Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-05-25

the house with him in her lap, wher
| was up at noon, and she'd kiss he
hand and wave the baby at me. BY
the time he was three years old he't
got so that l used to take him up t(
ride with me. There was water
tank near the house and when l stop
ped to water he was alters there, ant
I'd catch him up N carry i'm off ten
or twelve miles, till l met another
train, and some of the boys'd carry
him back home. 'Twasn't long afort
there was scarce a man on the roaC
as didn't know Charley Latham's
baby. They'd pick i'm up where
ever they could find i'm, and some
times he'd be gone nearly all day
but somebody'd set i'm down afore
night m he'd come toddlin' home
Sometimes think it's queer how the
men used to take to that baby
There was fellers just as rough as
bears-brakemen, that'd get drunk
and crazy with liquor and cut OF
shoot man quicker'n litenin'; m
section men-up in them mountains
them section men were mighty hard
cusses. What for fightin' and quar-
relin' they'd beat Sam Hill. An yet
there wasn't one O. them chaps as
would speak cross word to my ba-
by. They was all fond of 'im, and
if anybody.took to imposin' on i'm,
why, there'd be a muss quicker'n the
drop of your hat.
There was Bill Walker. You did
not know Bill Walker, did you? No!
OF course you didn't. Dead now
Left a switch open on him and he
run off. Never spoke after they
picked him up. Bill he was a crus-
tv old bachelor-onc of them tellers
wat never sees nothin', if he can help
hisself. He didn't have no relations,
and he was so sot agin everybody
the boys used to say they didn't be-
lieve he ever had father or mother
like other folks. He had hard lines
in life, for fact, and it made i'm
wat they call misen-. Yes!
that's it-a misenthorp. He seemed
to have particular grudge for every
body he had ever seen, and a sortcr
general disgust for everybody he
hadn't. Bill picked up the baby for
a ride one day, and when he stopped
at the next station he was goin'
round oilln' his injine and the little
tyke was tagging after, holdin' on to
his coat-tail, and gettin' hisself all
covered with oil and grease Jest like
reg'lar engineer; and there was one
of the station men, as didn't like Bill
no how, and he ses, ses he, ''llullo,
Bill. is that lett-hander of your'n?"
They say Bill just turned ashy.-
He sets down his can and reaches
for that feller-jest one, square in
the jugular, and he didn't get out O
bed for ten days. One day there
came down from New York rock
ing-horse, and Mary found it at the
water tank with piece of paper tied
to the bride, N it said like this: eff
Bill Walker could ever wish for a
baby of his own, it would be like
Charley" That rocking-horse cost
Bill a whole months wages.
One of the first things Charley
learned to say wen he was beglnnin'
to talk, was this. You see the men
on the road used to call enc an 9th
er "Pards" s"-short for pardner.-
Charley he caught it, and he alters
called me "Pard." l don't think he
ever called me father or papa, "Pard."
"You and me is pards, isn't we?"
he used to say. An that's what we
alters called one another, and he
went by the name Of "Charley Lat
hams pard'' all over the road.
I'd be goin' by the house on the
noon train, and leanin' out of the
cab watchin' for i'm, N he'd be out
in front with white rag or some
thing to wave at me, and I'd see by
the motion of his lips-1 couldn't
hear for the noise of the cars--that
he was sayin', "You and me is pards,
isn't we?"
AS l was tellin', Sundays l laid off,
N in the mornin', after breakfast,
Mary would fill up basket with
some bread n butter N meat n things
and we three would go off up into
the mountains and stay all day. We
used to do this mostly every Sunday,
and SO Charley got to callin' it his
pard's day. You see, he got no
ton it was the best day in the week
eos I was alters home with i'm. |
didn't never go to church much-it
was long ways; and then thought
Charley would get as much religion
by going around in the woods, and
among the mountains, where the
trees and leaves were so beautiful,
and the rocks so grand, as any other
way. If they don't tell us that the
Creator who made 'em all is power
ful and good too, there amt no
preacher can do it.
You went up to the top of Pixies
Peak the other day. I've been there
too, n I'd like to know if 4 chap can
60 up there, among those awful prec-
ipices and gorges, and look over the
country for q hundred miles, and see
the mountains around, and the plains
way off in front, that don't seem to
have no end, and then look at hisself
and say whether he does really
amount to a row of pins. You see,
l never was any Christian, and never
give Charley no such trainin' and
sometimes | think mebbe l didn't
do quite right by him. But, Lord
love you, stranger, wen he went
he went among the angels, Pm jest
certain there wasn't none of 'em had
any cleaner soul IAN what he had.
There was a place, about three
quarters of Il mile from our house,
where we used to 60 good deal
Sundays, and Mary would read the
Bible to us and sing. She was Il
good singer, Mary was. We used to
call the place Devils Run" 1t was
a sort of creek, but didn't have no
water in it, 'cept after hard rain
1t came down between two high
mountains, where it was steep as
could be. Wen storm came up |
have known it i'll half an hour to
have six feet of water in it. An
then it would bring down big logs,