Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1878-04-11

Shesta. If you ever saw the spot when
there was Just moon enough to bring
out the little surrounding clumps of
chapparal until they looked like con-
meeting figures, and make the bits of
broken quartz glisten like skulls, you'd
begin TO understand how big a con-
tract that man and that yellow dog I'M
dertook.
"They went into possession that after
noon, and old Hard Times set out to
cook his supper. When it was over he
sat down by the embers and lit his pipe,
the yellow dog lying at his feet. Sud
denly Rap rapr comes from the
door, Come in says the man gruffiy.
Rapp again. Come in and be id
to you,' says the man, who has no idea
of getting up to open the door. But no
one responded, and the next moment
smash goes the only sound pane in the
only window. Seeing this, old Hard
Times gets up, with the devil in his eye,
and a revolver in his hand, followed by
the yellow dog with every tooth show
ing, and swings open the door, No one
there But as the man opened the
door, that yellow dog, that had been so
clipper before, suddenly begins to
crouch and step backward, step by step,
trembling and shivering, and at last
crOuches down in the chimney, without
even so much as looking at his master.
The man slams the door shut again, but
there comes another smash. This time
| it seems to come from inside the cabin,
and it isn't until the man looks around
and sees everything quiet that he gets
up, without speaking, and makes a rush
for the door, and tears around outside
the cabin like mad, but finds nothing
but silence and darkness. Then he
comes back swearing and calls the dog.
But that great yellow dog that the boys
would have staked all their money on.
is crouching under the bunk, and has to
be dragged out like a coon from a
hollow tree, and lies there, his eyes start
ing from their sockets; every limb and
muscle quivering with fear, and his
very hair drawn up in bristling ridges.
He drags himself a few steps, stops,
shifts, and refuses to go further. The
man calls him again with an oath and
a threat. Then, what does that yellow
dog do? He crawls edgeWise toward
the door, croUching himself against the
bunk till he's fiatter than knife blade;
then, half way, he stops. Then that
yellow dog begins to walk gingerly-
lifting each foot up in the air, one after
the other, still trembling in every limb
Then he stops again, Then he crouches.
Then he gives one little shuddering leap
not straight forward, but up-clearing
floor about six inches, as if"
cover something interrupted the
Judge, hastily, lifting himself on his
elbow.
The Doctor stopped instantly, E" Juan"
he said cOolly, to one of the Mexican
packers, "quit foolin' with that riata
You'll have that stake out and that
mule loose III another minute. Come,
over this way Y
The Mexican turned scared, white
face to the Doctor, muttering something,
and let go the deer skin hide. We all
appraised our voices with one accord,
the Judge most penitently and apollo
getically, and implored to Doctor to go
on. "PIl shoot the first man who in
terrupts you again." added Thornton,
persuasively.
But the Doctor. with his hands Ian
guidly under his head, had lost his in
terest. "Well. the dog ran off to the
hills, and neither the threats nor caiol-
cries of his master could ever make
him enter the cabin again. What time
is it? Getting on to shutdown, amt it :?
Keep off my leg, will you, you old
Greaser, and stop tumbling round there!
Lie down."
But we knew that the Doctor had not
completely finished his story, aud we
waited patiently for the conclusion.
Meanwhile the odd. gray silence of the
woods again asserted itself-but shadows
were now beginning to gather in the
heavy beams of the roof above, and
the dim aisles seemed to be narrowing
and closing in around us. Presently the
Doctor recommended lazily, as if no in
| terruption had occurred.
AS [ said before, | never put much
faith in that story, and shouldn't have
| told it, but for a rather curious expert
ence of my own. 1t was in the spring
Of '62 and [ was one of party of four,
coming up from O'Neills, when we had
been showed up. Itwas awful weather,
the snow had changed to sleet and rain
water was out everywhere; every ditch
was a creek, every creek Il river. We
had lost two horses on the Truth Fork.
we were dead beat, off the trail and
sloshing around, with night coming on,
and the level hail like shot in our faces.
! Things were looking black and scary,
when, riding a little ahead of the party,
| saw Il light twinkling in a hollow be-
yond. My horse was still fresh, and
calling out to the boys to follow me and
bear for the light, [ struck out for it.
In another moment, Twas before a little
cabin that was half buried in the black
chapparal. / dismounted and raped
at the door. There was no response.
| then tried to force the door, but it was
fastened securely from within. | was
all the more surprised when one of the
boys who had Overtaken me, told me
that he had just seen, through the Win
dow. man reading by the fire. Indig-
nant at this inhospitality, we both made
a resOlute onset against the door, at the
same time raising our angry voices to a
yell. Suddenly there was a quick re-
spouse, the hurried Withdrawing of a
bolt, and the door opened
"The occupant was short, thick-set
man, with pale, careworn face, whose
prevailing expression was one of gentle,
good humsr and patient suffering.
When we entered, he asked us hastily
why we had not sung out before.
''' But we Knocked said, impatient
~, and almost drove your door in
That's nothing he said, patiently.
I'm used to that
g / looked again at the mans patient,
faithful face and thpn around RI q % nv,