Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-18

cottonwood tree, they could go to rest
with the simple satisfaction that they
had done their best.
The day was fast approaching when,
the time of residence required by the
government having been fulfilled, the
homestead claim would be their own.
Their small crops, cultivated as well as
boy whose will was greater than his abil-
ity could cultivate them, were sufficient
for their modest needs, and if their
means were seanty their wants were care
fully kept down to them.
They owed no one. They hated no one,
unless it might be Indian jim, the
worthless half breed whose chief fond
ness was for dirt, begging and stealing,
three things that the Bakers, with one
exception, abominated. They feared no
one, except, perhaps, some of the POM
pous, straightforward officers of the
prairie military post of Fort Beal, three
miles away, and of these the younger
Baxters, with the same single exception,
stood more in ave than fear.
Mrs. Baxter was quiet, painstaking
woman, who worked hard to make both
ends meet in the humble household.
Dolby was an old-mannish chap, who
did his best to fill his father's place.
And little Martb was faithful at her
tasks helping at the dishwashing, mend
ing and sweeping, and dropped seeds for
Dobby's planting fed the chickens, and
assisted at whatever else her hands
found to do.
But there was one inmate of the little
weather. beaten house, who, though evil
IDENTIFY considering himself one of the
family, took no care to emulate probity
that marked their daily life, and appar-
emily feared neither the law nor the COM
mandments. This was FLijer, - who
was far from being sanity, in spite of
the patriarchial name he bore, doubt
full sort of a compliment to the Bible
story of Elijah and the ravens. As
Dolby did not known the names of any
of the ravens, he compromised and did
the next best thing by calling the little
crow Elijah.
From the very first, Lijer's appear
ance was against him. Even when &C
tuated by es good intentions as ever q
crow had, he looked the rascal. Even
when Dolby took him from the parent
nest, an ugly, almost featherless little
wretch, his most prominent attribute,
like that of a scoundrelly lawyer was his
bill.
His voice at that time was harsh,
complaining Fwhauruk, and his de-
light, next to eating, seemed to be in
exercising it as near continually as pos
sible. He was a shameless gormandizer
even when so small that he could scarcely
wabble about, and the only way to quiet
his cries and his appetite was to stuff
him so full of dough that for the time
being he was past all wab5ling.
One day, when half grown, he was
hx-t ho old IN fho p
stealing dough from the chickens and
set upon and so severely drubbed before
Dolby could come to the rescue that one
OF his legs was broken. This healed
rapidly, but in fashion that caused
him to forever walk with swagger that
made him look all the more rascaIly.
AS he progressed to full-grown crow
hood, he developed more queer viIlainies
than It seemed possible for his small
brain to father. In the matter of voice,
whatever Lljer lacked IN quality he made
up in quantity. Besides the "caw, -
common to all crows he acquired various
notes and modulations expressive of
wrath, impatience, satisfaction, and de-
light, and what might have been called
kind of laugh "a harsh, strident "whoor-
hoor- h-a-a-i'
At feeding times when his rations of
dough and meat scraps were placed be-
fore him, he seemed the soul of liberality
to the guileless chicks who would gather,
q haIf-fearful and always hungry circle,
about him. Lijer would assure them of
his pacific intentions by sundry inviting
ohucks and murmurings and a look of
total harmIessness that would entioe the
boldest of them to the feast. He would
appear the model host till a chicken got
just where he wanted him, and then the
crow would give him such whaek with
his big bill that il was wonder that the
victim g unsuspicious brains were not
knocked out, and with great shout and
Tapping send the chicks scuttling away
as if for dear life. This was repeated
many times, the chickens never seeming
to acquire wisdom by sad experience,
even the unfortunate who had been
nearly scalped on the previous day ap-
pearing to have forgotten already where
he got his sore head.
Liier seemed to derive much satisfac-
ton from enticing the passing wild crows
to the homestead by seductive and in
viting eaws from the top of the tall cot
tonwood and then treating his guests
very shabbily. When several of them