The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1890-10-31
ON THE DEVILS BACKBONE.

0H fBG OL EiL " UNOnUOHEf
A few years before the war ! was a
clerk in the store of INV brother-in-Iaw,
Nathan Ritchie, in Pittsburg. and at
just that age in which Young man be-
gins TO take real serious interest in
girls. and naturally. to get into all
sorts of scrapes and troubles there
from.
The Washington county farmers used
to come into town then on their wa
gous. bringing along not only big
loads of grain. wool. fax, poultry, and
other produce. bat their wives and
daughters as well. They would driTe
in one day. put up over night at the
old Farmers inn," down near the
Smithfield market. and the next day
would make their necessary purchase
and go home.
got TO know personally great
many of the farmer folks, and had oc-
casion-or took ito observe that
there were plenty of very fine young
women among them = buxom. full
bosomed, biglit-eYed. red-lpped girls
full of health. rivacity. and natural
honesty. Bat old man Dan Elders
daughter Jennie seemed 10 me the
flower of the flock. and l assure you
that rs far as l could. | made it an
object of interest for the Elder family
to do its trading ri our store.
Jennie and | got quite friendly. and
began to have 4 hopeful suspicion that
she was pretty near as glad TO see me
when she came to town as | was TO see
her. Once | got her and her father to
90 with me to theater, the first time
either of tlrem had seen PLAY. but he
got Il notion that there was something
wrong about stage plays and would
not let her GO again Still the old fell
low seemed to take a sort of liking to
me. aud after he had got TO know me
quite well. nearly two years from our
first meeting. he invited me to visit his
place out on Raccoon creek
About week afterward I hired
good saddle horse and rode out to pay
that visit. 1t was easy enough 10 find
Uncle Dams" place. for everybody
within a radius of ten miles about it
seemed to know him. and [ reached
his house just at dusk. / thought it
was good omen when the dogs were
81 much more friendly than country
dogs generally are in greeting n stran-
ger. aud was sure of il when Jennie
said aIca.
ii.d Na-,. wouldn't be 50 good
nataresi il i's- ditl not know that | was
expecting you. He must have heard
me talking aboat you
That evening the whole family. Jen-
ME- her father and mother. an elder
brother. and two sisters-went to
dance. about two miles distant. and,
of course. | went along. At least I
seemed to do so. In point of fact. |
went to Paradise | sat beside Jennie
in the big wagon. with my arm around
her while NE went through dark
patches of forest; danced with Jen-
ME, don't know how many times;
waited upon Jennie at supper, rode
home beside Jennie. with renewed
utilization of forest shadows; and even
snatehed a kiss from Jennie ere she
Hed to her room. Under such circum-
stances how could I be expected to
be more than vaguely conscious that
there was big, hulking. elod-hopper
named Jim Arney. who scowled and
glared at me as if he would like to eat
me? What the mischief did I care for
Jim Arney? But the fellow wouldn't
be ignored. The very next afternoon,
feeling that it was not quite the proper
thing for me to Ioiter around the house
all day. | borrowed brother Dawes
rifle aud went out to shoot a squirrel
or two if could find any. Suddenly
at turn in the road / was confronted
by Jim Arney on horseback. Ewing
me with an insulting affectation of
seorn he snarled:
You're pretty loeSing dandy from
town, amt you?" l replied that can
didly speaking, | really did think
presented rather agreeable contrast
to him.
He flushed angriiy, and speaking in
a voice thick with passion. retorted:
I'D break Your back if Jennie had
MT said l was to leave you alone" L
told him l would secure his pardon for
all the back-breaking he could do on
me, and invited him to wade in. -
but he rode off on his way, and | went
on squirrel hunting.
Leaving my course TO chance I
strolled higher and higher up a gently
s'oping hill until came out suddenly
at the top of precipice several hum
dred feet in height. which 1 subse-
guently learned was called the Devils
Backbone" The face of the cliff was
as sheer as wall, but rough with
great holes burrowed here and there in
the soft sandstone by the elements, and
with narrow lodges. on which trees
and shrubs grew. masking all the rocky
deelivity with foliage. The tops of
tall trees were down below me, and
far in the depths beyond their roots
could catch glimpses of the creek. like
a silver thread. Around where | stood
bushes grew thickly up 10 the very
verge of the precipice. with trees ocea-
sionally among them leaning over it.
An impudent. chattering gray squir-
rel sat upon his launches in tree ON
the brow of the cliff. barking at me.
and l shot him. He fell and lodged
on little ledge full twenty feet below
the top. where Stood made up my
mind to get the body of the little beast.
and the difficulty and even positive
tauger 70 be encountered in doing SO