The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-07-31

foundest interest to the relating Of the
phenomenal shooting Of Bogardus and
Carver, and with smile he shrugged
his shoulder. saving:
THAR. strangers, you're comm to
the pint now. Why, when wss young"
and he stopped to think; ..when was
young, about twenty. Iguess, Icould out
shoot any msn in the valley. We used
to swing an apple on a string, an
mountin' our horses gallop like mad
and fire at 1t. / could hit it every time.
/ tell you them whar glorious days. But
my sights not like it used to be an /
amt got the nerve power" he said, with
l a sigh.
| "Why," he continued, "Icould knock
| an apple off post nine times out of ten
fifty yards away, an I could take the
| bill off q bird in tree as clear as a
whistle an never disturb a feather.
That's fact"
.'What do you regard as the most
| skillful shot you ever made?" we
| asked.
"You mean the best one 1 ever made;
yes. an mought say. for that, the hap
piest one O. my life +"
| We nodded in the affirmative.
swell, strangers, he began, "Tll tell
you al about 1t. 1t war years ago,
though. Twas twenty-one then an but
few people lived hereabouts, an what
did war good ways apart Down in
tother end O. the valley lived John An
gleford, who had a darter, an l loved
her like mad, but some way or other
she didn't kinder want to hitch to me.
About three miles away lived another
man, who had a son, an she tux to that
boy: this made me kind o. jealous like
an me an him fit often. But 1 didn't
give in: I'd made up my mind to get
that gal eff could. One day in the fall
o. the year-I'll never forgit that day."
he said, with emphasis, II shouldered
Old Faithful that's my musket, an
went up inter the mountains to see what
kind o. game was abroad. Well,
reckon I'd been trudgin' around in the
thicket for nigh onto three hours with
out seem of thing, when all of a sudden
L hearn a scream that almost friz my
blood. heard it agin and l knowed it
whar womsn's boiler, so l jes' cocks
old Faithful an starts through the
bushes, but afore l got to the openin' l
heard horses hoofs a-clankin' an a-clat-
term over the stones. hurried right
on to the openin' an thar l seed what
1t whar all about. seed it at glance.
| Old Angleford's horse was a-tearin'
along like as if the old boy whar AFTER
him, an thar whar Sarahy Jane. her
face as white as chalk. a-clingin' to his
back for dear life, an right betwixt her
an the horses head, his claws drive into
the flesh of the horses neck. a-tryin' to
reach the gal, whar the biggest csta-
mount ever seed.
"'Your times come. John, saws to
myself. Steady, now; aim right and
you'll win the gal Jes' as that ar boss
with the screamin' gal got opposite to
me l blazed away for the catamount's
head. l knew it war life or death to
one of the three on 'em; but | didn't
miscalculate; never did. The load
went into thai ar catamount's head an
he rolled over dead on the ground; the
boss stumbled. and as he disappeared
over the precipice l cotche1 the faintin'
gal in my arms and hurried down the
road with her to tler home. For a long
time she had ragin' fever and kept
calm: is he come? is he corhe?' No
body could tell what it meant. You
see, men them days would 90 off and
stay for days a-huntin', so the absence
o old Struthers' boy didn' make any,
body think strange. Wall, one day she
cum to, and the first thing she axed
about war if Al. Struthers had cum
home. Thinks thar's somethin' quar-
somethin' wrong about this. so Ill see
l shouldered old Faithful an started
out. Away up whar the catsmount had
jumped on Sarahy James boss found
him-ugh! what sight seed. Thar
he war. stark dead. a-stickin on an oak
limb that had gone clar through his
body. an his boss whar dead away
down on the sharp-pointed rocks below.
We gin the poor fellow decent burial
The only way could sccount for death
whar that Sarahy James screamin'
frightened his boss, an running in
among the trees he got caught on the
sharp pint O. the low-down limb"
Here he refilled his pipe, and lighting
it said:
Come in, strangers, an I'll show
you suthin'."
We followed him into the cabin.
This are old Faithful" he said.
taking down an ancient-looking shot
gun from the rack and patting it afTcc-
tionately, ''what done the business for
me. An This" he continued, unrolling
musty-looking parcel, '.ar the skin O.
the tarnal varmint that brought about
the happy change in Sarahy Jane, an
that, pointing to white-haired old
lady who sat rocking and smiling in
corner of the room. s'am the old gal
herself. Detroit Post.