Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1889-05-18
(Cortirned from lat pnge.)


WAL, Pill be gosh durned" see LIE |
onder. That wu2 all he said and he couldn't /
do nothin' at all. f'r the book agent, Lemucl |
Higgins, had the dead wood ON him-the |
mean. sncakiu' critteri
So the years passed on-one NV them |
cyclopeedies showin' up now md then,
sometimes every two years md sometimes
overy four, but allus at time when Le- !
andor found it peslty hard to give up flyer.
IL warn't no use cussin' Higgins; Higgins
just LATED when Leander allowed that the
cyCicpeedy wuz no good md that he wuz
bein' robbed. Meantime Leander's family
wuz increasn' and CROWN. Little Sarey
had the hoopin' cough dreadful one winter,
but tho cyclopeedy didn't help out at all,
cause all it said WIZ: ''H0opin' Cough
See Whoopin' Cough'-and, Nv course,
there waru't no Whoopin' Cough to see,
bcin' as how the W hadn't come yet!
Oncet when Hiram wanted to dreen the
homo pasture he went to the cyclopeedy to
find out about it, but all he diszivercd wuz:
"Drain-See Tile" This was i'll 1859 and
the cyclopeedy had only got down to G.
The cow wuz sick with lung fever one
spell and Lcander laid her dyin' to that
cussed cyclopeedy, cause when he went to
readin' bout cows it told him TO "See
Zoology"
But what's the use Nv harrowin' up ones
feelin's talkiu' md thinlSin' about these
things? Leander got so after awhile
that tho cycopecdy didn't worry him ut all;
he grew to look at 1t ez one NV the crosses
that human critters has to bear without
complanin' through this vale NV tears.
The only thing that bothered him Wuz the
fear that mebbc he wouldn't live to see the
last volyum e--to tell the truth, this kind NV
got to be his hobby and I've heern him talk
bout it many time scttin' round the
stove at the tarvern md squirtin' tobacco
juice at the sawduSt box His wife,
Hattie, passed away with the yaller jandcrs
the winter w como, and all that seemed to
reconcile Leandcr to survivin' her WuZ the
prospect Nv scein' the last volyume Nv that
cyclopecdy. Lemucl Higgins, the book
agent, had gone to his cverlastin' pun
ishment but his son, Hiram, had sue
ceeded TO his fathers business nd continued
to visit his folks his old man had ropcd in.
By this time Lenders children had groWed
up; all on ZEN wuz marr;d, and there wuz
numcris grandchildren ito amusc the OF
gentleman. But LeandEr wuzn't to be sat
1stied with the conimontthngs Nv airth; he
didn't seem to take no pleasure in his grand
children like most men do; his mind wuz
alters sot on Somcthin' eSc--for hours md
hours, yes, oil day long, he'd set out on the
front stoop loolSin' wistfully up the road for
that book agent to come along with q CYCLIC
peedy. He didn't want to die till he'd got
all the cyclopecdies his contract called for;
he wanted TO have every thing Strengthened
| out before he passed away.
| Whcn-oh, how we'll rccollect it-When
| Y come along he wuz so overcome that he
| fell over in a fit Nv paralysis, md the old
gentleman never got over it. For the next
| three years he dropped md pined, and
| seemed like he couldn't hold out much
longer. Finally he had to take to his bed
he WuZ so old md fecble-but he made 'em
move tho bed up against the winder so he
| could watch Tor that last volyume of the
cyclopeedy.
| The end come one balmy day in the spring
| Nv '87. His life wuz a-ebbin' powerful fast |;
| the minister wuz there, md me, md Dock
| Wilson, md Jedge Baker, md most Nv the
family. Lovin' hands smoothed tho wr1nkled
| forehead md breshed back the long, scant,
white hair, but the eyes of the dyin' man
| wuz sot upon that piece NV road down which
the cyclopecdy man allus come.
All at oncet q bright md joyful look come
into them eyes md OF Leander riz up in bed
md SEE: "1ts come"
"What is 1t, father9" asked his daughter
Sarey, sobbn' like.
"Hush," SEE the minister, solemnly; she
sees the shinin' gates Nv the Moo Jerusa-
lem"
"No, no." cried tho aged man, "it is the
cyclopeedy-the letter Z-it's comin'r'
And sure enough The door opened and
In walked tlggms-he tottcrcd rather than
walked, FIR he had growed old md feeble in
his wicked perfession.
'Here's tho q cyclopeedy, Mr.. Hobart
says Higgins.
Leander clutched It; he Rugged it to his
puntiu' bosom; then stcalin' one pale hand
under the piller he drew out faded bank
note md gave it to Higgins.
~ thank Thee for this boon" sez Leander
rollin' his eyes up devoutly; then he gave
deep sigh
'Hold on" cried Higgins, excitedly
"You'vo made a mistalke--it isn't the last
But Leunder didn't hoar him-his sou
he'd fled from its mortal tenement md het
soarcd rcjoicin' to realms NV everlastin
bliss.
HE is no more," seq Dock Wilson, meta
phoricay.
"Then who are his heirsV asked tina
mean critter Higgins.
1--WE be- seq the family.
'Do you conformity and severally &C
knowledge and assume the obligation of de
onI 90, h,, a1, -,