San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-04-27
A DOUBLE WEDDING.

Almost everybody knows old man
Stringfellow. He is a tall, lank person
age, with shoulders like dromedary's.
His face is long, like that of horse, and he
has black hair, streaked with gray, on his
head, with tuft of the same on his chin.
Old man Stringtellow wears neither
mustache nor whiskers, being very par
ticular to shave himself at least twice
week, undergoing some pain, and twist
ing his long face into all manner of con-
tortions-which circus clown would
give 81, 900 to be able to imitate-during
the operation, owing to the stiff nature of
the crop, he is reaping and the dizziness of
the instrument with which he works. He
seldom wears a coat, going in his shirt
sleeves summer and winter, only chang
ing the garment of hickory for the gar
ment of wool as the seasons vary-his
jean pantalOons being hoisted up with
uspenders-galluSes he calls them-al-
most to his armpts, making him look at
little distance like some queer animal
with very long legs.
He lives in a log cabin of one room,
with shed attachment, and has a wife
and six children, equally divided as to sex.
In the room, which is rOOmy enough, he
and Mrs. Stringfellow occupy one bed,
and the three girls-Nancy, Gin, for Jane,
and Merier-another, and here all the
cooking is done in the wide clay fireplace
of the stick and mud chimney. The shed
attachment accommodates the boys, Bill,
Ben and jim.
Occasionally belated traveller will stop
at the Stringfellow mansion and ask for
nights lodging. Heswill be invited to
"'light an come in" and when he has
done so will be treated with primitive
hospitality.
These people are poor and uneducated,
but there is a spirit of independence about
them that nothing can conquer and so
long as their potato banks hold out and
their razor backs come home, to pick up
pick up little fat in the field after the
crop is garnered, and then pay tribute to
the larder, they care not for king nor
kaiser. They never treat anybody, no
matter who he may be, as anything more
than an equal, and would show no diff
ference to the car of all the Rus
sias should he chance to travel their
way, with all his cortege. Should
he stop he would be invited to
"'light," and the boys would ask about
the price of potatoes in town, the old
woman inquire as to market value Of
and the old man put in a request for a
chew of tobacco-that is, if they did not
mistake the whole affair for a circus as,
like as not they would. They had walked
fifteen miles once to see a circus-all ex-
cept the old woman, who rode shaggy
pony about as big as yearling calf, and
with more hair on his hide than flesh I'M
der it.
hannana1 f0 ho Of hn ~
fellow family once. Finding myself near
their residence one night, when it was so
dark that that l could see nothing but the
glimmer of the light in their cabin, rode
for it through brush and brier, and when
I reached it halloed in the usual country
style. Immediately the light, which came
from the open door, was shut off by two
human forms, and I was bid to "'light
an come in"
The family was just preparing to eat
supper and savory mess of pork and
potatoes was being dished up. was in
vited to Join them il their meal, during
which was pumped pretty dry of all l
knew about the affairs of the town, which
was too far off to be visited by any of
them very often. But to this / did not
object, knowing that such information as
could impart was all l would have to
PGy for the entertainment Of myself and
beast-which had been led off by one Of
the boys to share the stable of the shaggy
pOny-so l let the ripple of my talk flow
, in continuous current, turning on my
inventive valve at the same time, to give
a sparkle to plain facts indispensable to
make them enjoyable.
During the evening gathered from the
whispering and giggling going on among
the young folk that there was some
mystery aaoat-something in which they
all aeRmp6 mora mr. loss iptarasta1-