The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1881-01-26

There was fust the jack, then me, the
the DOG. one behind tue other. all 8
solemn as could be. I wasn't feeling n
ways cheerful myself, but by the look
of things when my face wasn't too THE
with dust, | was the cheerfulest of tn
lot. If the jack wasn't solemn his look
bpiicd him, and as for that dog, Nel
being q black dog, with a down tail,
think he was the most serious critter
ever did see. He seemed mostly to b
on the point OF going to sleep, but h
wasn't half as sleepy AS he was sleep,
looking. There was mighty little carry
ing on day or night within a halt mil
OF him that he didn't sahe. And tn
fordest dog he was of little children tina
ever | saw.
"Well, / used to make, with my sol
emn little percession, twenty to thlrtl
miles a day, and, as / had about eigh
hundred miles to 60, We see, including
delays, I was in fer q months steady
tramping. Some days ! would traye
for hours with one or another Of th'
west. hound emigrsnt wagons or trains
~ they came creeping along toward the
end of the hard journey across the con,
tincnt, foot.sore, weary, dusty, anc
dclanidated. These trains he'd chill.
drcn with 'em OF all ages, and when my
| dog got in among them children he was
happy. He walked right up, raised his
dropping tail, and was q new dog. But
never camped at night with any OF these
trains on account OF my jack being liable
to make mischief among the emigrant
stock, and so l gin'ely waited only long
enough at the common camping places
20 let my animals drink and to fill my
water keg with fresh water, and then
Id pass on a mile ortwo or more and
60 a little of the road to good grass and
some kind OF shelter, If any shelter was
to be had. In such Il place | would
unload Canary Chat was the jacks
name) strip him of his saddle, give him
a piece of biscuit, scratch his head a
little. tell him how handsome he was,
and let him 90 to grass. always found
him in sight, sound asleep in the morn-
ing. After letting Canary go / would
~ather q few sticks or cry weeds, make
my little fire, COOK my little SUPPER, eat
it. give Nep q bite. roll out my blankets
on the ground, lie down and sleep
soundly till after daylight. Nep mostly
laid down alongside of me on the edge
on my blankets, and though he often
growled in the night, l never paid
be extra ferocious; because, while I
knew the plains were prowled over
every night by coyotes, just as we'll as
Nep knew it, it didn't need to affect me
as it did him. I wasn't afraid Of no
coyote.
Zone night, howsomever, after / had
made a very long and mighty tedious
days tramp, l thought the dog va
mighty unsettled about something;
but after rousing up & couple of times
and finding nothing, ! laid down and
fell into q very heavy sleep, from which
1 did not awake until near sunrise. l
don't suppose / should Lave awoke
when l did, only that I thought 1 heard
child's voice saying:
600 mus not make suchsa big noise
wiz 90 nosen .
"Well, sir, I opened my eyes. and
there, standing beside my face, was a
four-year-old girl, holding Nep by the
ear with one hand, and shaking the fore
finger of the other hand at me, repeat
"'No; GO mus not make such aubig
Il was not, and never had been mar
ried, up to that time, and didn't know
much about children. but | began right
there to feel like 3 father. l took the
bluc-eyed, red-cheeked, white
plumpness, and sitting her upon
my breast, I was Just going to commence
to her, when she said, pointing:
Look at 90 dog
"And, sure enough, there was that
fool dog just a'tcaring around camp,
a-wallopirg his tail OF the ground, and
every now and again jumping high over
me an the young one, as he had plumb
lost his MATERIAL senses. He was the
gladdest dog I yer see."
"'Now,' I said to the young lady,
what is your nameT
"'Lainey.'
"'Where do you live"
"'In ow wagon
"'Where does your mamma live?'
"Oh, my other mamma, she's dead!
the bad Ingins killed her. Now mes
got anuther mamma
"'Where does the new mamma live?'
"'In ow wagon
"",Where is the wagonH
"'Down there pointing forward.
"'Down where p said I, rising with
the child in my arms.
"tDown there pointing again.
"'Oh, no, there isn't any wagon down
there. That's away off the road
"'No, 90 ask e dog. He knows!'
81 looked inquiringly at Nep, but he
had fallen into his old, solemn, sleepy
looks again.
"'Where did you sleep last night|
600 know. / sleeps wiz 90 and e
Il held the child in my arms, and
all about the sage covered plain,
and up and down the lonesome, desolate
dust line of road, but l could see no
sign of camp-smoke, nor any object in
dicating civilization.
"'How far did you walk, to come
herep'
ooh! such q long, long wayne and
e dog. / so tired l 90 to sleep, and e
dog tiss me in e face and wake me up ;
then-then-we walk q long way, some
more, and come here to sleep wiz Co.,
"'Well, now, Miss Lainey, you set
right down here on the blankets, along
side of the dog, until I get US some break
FAST and I put the child out of my
arms.
"'Me vewy hungwy.'
"'All tight! Well soop have some
breakfast. Which do you like, Miss
Lainey, tea or coffee?'
"'Toffee, and heaps of sugaw.'
"sAnd so, chattering along to the
child, / fused around until l got our
little breakfast ready in the midst of the
wilderness.
She was a very hearty young lady,
and did justice to my rough efforts to
please her palate, and after breakfast
she insisted on a large pan of hot water to
'wass e disses,' but as I could not afford
that luxury in the midst of perpetual
drought, we compromised the matter by
nv agreeing to let her ride Cn top of tue
pack animals pack. This arrangement
delighted her no little for a while, and
also suited me f%irst-rate, until she gol
into the idee of standing up like a cir.
Gus rider. She never had much sense
of fear. I argued. and ever scoldeG
against this circus business, but it was
no use, and finally I gave her a ropes
end in each hand, which suited hel
mighty fine, until she got too sleepy ant
laiI down on top of the pack aad fel
fast asleep, while l walked beside thu
pack to see that she didn't fall of.
Il didn't reckon that we should q
far without hearing inquiries for a los
child, yet, as | passed emigrart wagons
and was passed by other emigrap
wagons, they had none of them lost
| child or heard of a child being lost.
my little percession wasn't quite 81