Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-12-21

dignity. Nobody attempted to open the door
but they all stood with that curious expression
on their faces that meant mischief. I moved
| to open the door for myself. Two or TIRES
then stepped forward and asked if / did mo-
know 1t was Christmas. Yes. believed did
| wen, then, they said you must treat or be
ducked in the pond yonder. The ice is broke.
| All the Puritan blood in me protested
began to show fight, which amused them.
They were in earnest about ducking me in the
pond. But my father had more sense than !
mad. At that moment he drove up with load
| OF apples and some cider. That was the treat
| they wanted and shout went up as the apples
were iugged into the school house. l was
rushed bodily into the SHOOT house and became
| forced ceiebrant of Christmas in that good
old western style. l was protesting all the
while at the breach Of decorum and discipline,
but the feast went on. 1t was the first of many
such Christmases of the sort for me, but in the
end broke up the habit of making the school
master treat"
An Army Officers Reminiscence.
1.-The most absurd Christmas have any rec
objection OF was spent at the dwelling Of an
isolated sauatter in the wilds of western Mis-
souri, thirty years ago." said an old army officer
with two other young lieutenants was driven
to seek shelter there from a furious storm on
Christmas eve, althoug we we're making our
way across the country on horseback with rs
much expedition as possible. Our first recep-
ton was not very cordial, but when We said
that we were willing to pay literally for the
entertainment we required hospitality was
stimulated and we were welcomed to q share of
what there was to offer. The cabin--for it was
hardly more-had but one room, and when
bedtime came the proprieties were observed
by stretching couple of blankets across the
apartment on clothes line. Whereupon the
women-the mother of the family and three I'M
usually plain daughters-prepared for repose
on one side OF the improyised partition, while
the father and ourselves occupied hastily-pre-
pared cots on the other side, the said cots be-
ing made OF boards laid across logs.
About minute after the two tallow candles
had been blown out. leaving the interior of the
shanty n total darkness, we heard the old
woman on the other side of the blankets lift
her voice and say:
"'Gents, would you like me to come over
and tuck you imp
mo, madam we replied. For heavens
sake-that is to say, don't disturb yourself on
any account; We are quite comfortable
1T wouldn't be any trouble. she said. But
never mind, only thought you might like it.
'Silence fell again upon the scene. only to be
broken by one of the 'girs'-a gentle thing of
thirty, maybe - who suddenly exclaimed
Gents, do you singY
NO we responded, I'VE do not
Five minutes more passed, when Just as we
were doing off the femlna vox was heard
from beyond the curtain breaking into wall
ing nasal howl OF oh, l newer loved the yal-
lerr
This was too much
"'Ladiesr l said, raising myself up on nv
couch. Permit me to say that we not only do
not sing ourselves but we do not like to hear
any one else sing
''My remark was effective and, as the poet
says. silence like poultice came to heal the
wounds of sound We slept and it was not
| until morning that We woke up again. TO find
it still storming so hard that we could not
I
spent Christmas day in the cabin. trying to
take things as agreeably as we could The
three young women seemed disposed to smile
upon US, but We were not very responsive.
Late in the afternoon the storm ceased, and
We prepared to take our departure. As we
were about to say our final good-byes, re-
marking for the sake of politeness that we
| hoped soon to see them all again, the old
woman barred our passage out of the cabin by
| placing her back against the door.
''Gents' she said. before you 60 wish to
| dem0nd if your intentions are honorableY
In what respect do you mean, madam, we
| replied, quite taken aback.
'''As to my daughters, of course I've often
heerd tell that you soldier gents was dreadful
with the women, and so I'm lookiu' out
Madam said !, permit me to assure you
| that our intentions regarding your daughters
| are OF the most honorable nature.
with that the old woman seemed quite sat
| lsfied, and, calling upon her husband to help
! us With the horses, which had been stabbed
| under shed. she did the best she could to as.
! sist our departure, which we took thereupon.
! the girls giggling and twitteriug as we rode
| off, to spend Christmas night galloping over
| the prairie"
MIR. MacGruder's New Mexico Christ
masses.
81 spent two very extraordinary Christmases
in New Mexico in 1879 and $780, said the Hon
Isaac MacGruder, well-to-do ranchman, al
the Metropolitan hotel yesterday. "On the
morning of the former arrived in Abuquer
que-1 had never seen primitive border town
Beforehand was astonished to find the whole
| place apparently given up to the gambling in.
! dustry. The settlement like most of its kind
on the frontier of civilization, seemed to be
composed, as one might say, of single street
! along which on either side struggled the dwell
lings and shops of all sorts, most of tho latter
| being saloons, either gin mills pure and simple
| or IN the guise of dance houses and gambling
| hells. As l said, gambling was the occupation
| IN which nearly all of the inhabitants were en-
| gagged at the moment Of my advent. In tive
| out OF three OF the grog shops crowds of COW.
| boys in long boots and SLOUGH hats, 'Greasers
| In elaborate buckskin toys, with silver bullion
| on their wlde-brimmed hats, and hardy miners
| with pistols in their belts were gathered about
green-covered tables that were extended 70,
the greater convenience of the players out upon
| the sidewalk and sometimes halfway across
the street. The desperate characters who kept
| the banks against the holiday makers
! with piles of silver and greenback:
thrown on the board to palpably repre-
sent the capital backing their enterprises
were armed to the teeth, prepared at once fol
| speculation and always possible conflict. 1t wa:
| observable that the Mexicans kept to q grea,
| extent by themselves, doubtless owing to the
| prejudice entertained against them by the
white men-a feeling due largely to race an
tagonism, but partly to the fact that the average
Greaser carries an atmosphere with him un
! pleasant to the olfactory sense. 1t is safe to
say that on most Of the occasions where the
| petulant pop OF the revolver, followed by the
! squeak OF the VICTIM was heard during the
! day the annoyance felt by the free-born Ameri.
| can at the presence Of the fragrant Mexican
| was responsible for the trouble. All Christmas
| day Albuquerque devoted itself to gambling
drinking bad whisky and other incidental mer.
rymaklng appropriate to the occasion. Now
and then half dozen cowboys would render
things exciting by dashing along the street al
| full gallop, firing their pistols into the air as
they went; but this did not seem to create any
special disturbance, unless gambling table
was upset by the horses. Only three men
were killed outright and four wounded during
| the festivities, which was moderate, consider
| ing. Two OF the men shot dead did not really
| count any way, being Mexicans. In the after
| noon there was a celebration all the more
pleasing from the fact that it was impromptu,
| two 'rustlers' being brought into town by Wig.
| lance committee that had captured them and
| promptly hanged from q beam that tretched
across the street. in the presence of gratified
population. / could hardly sleep that Christ
| mas night for the joyous howls and banging of
the holiday makers, who made the settlement
i Al Il L Al