Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-12-23
A COLORADO BOY.
The True Story Of James Madison
Johnson.

Johnson.
We had laid up that night on the
Platte river. Mr.. Colby, the sheriff OF
Arapahoe County, had come down to
Chuff' ranch in search OF jurors and,
seeing a party of Eastern tourists
-camped near by, had walked over to
make our acquaintance. He was so
fresh and breezy and. withal. so ge-
NAL and gentlemanly, he had such an
air of being master of the situation and
himself that We were all of us glad when
he accepted our commissary's invita-
ton to remain and sup with us.
After tea we gaily assembled around
the roaring camp fire and for awhile
wit and laughter winged the happy time.
But, as the twilight deepened, the gusty
talk blew over, silence fell upon us
with the night Our shepherd, for
once unmndful of the tender lambs he
had led forth into the wilderness, was
seated astride wagon tongue, pensive-
. " greasing his boots. The commissary
had folded the map of Colorado, and.
dumb as a door nail, had slid
himself down from the dumpy
log. on which he had been tor
some time restless sufferer
Even Philomel, tile soul and genius of
our party, had. for a season, turned
the key upon wit and song. Graceful
" thronged on her hand-trunk, she
watched. in silence, the bright and
happy sparks that danced carmag-
mole as they rose, light-footed, from
the orange flames. All was quietupon
the Platte: the tongues of the wagons
were not more silent than ours.
The sheriff of Arapahoe was the first
TO break the spell. Il started in to
tell you." he said. ..the true story of
Jim while we were at supper. but |
struck a snag in the shape OF q tlapjack
and didn' get Oh with it.
Its not too late for it yet" said the
-commissary.
We'll, continued Mr. Colby.
twenty years ago was stopping a;
Hard-up, Cal, trying to dig my fort
une out of mine there. In the town
was one-horse lawyer named Smith
johnson. who was about the biggest
sot in All the diggin's round. And
Smith had son named Jim-a red
haired. frechled-face little ten-vear-old
scamp who was The terror of all the
hen-roosts and gardens in the town.
The way | won Jim's heart was this.
had watermelon patch that was, if
You Il forgive the figure, the apple Of
my eye. One evening | walked forth
my garden for to view and what should
j see in the middle of it but that
skees;cks. jim, getting into one of my
watermelons as lively as mole. Up
i came in the yard and gathered up
Jim by the waiStband. whereat. finding
his little game was blocked, he COM
menced to wricgle and howl
Let me 60 said he. 4 won't
come here no more. Please let me 90,
Mr.. Colby
:. oh. you young scamp said /.
I've got you now and i think I'll keep
You. find its very safe to punish
these bad boys that are so ready to be
good when they're caught. Do YOU
know what I'm going TO do withTou?
said i. giving him a final shake and
ing to send you to Jail.
. oh. please. Nh. Colby, give me q
whippin' an let me 60.
No. haven't any right to whip
you. but I'm obliged by the law to
send YOU to Jail. and | can tell you
jail is an awful place. There's rats
there
Ohio. groaned Jim.
And sometimes in the night they
gnaw eff your toes
- Please. Mr.. Colby whined Jim.
80 And your nose. said j, and You
have 10 go TO bed without any candle,
and you can play poker. and they do
say that the ghosts of the people that
Were there before and GOT hung for
stealing watermelons. come back at
Oh. can tel You it's no fun to so to
fail.
well. after l had chaffed the little
scamp long enough, l gave him SER
mon on the moral law and let him 90
with nothing worse than fright, but
after that strange to say, Jim and /
were cheek by ;owl.
Some time after the watermelon
fracas. continued Mr.. Colby, Il was
going up the guich to Scooptown when
l saw. On the side OF the hill. the tracks
OF the Vigilance Committee. They
were three road agents that had been
tried and hung the day before and left
suspended from the branch of tree TO
strike terror into the heart Of evil
doors Well, there was mob of boys
round this monument OF Justice and
they were diveriing themselves with
running down the hill and swinging
the luckless road agents to the breeze.
Jim was Just receiving the cheers of
the crowd for sending his man up to
the branches. where he had lodged a
minute before he came down. when he
spied me in the road and came to meet
NE.
Eyer see. Mr.. Colby be began. in
a rather deprecatory voice, i didn't
see no use o'them three thieves loafin'
ION that branch without bein' any use
Ito themselves nor nobody else, SO
just sot Them up in business And now