Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-09-25
A HEALTHY GROWTH.
Showing How a Little Story May Increase
in the Lapse of Years.

A number of years ago jim McBryar,
who now lives near Estelline, resided in
northern Missouri, says the Estelline Bell.
One day he crossed Coon creek at an old
ford, and when he arrived at town told the
story as follows:
day, and come in by Lon Chapman's old
ford"
Wa the water very deep"
ait was only about q couple of foot"
A year later he was talking with a lot Of
friends, when some one referred to the
creek, and McBryar said:
Yes, | c~alc'late Their water was pretty
mid'ln high in Coon Creek last spring. For
got ther time l WIZ in a hurry and cut
across at the old ford"
The water was pretty high, wasn't it,
you bet it were. 1t come right up ter
Their wagon box and my Off horse had ter
swim a little but l made it all right
Some five years after he was one day sit
ting in front of a grocery store, and told
the story like this:
You know that spring of '68, when
Their water were SO blame high oyer in
Coon Creek?n
Yes"
1T just bid, you remember. Well, sir,
the day Their bridge went out | came to
town and crossed where ther want no ford,
neither"
Wasn't it dangerous 2"
Well, | should Just recken it WIZ /
don't know how deep the water might o
| been, bat there want no bottom. The old
sor'l and bay had ter swim bout a hundred
yards. | stood right up III Their wagon and
then | got pretty wet. | don't want any
more such experiences
Some years after old Jim moved to Da-
1 -, IL Id loo, lo-, t,,4 q, eln-t t,,,o
when one day he got a crowd around him
| on the street corner in Estelline, and said ::
Gentlemen, | thought one of yer spoke
of high water in ther Big Sioux? Yes, l
lowed l heerd it. Well, now, I'll tell yer
yer don't know nothing bout high water
up'n this country. l had a little s~perience
with water down in Missouri that was bout
all | wanted"
How was it2'
wy it wus the spring of go. after the
hard winter. and | crossed the Grand river
after er doctor. The bridge wus all gone,
and houses wus floating down like steam
| boats. | had a fine team o. bosses and l
had ter get acrost, SO l just drove right III
and made EN- swim. 1t were on half a
mile. and it were rainin' and the waves
were a %rollin', but l Just stood Jpn the
wagon and swung the whip and got acrost
at last"
One day this week Jim came into the Bell
office and said:
Young man, l reckon you never had no
| 'speritnce with high water ?"
Not very much"
Il lowed Won hadn't. Well, l have. l
swan a four-hoss team and a stage full of
pass myers crost the Missouri river once"
rs that g fact?"
you bet it are. You see, l was drivin'
a stage in the spring of 81. after the deep
snow, and there came up q big storm, and L
didn't get to The river till after dark, bat l
was bound to cross. The river was foamin'
and leapin' and the waves was runnin'
high and il was full of logs and ice and the
houses and men and cattle that it'd washed
away, but | Just says to my ~pas'Dgers:
Ladies and gentlemen, we crosses herr
and | drove in. 1t were two miles to the
other shore and dark as the inside of a cow
and the rain and hail was pouring down
and the lightnin' strikin' all around US
but l stood up and whooped a couple
o. times and in We went. ! tell you it
were a powerful bad place ter be and
| the pas'ngers were mighty skeered, but /
Just KEEP whoopin' and goin' through.
Hadn't gone fur when one boss was struck
by iightin, and hoatin' trees and buildn's
and cakes o ice and cattle n men rushin'
Ground us and maxim the cuSsedest noise
you ever heerd. 1 KEEP whoopin' and
l~aru9in the bosses, but every little while
one Of ERA would get struck by lightnin'.
! The current took US down bout four mile,
but the bosses KEEP 'er %whoopin' and at last
we got over. II were tough now ! tell you,
young man. and since then it Just makes
me sick to hear some of these f%ellers, that
never see nothin' bigger n a trout stream,
talk bout high water"