed upon that forty-arre
lot all day, waiting for a chance to shoot
his old partner Jones. He had not heard
| of the arrival of Jones' wife, and SO he
concluded that his enemy had proved
coward and had left him in possession,
or else that he meant to play him some
treacherous trick on his way home.
SO Burton resolved to keep sharp
lookout. But he soon found that impos-
sible, for the storm was upon him in all
its binding fury. He tried to follow the
path, but he could not find it.
Had he been less of a frontierman he
must have persisted there, within a fur
| long of his own house. But in endeavor-
ing 10 keep the direction of the path he
heard a smothered cry, and then saw
| something rise up covered with snow,
| and fall down again. He raised his gun
| to shoot it when the creature uttered an
| other wailing cry SO human, that he put
down his gun and went cautiously for
| ward.
1t was child
He did not remember that there was
such child among all the settlers in
questions. He must, without delay, get
| himself and the child, too, to place of
safety. or both would soon be frozen.
So he took the little thing in his arms
| and started through the drifts. And the
child put its little icy fingers on Burton's
rough check, and muttered Papa" And
Burton held her closer, and fought the
snow more courageously than ever.
He found the shanty at last, and rolled
the child in buffalo-robe while he made
a fire. Then when he got the room lit
tie warm, he took the little thing upon
his knee, dipped her aching fingers in
cold water, and asked her what her name
was.
Kitty" she said.
kitty" he said; 'and what else?"
"Kitty," she answered, nor could he
find out anv more.
"Whose Kitty are you?''
"Your Kitty" she said. For she had
known her father but that one day, and
now she believed that Burton was he.
Burton sat up all night and stuffed
wood into his impotent little stove to
keep the baby from freezing to death.
Never having had to do with children,
he firmly believed that Kitty, sleeping
snugly under blankets and buffalo-robes,
would freeze if he should let the fire sub
side in the least.
As the storm prevailed with undated
fury the next day, and as he dared neither
to take Kitty out nor to leave her alone,
he stayed by her all day and stuffed the
stove with wood, and laughed at her droll
baby talk, and fed her on biscuit and
fried bacon and coffee.
On the morning of the second day the
storm had subsidized. 1t was forty degrees
cold, but knowing somebody must be
mourning Kitty for dead, he wrapped her
in skins, and with much difficulty reached
the nearest neighbours house, suffering
only frost-bite on his nose by the way.
THAT child" said the woman to whose
house he had come, ''is Jones. l seed
'em take her outen the wagon day before
yesterday
Burton looked at Kitty a moment in
perplexity. Then he rolled her up again
and started out, Travelling like mad"
the woman said, as she watched him.
When he reached Jones'. he found |
Jones and his wife sitting in utter wretch
edness by the fire. They were both sick |
from grief, and unable to move out of the !
house. Kitty they had given up for buried |
alive under some snow-mound. They |
would find her when spring should come |
and melt the snow-cover off.
When the exhausted Burton came in |
with his bundle of buffalo-skins, they
looked at him with Amusement. But when
he opened it and let out the little Kitty,
and said
Here, Jones, is this yer Kitten?" Mrs. |
Jones couldn't think of anything better to
do than to scream.
And Jones got up and took his old part
ner's hand and said, Burton, ole fellOwr'
and then choked up and sat down, and
cried helplessly.
And Burton SAIL, Clones, ole fellow,
you may have that forty-acre patch. 1t
come mighty nigh maxim me the MUIR
derer of that little Kitty's father"
mo. you shall take it yourself" cried
Jones, if l have to go TO law to make
you.''
And Jones actually decided his interest
in the forty acres to Burton. But Burton |
transferred it all to Kitty.
That is why this part of Newton is
called today 'Kitty's Forty."-Youth's
Companion.