Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1876-07-06
TIE FORTY ACRE story.
BY EDWARD EeGLEsrox.

from women and children. Inever knew
boys school in which there was not 3
tendency to rowdyism, and lumbermen,
sailors, fishermen, and other men that
live only with men, are prOverbially
haIf-bear sort of people. Frontiersmen
soften down when women and children
come. But / forgot myself-it is my story
you want.
| Burton and Jones lived in a shanty by
themselves. Jones was a married man,
and, finding it hard work to support his
wife in a s'dOwn east'' village, had emf
grated to northern Minnesota, leaving his
wife under his fathers roof, until he
should be able to make start. He and
Burton had pre-empted town site of
three hundred and twenty 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 parties had disagreed, quarreled
and divided their interests. The land
was also shared between them, except
one valuable forty acre piece. Each of
them claimed that piece of land, and the
quarrel had grown so high between them
that the neighbOrs had expected them to
"shOOt at sight, In fact it was under
stood that Burton, who was on the forty
acre piece, had determined to shoot Jones
if he came, and Jones had sworn to go out
to shoot Burton, when the fight was post
pOned by the arrival of Jones wife and
child.
Jones' shantY was not finished, and he
was forced to fOregO the pleasure of fight
ing his old partner in his exertion to
make his wife and child comfortable dur
ing the night, for the winter sun was sur
rounded by F'sun-bugs." Instead of one
sun there were four, an occurrence not
unfrequent in that latitude, but one that
always bodies terrible storm. In his
endeavor to care for his wife and child,
Jones was mollifed little and half re-
GREETED that he had been so violent about
the piece of land. But he was determined
not to be backed down and would certain
ly have to shoot Burton or be shot him.
self.
When he thought of the chance of be-
ing killed by his old partner, the prospect
was not pleasant. He looked Wistfully at
Kitty, his two-year old child, and dreaded
that she would be fatherless. Neverthe-
less, he wouldn't be backed down. He
would shoot or be shot.
While the father was busy cutting wood
and the wife was bnsy otherwise, little
> Kitty managed to get the shanty door
open. There was no latch as yet, and
her prying little fingers easily swung il
back. gust of wind almost took hel
breath away, but she caught sight of tbs
brown grass without, and the new worlC
seemed SO big that the little feet were fair
to try to explore it.
She pushed out through the door, caugh
her breath again, and started away dow
3 the path bOrdSred by sere grass and tn
l. dead stock of wild flowers
How often she had longed to escapefron
restraint and paddle out into the worlC
. alane! So out into the world she went
rejoicing in her liberty, in the blue SKI
above and the rusty praire beneath. Sh,
would find out where the path went, anC
what was the end of the world. Wha
did she care if her nose was blue and he
chubby hands as red as beets Now ant
then she turned her head away from tn
s rude blast, forerunner of the storm, bu
having gasped a moment she quickly re
newed her march in search of the ores
unknown.
The mother missed her, but suppose
that Jones, who could not get enough c
the child's society, had taken the littl
pet out with him. Jones, poor fellow
supposing that the darling was safe will
in, chopped away until the awful storl
= broke upon him, and at last drove hin
half smOthered by the snow, and ha
frozen by the cold, into the house. Whe
there was nothing left but retreat he sci
~ ed an armful of wood and carried it I'M
the house with him to make sure of ha,
= ing enough to keep Kitty and his wi
from freezing in the coming awfulness
that night which now settled down upC
the storm-beaten and snow-blinded worl
It was the beginning of that storm
which SO many people. were frozen
death, and Jones ned not too soon.-
n When once the wood was stacked
the stove, Jones looked for Kitty.
had no more than inquired for her, VIII
faces the fact thatshe was lost in the vii
= dashing storm of snow.
- So fast did the snow fall and so da
was the night, that Jones could not {
three feet ahead of him. He endeavor
to follow the path which he thought Xii
might have taken, but it was buried
the snow-drifts, calling out to Kstty
his distress, not knowing whittier he W.
After an hour Of despairing wanderi
ss- and shouting, he came upon house, al
SSst after having raped upon the door,
found himself face to face with his wi
he having returned to his own door in
bewilderment.
When we remember that Jones had
I slept for two nights preceding this one
J account of his quarrel with Burton,
had now been beating against the A
hurricane and tramping through
II. treacherous pillows of snow for an he
we can not wonder that he fell over
fe. own threshold in state of complete
haustion.
As it was, the wife must needs give
n the vain search she had been making
w the neighborhoodoF oF the shanty. She
Y a sick husband with frozen hands
rn,on feet and face to take care Of EEsrYt
a9d ute the Thermometer fen los sl.sa.i
; sel er and lower ana all the heat in che I
Which eSsA-lns sLoNsss1ll ONES 9
'OCsF hardly keep them from freezing.
FE. Burton had stayed upon the forty
Ietf. lot all day, waiting for chance to s
his old partner, Jones. He had not h
of the arrival of Jones' wis ana he
cluded his enemy was coward, and