Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-12-05
long story OF u

ooo oau SioV 10y INV Eyy..Js---
and Judes there were in tnS Ses;
and yet look back to those days with
q kind of yearning, a kind of regret.
Alb, how fast the world moves; keeps
right on-stops for no man. Clear the
track! get out of the way! train COM
ing!
After bidding the family goodbye,
start over the mountains on another
route for home. / never like to go
back the same way came, SO come
up over the Shut-In mountains. AS
rode along saw the first deer track.
A deer had ran along the same course
l was riding. I could see way ahead
of me where the deer had plunged his
sharp hoofs into the soft ground; here
he made q turn. See how his hoof
marks are turned up side ways; look
out there to the right--there they are
1 was taught to look for tracks; could
track a deer almost as well as hound,
by watching the track. And right
here, one Christmas night, two years
before was married, my old pard and
brother Giles and myself spent part of
a night that we shall not forget to our
dying days. Christmas day had been
of those bright. sunny day, such as we
often have just before the cold winter
sets in. That night we had company
of young folks at our home; among the
number was the girl afterward mar
ried. Two young men-one was my
old pard-came up through the Shut
In from the old mill settlement and as
they came they saw a large flock of
wild turkeys on the roosts. The moon
was in the full. My old pard said. latter
the party is over let's go and kill some
of them" After I had seen my girl
safely to her home, we took our guns
and started for the Shut-In. It was
just at noon mark. AS we Hurried on
great black, rolling clouds came sailing
up from the west like summer thunder
storm clouds. The wind began to
moan and howl through the tree tops.
We could see the turkeys in the tree
tops of the tall trees swaying back and
forward as the wind blew. NV old
pard had shot at one sitting in tall
hickory :ree and missed it. Think he
shot three shots at that turkey and still
it did not fly. He ccalled to me and
and said, 81 have always heard youna-
ers are good at guessing, want you to
see if you can guess close enough to hit
that turkey" Giles was standing by
old pard, as drew sight with "Old
Betsey" on that turkey. At the crack
of my rifle, that turkey came tumbling
to the.ground. When Giles picked it
up we found it had just broken one of
its wings. Old pard said, "You need
not have shot it, the fall is what killed
it," Just then we saw a bright fash
of lightning and a heavy peal of thun-
der. "Pard," said, "Let's get out of
this; follow me-" We hurried on
among the rocks and lodges. After
going about half mile we came to a
place among the high bluffs of rock
where a part Of the bluff had fall
len and made quite room or cavern,
the opening just large enough to ad init
a person. This cavern was quite full.
of dry leaves the wind had blown in.
We reached the place just as the storm
broke on US. o! the way it did thund.
er and lightning and rain. Then It
turned to sleet and hail and then snow.
There we spent the night, but wasn't
it cold, and when morning came the
ground was covered about four inches
with snow. 0, how stiff we were as
we crawled out of our den and stretch
ed our legs and took our march for
home, and as passed the home of my
girl I hung the turkey TO the door
where they found it when
they opened the door in the morning.
Such times make the spice of life, and
how love to look back to those days
of roseate hue. How different it all
looks to US now after so many years
from what it did at the time. dis
lance lends enchantment to the vie W."
T. p. r.