Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-02-26

the contempt which his oOk n man
ner implied.
Chats right" l exclaimed hotly,
chit a man when he's down! Heap up
all the aflronts you and your relatives
can think of when you know he can't
defend himself. Take your chances
while you can. It's your turn now, but
it won't be long. No, stree, it won't!
I'll come back %here-that l willard
I'll fetch along a gatling gun and rake
the whole country, fore and aft, by
thunder"
So saying, l arose and threw my camp
stool at him. He didn't wait for it
though, but saucily t1irted Install, took
the fence with fifteen feet to spare, and
was back in the bush again.
But my day had been spoiled. All the
religious calm in which l clothed my
self that morning was now but the filthy
rags of rage and discomfort.
| toiled back in the hot sun with my
head quite in a flame. Entering the dark
sitting room, l sat down in a rocking
chair and watched the rifle which hung
SO temptingly against the high chimney
piece. To me it seemed grand in its an
tiquity. The long, heavy barrel with
its slender polished stock and deeply
curved butt were fascinating in their
ancient grace.
"Ah!" l said, musingly, chow nobly
simple its constructions! How deeply
does it partake of the character of these
heroic souls who endured hardships and
death upon the frontier that they might
found a new land!"
l had handled Winchesters and Rem
ingtons, of the newest pattern, but none
had ever seemed so impressive in me-
chanism or design as did now the sim
pie weapon OF the backwoods, the relic
of %sterner, Drawer days. In the light of
rifles of modern make, it was as if one
should compare one of Cellmi's goblets
with a Tiffany bowl.
Then / went down to the creek and
had a swim in order to cool off, and
after that smoked a pipe the rest of the
afternoon.
The Monday which followed will al
ways remain firmly engraven upon my
memory. 1t was rather cloudy in the
morning, and quite a breeze was blow
ing. This made the weather agreeable
after so many weeks of heat and I pro-
longed my walk in consequence.
AS l was returning home, I took a
short cut across the creek and along the
fence until | had reached the long wheat
field which adioined the house.
Suddenly l heard a great squwaking
and whirling in the air above, and look
ing up, saw a novel sight. There,
about a hundred yards up. was a vast
flock of geese, beating the air with their
wings at a terrible rate.
1 leaned against the fence to watch
their movements. They were coming
towards mo and appeared to be gradu-
ally descending. At last they were
quite neal the ground, and before I
could realize how they did it, were set
thing plump down into the great wheat
field at my side.
Avid goose is tine-looking bird. His
w%ell-turned chest and plump legs have
always been a weakness of mine. And
now, for the first time in my life, I was
surrounded by an army of wild geese,
who were n and all walking about the
field within a few feet of wherc I stood,
quacking with loud satisfaction, as they
greedily devoured the tender wheat
kernels. l could almost fancy them
trussed and basted, with knife and fork
in their backs, marching around as a
living invitation to dinner.
The house was in easy reach, and as I
looked upon the temptation, a wild
thought filled my brain. FLASHED off at
headlong speed, and in a few minutes,
was at the side gate. / could see Mrs.
Bryce kneading bread in the kitchen.
ut is well,"I murmured, "she will
not hear me-"
Then l stealthily made my way round
to the front door, and crept through the
hall into the sitting-room. With tremb-
ling limbs I mounted a chair, and
reached down the ancient rifle and it's
accoutrements.
Then with a step as cat-like as false
Sextus', [ stole out of the front door
and around to the back of the w%oodshed.
Then, with trembling emotion, I sur
veyed my prize. 1t was certainly very
old. and a rich crust of rust thicklv
coated the barrel lock.
With a prodigious tug, I dragged the
cumbersome ramrod from its rusty bed.
Then inserting it in the cavernous bar
rel, smote it savagely downwards to
see whether OF not the gun was really
loaded. 1t penetrated the depths with
difficulty, but beneath my excited pres
sure, l, at last, forced it down to almost
its length. I slowly dragged it out
again. and measured down the barrel
on the outside. There seemed to be a
difference OF about an inch. Could this
mean that there was already a charge
in the barrelp Here was a dilemma. /
raised the hammer slowly; it was very
rusty, and creaked with a gritty noise.
On the nipple underneath was an old
cap. Its ancient copper had taken on
a blush tint. Did this indicate that the
gun was loaded? In my emotional con-
dition, I stamped with v%exation.
But something must be done, and I
resolved "to take the bull by the horns"
1t would do to risk my only
chance on a mere possibility. The gun
barrel certainly looked strong enough
to stand a dozen charges. At all
events, l could risk the chance of a
double load. So without delay, Ipoured
a generous measure from the ancient
powder horn into the barrel. listened
to it as it vigorously trickled down the
interminable pit. Next, 1 drew forth
one of the huge ounce balls from it's
leather bag, and after carefully patch
il, ~ ,,y.%1 ~,,r ~ Ak as.-1