The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-12-29
An All Wool Tale Of Lifa.

An All Wool Tale Of Life.
Never had the bright blossoms OF
hope and things Of that kind been show
cred around betrothal of more prom
ise than that Of Keno Maud, the bride
Of the Owl Creek diggings. Her lover
was both gentleman and scholar
from away up the creek. Beauty too
had lowered her with ripping tresses Of
the deepest Venetian red, and him with
tawny locks of pure jet; his mustache
and tall boots were BACKED carefully
each day. Her eyes were blue and soul
full with brows of ecru. which rapidly
| changed to creamy white, with eye
winkers OF the same. Her nose WAS as
daintily carved as a. sculptor's dream,
| while her delicious nostrils at times
would dilate in response to her surging
thoughts like the gills Of the excited
Goldfish. Her mouth was small. like q
coral cleft, and her teeth were mostly
her own. AS soon as she got them paid
for they would be entirely her own.
There was, too. an expression in that
rosebud mouth that betokened strength
OF will and adamantine resolve.
He was sinewy and tall, with piercing
eye and eagle nose. He had long
easy stride, wealth OF limb, an air Of
noble daring. He was the sturdy oak
with wide sweeping branches, around
to whose noble trunk chung Keno Maud,
the dove-eyed hollyhock from up the
| gulch. It would be we'll to remember
that he was darling and she was Go
SLOUGH, while the most unobserving and
careless Of the great jostling crowd
could see at glance that she was hist
and he was hern.
You could see that she would cling
to him right on through want and shame
and chattel mortgages. Yet there was
no fear of those, for he was highly edu-
Gated and owned, beside, the prospect
known as the Snoring Bride at the head
of Owl Creek. So when the simmer
ing moon shimmered down through the
leaves of the signing pine. she simmer
ed on two people who were solid in each
other.
The next time the moon shimmered
on these people things were changed.
A few short hours and the trail of the
tarantula was visible. Piute Paul en-
tered the cottonwood villa of Keno
Maud with look of apprehension. He
was right. She looked up at him quick
ly. like startled deer, and threw an
antique neck-yoke over toward him
with great force.
He gracefully evaded it. and coming
over to where she sat, took her by the
ear and held her lovingly for moment
while he asked her why this was SO
thus.
al will try to be calm." she said in
reply; II will not lose control Of myself
and fill your FACILITATING gizzard with
lead. as you richly deserve. Hence
from my sight. Go. or you shall know
my fury. Scat!r'
MAUD" said Piute Paul as his breath
came quick and fast and horrible ap-
prehension began to worm its way into
his navy blue soul. "are you mad?"
Mad" said she as she rose to her
full, queenly hight and kicked 81 tu-
reen off the table. Il should say was
| mad"
but, Maudie, why do you keep me
in expeSse? Why do you not tell me,
even though it break my heart? have
| never saw you thus before. You WAS
not prone to monkey about in this man.
| ner in the glorious hence. Why do you
shur me and grown cold? Why have
| you clomb me with n long handle shovel
and rudely smashed my nose with a
neckyoke?
you was not always thus: Once
you was kind and loving and leaned on
to my breast and all was well. Now
you look upon me with disdain and
knock my teeth down inside of me with
an agricultural implement. o Maud!
Do not wreck my whole life and leave
my features magnificent ruin, with
my once commanding nose piled up in
one corner of my face and my eyes
gazing wistfully at each other acrost
the howling waste.
20 come to me like q stricken kan
CARGO and lean on those bosom of thy
| own fond lover and be at rest"
With these words he shaped himself
into the proper attitude to catch Keno
Maud when with passionate gesture.
she should fling herself at the pit of his
stomach like stricken kangaroo.
| mo" said Maud. as she rose to her
full hight and reached for the family
shotgun. you can never be TO me
aught but friend. and rather distant
and reticent friend at that. do not
love you rs I once did. I have grown
cold. have changed my mind since
last we met. When 1 heard that you
had two wives and nine children in
Southwestern Kansas, looked upon it
as an eccentricity of genius. When l
found out that you had been run out Of
Leadville by a vigilance committee l
said that it would never do for us to
make bridal tower to Leadville, but
when l tumbled to the racket last even
ing that you had sailed the Snoring
Bride and sold it to the red man, and
that the Jim Grow pay streak had
pinched out before breakfast this morn
ing, said that fortune had placed lit
tie barrier in the way of our union
which I, poor, weak woman, could not
overcome, deeply though l loved You.
Now il you will climb over that salt bar
rel and move toward the great untried
West will uncock this weapon and
save your ambitious life, otherwise I
shall let the glorious ight.of this calm
autumn day shine clear down into your
stumick,"
As these words softly died away. Piute
Paul slowly slipped into the coming
night, stole an ambling steed from
down the gulch and rode away. In the
Wood River country he rapidly rose So
cially to where one night lie could east
| ly get bird's-eys view of the New
Jerusalem. When they took him down,
life was extinct.
Keno Maud still lives up near the
shaft of the Snoring Bride, and tho
days may come and the days may 60
and she will 60 on also. but she will go
on as an old maid, with no one TO love
her or put the cat out at night and
wind the clock for her. She will have
to do that herself so long as life shall
last. Nobody can regret this any more
than we do, but it's so.-BW Rye.
| A day or two ago. during grammar
lesson in one Of our public schools, the
teacher asked the pupils to form SEN
tence using relative pronoun. Among
the answers the subjoined came from 9
| aharn l;ttla urchin. ssI met NV cot,sin "