The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1884-02-21

Lne DOW upward ana secured III 10 IL
place with the key, then removing thu
other bow, rested that end of the yok
upon the ground, led the nigh side o,
to his place with the bow, and thu
arranged each twain in their prope,
yoke, Mr.. Signal, with outspread arm
and extended hands, rendered amiabl,
assistance in keeping the herd togeth
er.
"Done eatin', Cow" said Mr.. Small
when he had stationed his horned
troop in marching order.
"Yash. Heap eat um all up.
"All right" approved Mr.. Small
tumbling the cooking utensils into
the box, ''No time to wash dishes this
mornin'. Yere, Gov, snail hold O this
box. Now tumble up thar an take
it" And heaving the box up after
the Indian, he drew his terrible whir
from its place between the whee.
spokes, stepped to the side of his team
and letting go the lash, swung il
about at arm s-length in front of him
and then suddenly bringing it toward
him with a peculiar jerk, causing the
buckskin snapper to go off line re-
volver, shouted, "Gee, Brigham
ro-o-al outlr' and the "desert schoon-
ers" slowly sailed away into the val
ley.
Mr.. Signal marched afoot, pausing
to pick up peculiar pebble and carry
it awhile, then to find pebble more
peculiar, and drop the first to take the
second; now to bunker down and
study the spikes upon sleeping horn
ed toad, then to pluck some flower SO
tiny small that it seemed but speck
among the pulpy dry gravel and loose
earth; now turning face.about to take
in the rugged outline Of the noun
tain under whose shadow he had pass
ed the night, and then lower his Wis
ion to note the saucy staggering strut
of that black "prospector," the raven,
walking down the road in the distant
track Of the wagons, not failing at
the time to watch the lizards flash
across his path; now again trudging
along, like Bunyan's "Christian," with
eyes surveying the to him unknown
land in front-the Delectable Noun
tains, where, according to Mr.. Small,
he might see some ''bully float quartz. y"
To him the sameness of the land was
a newness; no green and gold of
leaves that grow and leaves that die,
no babbling streams through valleys
grown with grass, no heaving fields
with squares of shine and mine; but
one wide waste Of ashen gray, one
cloudless sun, one wagon road across
the scene, and mountains all about.
Thus the time passed. Driving all
day in the hot sun, with unhitching,
cooking, eating, talking, praying,
cooking, eating, and rehitching during
the cool evening and morning, and
sweetly sleeping through the night.
Dustily across valley after valley;
slowly up this side and noisily down
the other side Of mountain after
mountain, Mr.. Small pausing on the
summit of each to point out to the
parson the prominent peaks as they
appeared plainly to the eye in range
Of one hundred miles s-showing, here
and there, far away, their huge sides,
where man, with all his might and ge-
MUS, is boring mere gimlet-holes, from
which to draw the bright white wealth
that makes the yellow glitter in the
city's halls.
In the long slow journey, Mr.. Sigh
al sought, by easy lessons, to draw
round the consciousness Of Big
Jack Small the subtitle and intricate
simplicity of his own faith in a per-
sonal God with feelings Of humanity
and feeling for humanity, yet power
full to the utmost limit Of all the
mighty magnitudes of power. All of
which Mr. Small refused to see- and
stoutly clung to his own crude mater
ialism, overshadowed by wide Goth
ic spirituality, born perhaps of the
tribal tinge in the blood which gave
him his fair skin, high-bridged nose,
bold gray eye, and long tawny beard.
1t was again the old subtilities born
of southern sun endeavoring to
bring the wild Morse blood upon its
knees at the foot of a Roman cross.
The conversion Of the Indian, which
was Mr.. Small's special desire, did not
proceed satisfactorily. 1t is compara-
lively easy, | opine, to build religion
upon civilization; but the labor must
be thorough and the effort exhaustive
where there is only love of food, of
food, Of passion, and of existence to
start on. Yet the Indian was not
without curiosity, nor, being a better
specimen of his race. was he totally
without the spirit Of inquiry into un-
substantial things. On several occa-
sions during this trip he sought to
discover the object Of prayer.
"Uh, Jack" queried he, what for
modisum-man"-he would call the
parson a Neutrality-suspicious. for
modisum-man all 'er time little stand
up. shut um eye, heap up-talk? 1njin
no sabe."
"Thar, now, Parson," said Mr..
Small, ''this Injin wants to know why
yer kneel down, shet yer eyes, an talk
up at the sky. He says he don't un-
derstand it.
II wish that | possessed a knowl-
edge of his language, and could be the
means, under God, Of opening to him
and his people the way to life ever
lasting"
"Well, Parson, yere's a big game
fer yer to play. Thar's hundreds O
his kind in these mountains, an their
lingo haint hard to learn, an they
haint hard to teach religion. Any
how, they learn to swear an cuss, an
nobody kin do that till he's been
among people of Christian country"
"Mr. Small" answered the parson,
who, now that he was growing strong
er in body, was more aggressive in
mind, there is sneering levity in
your manner when you speak of seri-
Gus things which pains me to hear"
Excuse me, Parson. That's only
my style, an style haint nothin' in
this country. The pint is how we're
goin'' to git light into this 1njin-
that's the pint