Sharp County record., 1881-03-24
Amt 'CINDA'S RANCH.

NJ CAR
lSD .UyT ,CJyn,S RANCH.
'ACHs 'i
LID here was plenty of game in the neighbor-
,-, ID of Aunt 'Cindas Ranch, as we had been
II plbd: but our informant had neglected to state
Lh ldl h was also one of the drearieSt places on
ND tn. Far as the eyecould reach in every dl-
lrp tiou Law only prairie, prairie, prairie-tree-
Z and flat, with Short trivial grass, and
N u.ur er the face of it ALL that indescribabie,
trial slaIyny blur peculiar to the outlying Kansas
~. ~. ins the little level river IN trout OF the
-,'' P'~' lch had no banks and flowed sluggishly;
nnrG .lanchoy S adobe, danked by stone corral in
D, lich were awkward racks and troughs for
USI TSs Tses interest and excitement of our chases
ter autelOpes, jack-rabbits and occasionally
wandering buffalo, served to kill time Tor us
ring the day. but when evening came, ana
sreturned to the ranch, tired out and think
q Of home, the sense of exile became almost
Arnful The fact that the ranch was stage
Nation. where brief halt was made for sup
n AIR, alone redeemed it from utter desolatlon,
zs-S..,r this gave US our sole glimpses of the dis.
Int world in the faces and conversation OF
he passengers, with now and then stray
> - ewspaper We used to stand watching the
. INi Ow and gorgeous sunsets with pretty pre-
!, ran s,nse of admiration, when in reality, our
a., thoughts were bent upon catching sight OF
stinn ne first curl of dust that should denote the
bilitT approaching stage. The passengers were not
OF a,rways either attractive or communicative but
ess DJll the same we hailed them warmly; and When
pots ,shey left the hOZOn seemed swiftly to widen,
eadacapd the stars to creep farther upward in the
1Tssa'l TTsas high, inhOspitabe sky.
0f'u'' It was at such empty times that we turned
orlornly to our associates OF the ranch-to
- he landlady Aunt 'Cinda Mcmillan aud the
y warthy Mexican and his wife, who were in her
aruiaa THE unavoidable one at
Of f.Jrst but gradually we found Aunt 'Cinda TO
De character worth knowing, and you may
zNTs be sure we left no artifce untred to win from
YOhaer all she had to tell She was robust, strong
featured and about forty-fve years old; there
PUiwere streaks of gray in her heavy black hair,
few wrinkles in her cheeks her eyes had an
alert and seeking look, such as you see in the
ulW eyes Of persons who live much alone. Some
haeatimes, when she grew animated, and tieeting
smile came to her aid, we could believe that in
her girlish days she had lacked but little-say
merely change of mouth-to make her pret-
ty. But it was her story and not herself, that
mainly held our attention and encouraged our
inquiries Indeed, she usually appeared, when
recounting the strange incidents of her history
to be talking OF some one else, so free from
vanity was she and so candid.
She had been reared, we learned, in the
Boone's Lick country, in Missouri, and there
had Aaron Mcmillan known and wOoed her.
A The memory of her courtship was very vivid to
4 her and she dwelt upon ii with lingering fond
n, ness. Aaron wasn't the purtiest man in the
n world, by long odds,' she would say; che was
m lght-complected and had sandy beard and
freckles but he was jest as good as ever they
!, make em. disremember how twas that he
As fust begun keepin' company with me. Their
~ was likeer gals than me in the settlement;
~ Lucy Walker, for one, that sung alto and
played onto the melodeon; and Samanthy Pet
It's. that had money in her own right an sech
little taperin' feet, an she liked to show 'em,
Wa too. But Aaron and me, we both
Wv TUX shine t. each other, an he didn't
, pear IS if he keered button for
!. any o. the balance of 'em. 'Cindy,' he
used to say some gals is purity an high-step-
PIN, an some is handy about bakin' an weav
mess in an sech, an some is peart in Parnin'
"a. but it's the average as counts, 'Cindy.' I'll
l.os never forgt that not if live athousan' years.
Uno Its the average as counts. | can Almost
e2la hear him sayin' that now. He used to come
VIZ to see me every other Sunday rain or shine,
,r,t an when the was moon, he'd take me to
to ~ meetin', over to the Chapel, four mile away.
isR The Campbellites an Methods used to have
raNa union meetin's there, an reyivals an shout
'nia in. AarOn's folks was CampbGllites, an he
nv s leant that way, an mine was Baptis'. But we
didn't never argy about religion. Bless you,
raa no."
hU Then she would detail to us, bit by bit, the
Nh current of their closer talks together they
yEs rode homeward from church, or sat upon the
'i- porch behind the mOrning-glores. 1t could
cos hardly be called lovc-makng, Aunt 'Cinda
Tsra herself termed it "sparkin'," and even that
ynl sounded too beetle for an intercourse that had
SO in it apparently so little of passion-so small
kM chance of heart-break But perhaps beneath
mp that calm surface beyond grasp of expression,
,,r had throbbed wealth of reverent and tender
1a preference that was worth anything else in
hfe-these simple, undemonstratve natures
Y so frequently shame the best of loves exam
pies with their unguesSed and quiet power.
- Certainly this humble woman, no longer young,
and living over again that faT-otf dream, still
kept her faith and made royal comfort of it.
IA And yet, SO far as we could ascertain, her
" matterOf-fact Aaron had bur once in all their
courtship yentured to kiss her. "I'll never
forgit it, not to my dyin' day. she said. "It
hss was Of Sunday night, the last Sunday in
~ September, out by the gate, as he was goin'
~ away. W'd been a-talkin' of things as furrin
ascoudbe to sparkin', an all OF a sudden, likes
" II he'd been possessed he put his face close
b up to mine, and-l declare to gracious, /
- couldn't "a been worse surprised if he'd
q "a hitme, Land sailes, Aaronp screamed
n An the next minute snickered right out. |
couldn't help it for seein' how fustered he
4 was, and kind o. undecided. VOW | b'leye
7 he thought he'd milfed me. But he hadn't
y Lordy, lordy, it comes back to me jest like
Y twas only Yesterday"
! Then she dropped her head, and her fingers
twitched at her apron, as she added, in dep
recatng tone:
You 'uns II think I'm soft, expect; but
Ican't help it. can't forget some things"
The tears in her eyes said as much, and more.
They We're married in time, we came to
know, and went to housekeeping; but they
were poor; they had to rent land; bad luck
followed their planting, and finally Aaron de-
termined 10 go west with the Santa Fe
1reighters, many of whom, once as poor as
himself, had been known to return from that
mysterious region with money enough to buy
well-improred farms in the Boones Lick coun-
Try. 81 didn't cross him about it," said Aunt
,'Cinda, "he was alters dreadful sot in his
:: = TJfTiTS 4 GG CUa1Gu agfI Tie grain
Thai was his weak spot; everybody has one,
you know 1t was almost too much for me to
see him start off on sech journey, but made
myself think it would turn ont for the best;
an | knowgd he'd come back"
Two years passed, however, and he did not
return, no1 did she hear aught from him, ey-
Scpt that be had daily reached Santa Fe. A
third year, almost, dragged away without
sigH or cidings of him; and then she resolved
70 omoye ont into Kansas, along the route he
had take0-"So to be higher to him. she