Daily Republican., 1880-03-12
KITrY's FORTY.
BY EDWARD EGGLEsoN.

/ 1t doesn't do men any good to live
apart from women and children. never
knew boys school in which there W al
not tendency to rowdyism. And lum
bermeD, sailors, fishermen, are prob
verbally q half-bear sort Of people,
Frontiersmen soften down when women
and children come-but ! forget my
self. 1t Is the story you want.
Burton and Jones lived in shanty
by themselves. Jones was a married
man, but finding 1t hard to support his
wife in down east village, he had EN-.
Iigrated to Northern Minnesota, leaving
his wife under her fathers roof, until
he should be able to make start. lie
and Burton had gone into partnership
and 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 1t ends in the same week in which
it begins.
The partners had disagreed, quarrel
ed and divided their interests. The
land was all shared between them ex-
cep. one valuable forty acre piece. Each
of them claimed that piece of land, and
the qusrrel had grown SO high between
them that the neighbors expected them
to "shoot at sight" In fact, it was un.
derstood that Burton was on the forty
acre piece, determined to shoot Jones If
he came, snd Jones had sworn to 60
out there and shoot Burton, when the
fight was postponed by the unexpected
arrival of Jones' wife and child.
Jones' shanty was not finished, and
he was forced 10 fsrego the luxury Of
fighting his old partner, in his exer-
tions to maks wife and bab7 comforta-
BILE for the fight. For the winter sun
was surrounded by sun dogs" In
stead of one sun there were four, an Oc.
currence not uncommon in this latitude
but one which always beded terrible
storm.
In his endeavor to care for his wife
and child, Jones was notified a little,
and half regretted that he had been SO
violent about that piece of land. But
he was determined not to be backed
down, and he certainly would have o
shoot himself.
When he thought OF the chance Of
being killed by his old partner, the
prospect was not pleasant. Hs looked
wstfully at Kitty his two year old child,
and dreaded that shs would be left
ia herless. Nevertheless, he wouldn't
be backed down. He would shoot or be
shot.
While the father was busy cutting
wood, and the mother was busy other
wise, little Kitty managed to get the
shanty door open. There was no latch
as yet, and her prying little hands
easily swung It back. A gust Of cold
air almost took away her breath, but
she caught sight OF the brown grass
without, and the new world seemed so
big that the little feet were fain to try
and explore it.
She pushed ont through the door,
caught her breath again, and started
away down a path bordered by sere
grass and the dead stalks Of the wild
suptloWer.
How often she had longed to escape
from restraint and paddle out into the
world alone So out into the world
she went, rejoicing in her liberty, in
the blue sky above and the rusty
prairie beneath. She would find out
where the path went to, and what there
was at the end of the world What
did she care if her nose was blue with
cold, and her chubby hands red as
beets. Now and then she aused to
turn her head away from the rude
blast, a foreruuner Of the storm hut
having gasped moment, She quickly
renewed her brave march in search Of
the great unknown.
The mother missed her, and supposed
that Jones, who could not get enough
OF the child's society, had taken the
little one out with him.
Jones. poor fellow, sure that the dar-
ling was safe within, chopped away
until that awful storm broke upon him,
and at last drove him, half smothered
by snow and half frozsn with cold, into
the house. When there was nothing
left but retreat, he had seized an arm
ful of wood and carried it into the
house with him, to make sure Of hav-
ing enough to keep his wife and Kitty
from freezing in the coming awfulness
of the night, which now settled down
upon the storm beaten and snow-blind-
ed world.
1t was the beginning of that horrible
storm in which so many people were
frozen to death, and Jones had fled
none too soon.
When once the wood was stacked by
the stove, Jones looked around for Kit.
ty. He had not more than inquired
for her, when father and mother each
read in the others face the fact that
she was lost in this wild, dashing storm
of snow.
So fast did the snow fall, and so dark
was the night, that Jones could not see
three feet ahead of him. He endeavor-
ed TO follow the path which he thought
Kitty might have taken, but it was
buried in snow drifts, and he soon lost
himself.
lie stumbled through the drifts call
ing out to Kitty in his distress, but not
knowing whittier he went.
After an hour desparing, wondering,
and shouting, he came upon a house,
aud having raped on the door, he {
found himself face to face with his
own wife.
He had returned to his own house in
his bewilderment.
When we remember that Jones had l
not slept for two nights preceding this !
one, on account Of his mortal quar- +,
rel with Burton, and he had now been {
beating against an arctic hurricane and |