Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1888-11-29

like she hid lost her wits, nd the baby
KEEP cryin' jist as hard as ever. WAL,
there wuZn't much sleepin' to be done in
that car, for what with the baby cryin'
nd the young woman a-sayin': "Oh
dear" nd "Oh, N.Y." and the nigger a.
prancin' round like the widder bewitched
with all this goin' on, sleep wuz out Nv
the question. Folks began to wake up
nd put their heads outern their hunks to
see what wuz the doggone matter. This
made things pleasanter for the young
woman. The colonel stood it as long as
he could and then he got up a second
time nd come down the car nd looked at
the young woman over his specs
"Now, as wuz tellin' you afore," sez
he, i haig't maxim no complaint Nv my
self, for I've raised family of 1even
! children nd l know all about 'em. But
| these other folks here in. the car have
paid for good nights sleep nd it's my
duty as director Nv the HANDFUL nd st.
10 to see that they get it. Seems to me
like you ought to be able to keep that
child quiet-you can't make me believe
that there's any use for a child to be
carryin' on so. Somepin's hurtin' it
know sumpin's hurtin' it by the way it
cries. Now, you look md sec if there
amt pin stickin' into it somewhere; I've
raised 'leven children nd that's just the
way they used to cry when there wuz
pin stickin' en-"
He reckoned he'd find things all right
this timo nd he went back to his bunk
feelin' toler'ble satisfied with himself, but
the young woman couldn't find no pin
stickin' the baby, nd, no matter how
much she stewed nd Worried, the baby
KEEP right on cryin', jest the same Holy
smokel but how that baby did cry.
Now reckoned that the colonel would
be gettin' almighty mad if this thing KEEP
up much longer. A man may raise leven
children as easy as rollin' off'n log nd
yet the twelfth one. that isn't his at ALL
may break him. There is ginerally last
straw, even when it comes to the matter
Nv children
So when the colonel riz feet foremost
for the third time outern his bunk that
nigEt-or, | should say, mornin', for it
was mighty near mornin' now-we looked
for hail Columby.
Look here, my good woman" sez he
to the young woman with the baby, las /
wuz tellin' you afore, you must do some
pin to keep that child quiet. It'll never
do to keep all these folks awake like this
They've paid for good nights sleep, nd
it S my duty as a director Nv the Han n'bul
'nd st. 10 to pertest agin this disturbance.
I've raised family Nv leven children nd
l know, as well as know anythink, that
that child is hungry. No child ever cries
like that when it isn't hungry, so insist
on your nursin' it nd givin' us peace nd
quiet"
Then the young woman begun to sniff1e.
Law me, sir, says the young woman,
81 amt the baby's mother-Tm only just
tendin' it.
The colonel got pretty mad then; his
he wuz so mad.
Where is it's mother?' sez the colonel.
"Why isn't she here takin' care Nv this
hungry nd cryin' child like she ought to
be?"
She's in the front car, sir, sez the
young woman, chokin' up. ''She's in the
front car-in a box, dead we're takin' the
body nd the baby back home"
Now what would you or me have done
what would any man have done then
nd there? Jest what the colonel done.
The colonel didn't wait for no second
thought; he jest reached out his big bony
hands nd he sez, Young woman, gi' me
that baby"-sez it so quiet nd so gentle
like that seemed like it wuz the baby's
mother that wuz a-speakin'.
The colonel took the baby and-now,
may be you won't believe me-the colonel
held that baby nd rocked it in his arms
md talked to it like it had been his own
child. And the baby seemed to know that
it lay agin a lovin' heart, for, when it
heerd the Of mans kind voice nd saw his
smilin' face nd felt the soothin' rockin'
Nv his arms, the baby stopped it's grievin'
nd cryin' nd cuddled up close to the
colonels breast nd begun to coo nd laff.
The colonel called the nigger. "Jim,"
sez he, you go ahead nd tell the con-
ductor to stop the train at the first farm
house. We've got to have some milk for
this child-some warm milk with sugar
into it; l hain't raised family Nv leven
children for nothin'."
The baby didn't cry no more that night;
leastwise we didn't hear it if it did cry.
And what if we had heard it? Blessed if
l don't think every last one of US would
have got up to help tend that lonesome
little thing.
That wuz more'n twenty years ago, but
I kin remember the last words heerd the |
colonel say: mo matter if it does cry"
sez he. ut don't make no more noise |
than cricket. nohow. nd reckon that |
being director Nv the road kin stop |
the train nd let off anybody that don't
like the way the HANDFUL nd St. 10 does
business"
Twenty years agol Col. Elijah Gates
IS sleepin' in the Palmyry buryin' ground;
likely as not the baby has growed up
eastwise the HANDFUL nd st. 10 has;
is different now-everythink
las changed-everythink except human
latur. an that is the same it allus has
,een, and it allus will be, reckon
eugene Field in Chicago News.