The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-09-11
BUFFALO,.
A Sample Texas Yarn--sons of Ananins
ON Their Mettle.

a Sample Texas Yarn--Sons of Ananins
on Their Mettle.
l may remark, incidentally, that
there is something about the atmos-
phere OF q livery stable that has Il
stimulating effect on the Imagination.
There is more transformations lying
done by old men who sit around in
hide bottom chairs, in the shade in
front of Texas livery stables, chewing
tobacco and whiting sticks, than in
all the Court-houses in the country.
Onthis occasion there wasseveral old
frosty-faced veterans of pre-adamic
Texas, swapping yarns about killing
MeNicans and Indians, and hunting
buffalos and mustangs. They seemed
to lie without the slightest effort.
Mendacity seemed to roll out of their
mouth by the mile. Ialso noticed that
when any Of them told a particularly
tough lie, the others seemed panied,
and Immediately II ofthem wouldget
off a much tougher yarn.
One of them was a white bearded old
son Of Ananias by the name Of Dcmp-
sey. He vas a stage driver by PROBES
sion. There was another old fellow
! with brindle hair and n long red lose
named Smoot. These two seemed to
be rivals inthe business of manufactur-
ing frontier improbabilities.
Ever been out on the headwaters OF
the Nueces?" asked Smoot.
"a thousand times. | reckon. kill
ed and skelped a krankaway Iniun
right at the watcrhole in 1887. He
was a tritle over eight feet high. His
skelp was as big as Il door mat" said
Dempsey, carelcssly.
"If he WIS a K~arankaway, he must
have only been a boy. All the karan-
kaway bucks l ever shot averaged
about nine feet. Well, as / vas going
10 say, | had " nalrer escape from Il
\ buffalo outtharin1S3l. lrerkon thar
was a million OF 'em out thar"
''There was more than that when
vas out thar said Dempsey, picking
up a stick to white.
sAs / was saying, Just for the fun OF
it I thought | would shoot off a butia-
los tail just two inches fromhis body.
He was a cavortin' around, and
switchin' his tail about, so | didn't
make much of O. shot. | shot it off
two and a half from his body"
Dempsey yawned like a cavern and
replied.
You must have been mighty awk-
ard with II shootin' iron to miss an
easy shot likethat. When Twas aran-
ger with Jack Hayes, fused tofoller up
a butfaler and shoot the COW ticks OIL
OF him without techin' him"
81 had fever and ager when | shot
that butfalcr bulls tail off, exclaimed
Dempsey, "und l had just taken about
half a pound of quinine, and my hands
war q leetle shaky. AS soon as l shot
off that bulls tail, he turned and came
ut me in q hurry so | made for tho
nearest tree"
81 have had the same thing happier
to me a billion times, / reckon. The
butfaler caught you on his horns, anC
chucked you up in the tree, didn'the?'
interrupted Dempsey. who was anxious
to head off the impending lie, which
threatened to be a whopper.
give had 'em do that to me, too
resumed Dempsey, "but this onedruN
his horns siz inches into the tree OF
both sides of me, and he couldn't ge'
them out again. Thar was pinned tt
the tree, and so was the butfaler.
warn't hurt II bit, and the buffalo
+, couldn't get away"
Old Dempsey was silent q few min
utcs, during which pause he expect
, GRATED c~opiously, and it was eviden
that his brain was at work with tn
energy of aclothes wringer. There wa
a vigor and freshness about Smoot'
lie that almost maddened him witt
jealousy.
Chem sort ofthings happened mos
every day when me and Jack Haye
wasin the range business
II was right slim and thin in tEer
, days" resumed Smoot, ''and / grad
ually worked my way down from be
tween them horns of the dilemma, $
80 speak. l patted the butfaler o
: the head, and taxed soft to him, an
= | got him SO gentle, thatif he had bee
: a COW | could have MIXED him. A
T, last ] got out, but it was blank tigl
= squeeze. I walked off and left hii
= thar, fast to the tree by his horns.''
y ''That butfalcr must have ha
! mighty long horns sneered Demps.
y 81 never seen a butfalcr with horns
foot long. Smoot, You T an o.
:. man and purity soon you will have
. meet Your maker. You should NJ
:" tell lies"
Il II never told a lie in my lii
~ ID Dz,,.- U>I,l ,,,e 4ha ,,1,r L.,