Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-02-24
From the St Louis Globe-Democrat.]
A YANKEE IN TEXAS.

A YANKEE LIN IEXAS.
"John Lowell, Lowell, Mass" ht
wrote on the register of the Scrapvillt
House, ScrapviIle, Texas. He die
not put esq" after it, nor make it
ndistinguishable with fourishes, OF
run it all together in nightmare Of
signature. Just plain "John Lowell y
The bald-headed and sleepy clerk, with
no diamond pin in his wooden shirt,
with his pants tucked into his massive
boots, with dimsuspicion of tobacco
uice lurkingin thecorners OF his mouth,
and with a nose vinous and eyes leery
from many q night Of honest endeavor
to get drunk enough to warrant death,
leaned over the counter, scanned the
page and chuckled approvingly. The
guest watched him curiously, as he
showed blunt and horrent finger
along the line, and mentally pieced the
letters into-a name.
"John Lowell, o. Lowell" he said,
named arter you, mister ?"
"Not exactly" said Lowell; ''fact is,
we don't own it all. )"
"Old man Scrap owns this here no.
tel" said the clerk, Gowns this town,
owns this county, thinks he owns
the yerth; but he don't own nae.
I'm my own man. Briggs my name is,
Fun ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ally
bammy, near the Ten'see line; raised
there; come here five year ago, wen
there wer'nt no town here; been here
ever since; fust sheepman, then a
hotel clerk; d'ruther be the clerk;
d'ruther be a dorg as sheepman;
cussed by the free-grassers, cussed by
the pastur men, cussed by the store
keepers. cussed an kicked an tromped
Oh by the whole etarnal kentry. Be
you a sheepman?
mot now" said Lowell; stfact is,
will be pretty soon"
Briggs looked at him with g. moist
and pitying eye. There was man,
he reasoned, who had come to Scrap
vile to buy land and go into sheep.
He was q man who doubtless had
money and expansive ideas of breed
ing and dreams of fabulous feeces. A
strong looking man, toe, with a
from his attitude of experience looked
down on and pitieo him. He saw him
IN his minds eye six months hence, a.
solitary, coatless chaser of long-legged,
bare-skinned ewes; q year later, hum
cry, broke, despairing, footing it to
the nearest railway station and beat
ing his way back to civilization and a
$50 clerkship. Briggs knew it all.
Had he not paid for the knowledge
with money wruDg from the rocks of
his native fields? And he pitied him.
"Fust thing yer know, Lo'ell," he
said, with the ELUSIVE patronage of the
Western god of the counter, cen moth
emil come bouncin' along, an where'll
yer be? Where in h-u I'll yer be?
Nowhar, I've got the intrust % the
house at art, but [ hates ter see
a good man spilled. Take yer skads,
jump the fust train an scurry for the
East. Y'are wanted thare, yer amt
wanted here"
"Well," said the Massachusetts
man, as he stood square and strong,
and looked lazily at his instructor,
''I'll see the country first. Back in the
old states we always try q thing before
we drop it, and, as you fellows found
out some years ago, we never know
when we're whipped"
Briggs red face took on a purple
tint. He resented the allusion to the
war. He had not been in it himself,
but some of his relatives had, and any
mention of Southern defeat made him
very wild and hard to hold down.
81 killed a man onsI fur less'n that, u
he Dluttered, as ne turned sulkily to
his work.
Lowell found Scrapville dirty
struggling place of great pretensions
and much mud. 1t had been raining
and the black soil chung to his feet in
ponderous Jumps. There was a lead.
en- heaViness IN the close air, and the
whole earth seemed soggy with de.
spondency. A rack of gray clouds
hung like q cloak low down on the
dreary prairie, on which the little
town rested like a corpse In pond
The country was Of fair altitude, but
flat as table. From the second sto-
ry OF the hotel he was able to see a
falr blue line, which some one told him
was ''the divide,," a ridge of land sep
aratlng two trending sections, but it
was not near enough to cause any
change IN the intense disfavOr of his
regard for the Scrapville region. He
was man of strong purpose, and he
had resolved to make money off sheep
In Texas, but he was O. native of the
hill country, and sometimes almost
cried out under the oppression of flat
ness. He remained In the hotel for
some days, during which Briggs be-
came an ever-present horror to him.
The mans ceaseless chatter, his as
sumption Of wisdom, his drunkenness,
his impudent personal illusions, his
flthiness, his pompous Incidence,
we're so omnipresent, pervasive, indy