Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-11-18

calf ribs spluttering before the fire2
The repast, though rough, was made
enjoyable by an appetite which only vio-
lent exercise and pure air can give, and
after the boys had eaten until it became
necessary to unbuckle their six-shooter
belts, blankets were spread under the
branches of a live oak, which seemed to
stand guard over the broad expanse of
prairie, and they settled down for a
quiet smoke.
81 tell you what, boys" said Ned Cur
tbs, who was one of the hardest riders
and best poker players west of the
Brazos, as he lit a cigarette, tive are
going to handle some pretty rough
mustangs tomorrow, and il any of you
fellows want to show your fancy riding
you had better be fixing your flank girts
and rolls, because there are some I'M
branded four-year olds in that bunch,
who are going to make you hum like a
churn-dasher, and you'll have to fork
'em deep to stay in the saddle. There
is one in the pen that is perfect picture
of the mustang mare that sent Bill Hall
to the angels
sWasn't he some galoot from the old
StatesP" inquired one of the boys, turn
ing over on his blankets. : ~ -
Yes" replica Ned, che was long
tow-headed chap, greener than an Au-
gust persimmon,. with legs shaped Like
a pair of names"
'How did he happen to get killed,
Nedp Did the mare flirt him a little too
strongP" ~ 70
Yes, that was the way of it. You
see, he had just come from Georgy, and
had never been on the back of a wild
horse before in his life, but he was
spunky with all of that, and wasn't
scared of any thing. One day, while
driving out in Nueces County, we made
round up of all the horses in the range,
and after 'cutting out eli that were in
the diamond P brand, the boys began
throwing some down and riding 'em,
just to see the wild devils buck MA.
"Well, Bill Hall took darn fool no.
ton to ride one himself, and he picked
out little Roman-nosed mustang mare,
pure Spanish, and wilder than cayote,
and got some of the boys to help throw
her down, because he didn't know any
more about handling a lariat than he
did about running a prayer meeting.
"When the saddle had been strapped
on her and Bill forked it, she was turned
aloose, and the crowd stood back to see
the fun. Well, sir, that plug raised her
times, and then she lit into the prettiest
bucking ever looked at. Stick to her,
Bill!' I yelled, but the only thing he
could say was, whoa! Stop her, boys;
darn her old hide
While he had his knees gripped to
her sides like wise, and his hair stand
ing like brush heap, the mustang
herself out like a step-ladder,
put her head between her front legs,
and then,' bringing herself together like
a rat-trap, she slammed Bill Hall against
the ground harder than I ever heard a
fellow hit before. When we picked him
up one ear was damned around to the
back of his 1eck, and, from the look on
his face, we knew that he wasn't long
for this world. He fingered for a day
or two, and we did all we could to- ease
his pain, but one morning he motioned
for us to come to him, and as I knelt be-
side his couch and took his hand in mine
he said: Boys, I'm going to pass in my
checks, but amt going to SILVER about
it, even if 1 do die away out on prai-
RE, with no one but a few friends
around me. I'll have big, broad bed
to rest in, and if some day you ride by
my grave won't you get down and think
of me awhile?' 1Ef
"Well, sir, the boys-the ornary
cusses-were crying like women, and |
felt terribly shaken myself, but we all
promised that we would, and then he
raised himself little, and in faint
voice said: Ned, want you to write
to my mother and tell her that wasn't
very dutiful son, but loved her just
the same
"'Ned,' he muttered so faint I could
hardly hear him, 'don't tell my folks
when you write that was slid into
Heaven by a cursed mustang and
with that he fell back, his grasp on my
hand relaxed, and Bill Hall was on this
earth no more, and when l thought how
his mother would grieve it made me
feel weak in the knees.
"We buried him, and Jack Jones,
who is something of a scholar because
he had chance to 90 to school down in
Bay Prairie, wrote on the headboard Of
the grave:
WILLIAM HALL
GOT \ FALL,
Killed as Dead as Slug
By a Texas Plug.
BORN IN GEORGY.
"It always makes me feel bad when I
think of that poor fellow, and how to-
day he sleeps on the banks OF