Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-05-10

gladly have adopted any form of re-
ligion for the time being. In the ex'
element l was dropped. Spreading
myself however, sailed lightly on
the surface of the water. She saw me.
and impulsively reached out.
Canoes are not constructed so as to
tolerate any sudden emotion of this
kind. Some shrill shrieks spread
themselves over the water, and-the
water spread itself over them both! ]
had fine view of i. all, though some
what spa tered.
She was rescued by the Captain OF
the Boat Club. who had been carefully
watching us all the time; and to his
credit be it said, /, too, was adroitly
taken out by him. and carefully spread
to dry-much to the disgust of my old
enemy, who laid the whole blame OF
the upset on me.
After her rescue by the alert and
athletic Capt ain, expected to see her
fall on his neck in the conventional
style described in novels, but 1 was
disappointed; she simply gave him a
look of intense wetness-and the next
day wrote him letter.
The Captain looked out for me, and
when was thoroughly dry, he took me
in his pocket. and. availing him self of
her invitation, he called; and once
more was installed in her boudoir.
But alas! my style was cramped: lines
| of care-and water-had made their
indelible impression. l was no longer
the bright, gay, sparkling thing of yore;
in fact, was so warped that 1 could
hardly be made to spread out on the
wall which had formerly so decor
ated.
One morning the maid brought two
letters for her. and placed them on the
little stand right under me. saw one
was from him. My old feeling of an
tagonism arose strong within me, and,
assisted by strong draught, l
wrenched myself from the wall, and
fell so as to conceal his letter. The
other missive. noted with pleasure.
was from the Captain. This she soon
read with evident enjoyment, while for
forty-eight hours 1 continued to con-
ceal from her the other letter, which. it
afterwards transpired. contained an
important request; and he receiving no
reply quietly withdrew from the whirl
OF civilization. going suddenly West
SO report said.
After this rapidly fell into disfavor;
and one day, when sending box of
old-fashioned garments and new-fash-
Toned novels to a relative in Dakota. l,
too. was thrown in with the discarded
mass.
After series of adventures and de-
lays by rail. boat and mules, l was
finally unpacked in frontier home
by lovely girl. whose admiration for
me. wreck as l was. seemed unbound
ed; and from that moment during
the hot months which followed, Vita
and were almost inseparable. 1 hung
at her side on many ride over the
prairie among her Indian neighbors,
and great was their interest in me-
1.-The little piece of paper which folds"
as they called me. never could re-
press creeping sensation in regard
to these Home Missionary pets. par
ticularly when l saw them dressed
or undressed-fol their dances; but
my artistic eye appreciated their tip
ees, patched and smoke-stained, with
their long poles sticking out of the
black opening, up into the sky. And
their poetical domestic life, it was
charming to observe; the noble Hia-
wathas doing the work of pipe-smok-
ing, while the aged Minnehahas
amused themselves toying with the hoe
among the waving corn. or wrestling
with the firewood.
Our rides were generally confined to
the Indian reservation, as this includ-
ed the only attractive scenery, the
land in the other direction being SIM
ply level. monotonous prairie; and Vita
had no fear of the half-civilized Sioux,
she being good shot, bold rider,
and liberal dispenser of tobacco and
candy.
One day. as we approached the home
of "The Seven Brothers. there seemed
to be some unusual excitement.
Squaw ladies. Indian gentlemen. artis-
tically bare babies. dime-museum dogs.
all seemed interested over something.
We soon learned that young traveller,
white man. while trying to ride a |
pony which he was trading for, had
been thrown and kicked by the un-
broken colt. and was lying in state
of Inconsistencies. His arm was evil
IDENTIFY broken. and from the condition
of his clothing he had evidently been
roughly handled by the pony's feet.
Vita's warm sympathies were touched
by his pallid. suffering face, and she
Immediately arranged to have him con-
veyed to her home.
Weeks passed. These weeks were the |
busiest ever experienced in my check
cred career: from morning till night and |
in fact often through the entire night. 1 |