The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1885-09-12
SIMPSONS RANCH.
BY \. y. HAYES.

punchers" that delivered this 0racular
statement. In private life he was once
probably Mr.. Smith or Mr.. Jones, but
this must have been in days which were
prehistoric as far as his fellows in the
cattle country were concerned. To
them he was, and had always been,
"Broncho Sam ;" and old Bill kcnsett,
up on the Divide, whose age was be
yond mortal ken, and who was a stall
wart man when he trapped with Ruxton
and traded with St. Vrain, was onrec-
ord as saying that he allowed that
when tibet thar youngster come from the
States he hedn't no other name than
Broncho Sam That settled it.
''Thet thar youngster' was relative,
certainly not positive, characteriza-
ton for Broncho Sam was veteran,
and he looked it as he sat on 4 rude
bench, outside the ruder log cabin, and
facing the west. To an Eastern eye his
surroundings were the abomination of
| desolation. The cabin stood in a mar
row valley, near the bed, almost dry, of
what might be a steam. TO the gray
banks inclosing it a few stuntcd and
distorted cedars were precariously
| clinging, and at distance there were
some patches of sage brush. rs I'M
| wise, indeed, were he who should look
at these things to the exclusion of dis
tant ones, as he who should curiously
inspect the squalid streets of Naples
when by lifting his eyes he could see
across the beautiful bay to the grand
silhouette of Vesuvius, with Sorrento
and Capri in the distance. Here, above
the barren outlines OF grim can0ns,
above the sparsely wooded foot hills,
above the jagged outlying peaks, rose
in its simple majesty the great range.
Across the exquisite blue sky overhead
drfted clouds as white as the driven
snow, and as light and fleeCy as those
under which once lay the Isles OF the
Blest. 1t was near sunset, after the
radiance OF an autumn day, and the air
was deliciously clear, cool, and brac-
ing.
Broncho Sam was not looking at the
mountains or. the sky, but at a gun
which he was cleaning. His compan-
ion, younger man and evidently dis
ciple, had been watching his skillful
manipulation, and listening to the
words of wisdom which fell from his
lips, for famed ranch manager was
this same Broncho Sam and fortunate
were the employers, far away III "the
States" whose interests werc intrusted
to his faithful care.
Then came voice through the open
door-a fresh, youthful, ringing voice
Gust you wait a minute, Sam, and
I'll come out and argue the point with
you. l have not an idea what you are
talking about, but say there is some
sense in it, and there 7,uS some sense,
and there 7tIX be some sense in it and
what is it all about, anyway
Sam uttered an unintelligible grunt.
1t could not have been one Of entire
dissatisfaction, for something like a
smile showed itself on his rugged fea-
lures, andwas plainly visible as he looked
up and saw Jack Reynolds standing in
the doorway. a handsome young fell
low was he, and a general favorite in
all the region for fifty miles round.
Ever since he came out from Chicago
whence the doctor sent bin after
long illness-he had added as steadily
to his list of friends as Ito his list of
friends as to the hardness of his mus
cles, the color in his cheeks, and the
figure at which he turned the scale.
"Blame me if he don't jest lay over
any tenderfoot | ever see," said Broncho
Sam, one day, as he stood in an admir-
ing crowd at the bar of the Arcade
Saloon in Pueblo. Gimme a show,
and l allow I'll make him a frst-class
ranch hand in a year or two"
Gle amt no SLOUGH of a ranchman
now, accordin' to my idee, said rash
new conner.
Sam looked at him with an undis-
guised contempt, clearly shared by the
by-standers. "Perhaps he is, an per-
haps he amt" said he. II allow you
oughtcr know bettcrn /. Yes, jim,
yer may gimme another one of the same
sort"
Jack, it may easily be believed, was
the soul of the ranch He interested
himself in the operations, and made a
creditable figure at the first ground up"
He could soon ride the worst OF the
"bucking' horses, and throw 4 lariat
with many an older man. He was a
bit of dandy too, in his way, and did
not disdain guilt cord with pendent
tassels around the crown of an cxpcn-
sive Mexican S0m5yu0, a gay neck-tic
loosely knotted and lying snugly under
the rolling collar Of his gray flannel
shirt, or pair of long riding boots of
exceptional make All this fncry, how
ever, was reserved for other places than
the ranch, an other occasions than the
days passed there. The most cynical
of "old-timers" found nothing to crit