The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1891-02-19
WASHINGTON O. THURSDAY FEBRUARY 49, 1881

| w AZ Us hlHtiuGLly TtCall ioohluE away
| down IN one mans throat. i counted his teeth
as ] stood there aud tried TO keep from think
| ing and breaking down. Some Indians sat on
| hill little way of watching US. And Way
! mire, now one Of the big lawyers Of san Fran
cisco. sat on his horse with his soldiers not far
beyond, watching the Indians; for Waymire
| was then distinguished young officer in the
/ Army.
! There was a little eommotion close by, and
the scafOd again ereaked rs tall. lank, sun
! burned and slender man. all rags and hat and
| shoes, with an Oxwhip under his arm, pushed
the dog aside, and, stepping 10 the very edge
! OF the scaH0ld, said, hastily: "'Scuse me, gen
tlemen, my steers is stTayed, aud / thought
that some Of you a-eomin' in 20 the hangin'
might seen 'em-a baIl-faee an a brindlei :
emigrant steers, purity poor steers, but all me
| an my folks have got, and I've got to find 'em.
| DIDN'T see EN-, nobody? Two steers, two emi-
grant steers-a ball-fac and brindle."
No one spoke. The man whose teeth i had
been counting shut up shop for n second. and
managed to get my eyes away from him and
| off TO the dusty old emigrant who was about
backing down from the seaffold to the ground.
Now the way that he spoke told me that he
was sort Of preacher or exhorter at least. l
Whispered this 10 Hound
" say, chip in here All right, Shed, eh ?"
All right. Tom; let 'em chip"
The lank man let his hat fall down by the
dog and his knees fell on the hat with a thump.
| Then Hound wanted 10 kueel. too for he did
not like his job, / can tell you that, but his
right hand was holding on TO the gnarly and
twisted moose. and ho knew better than let go
Of It. So he looked at Shed aud he said:
You don't mind, Shed?"
don't mind, Tom"
And 50 he put on the moose around the mans
neck and kindly looked and waited a second to
see If il was all right.
g Hurt We. Shed ?"
No, don't hurt: don't hurt now. Tom"
And then rcm went down on his knees, and
the boys bowed their heads and cried. You
could hear them cry. Why, the very old dog
seemed to feel the atmosphere Of pity and the
pathOs Of the scene.
But let us end this. Tho old emigrant arose /;
his hat lay before him and Hound stopped to
20 pick it up.
Give us that hat" said husky voice below.
Hound handed down the hat, dropping on his
knees, and swOre as he did so.
Bout done, Tom" whispered Shed.
Bout done, Shed, list a minute now" an
swered Tom, at hc raised mp with tho hat,
heavy from the collection. Shed saw this and
said:
"Tom."
"well. Shed?"
LEND me dollar TILL tiIl"-
seo?D
Thank yer, Tom. An now, TOml"
"WeIl, Shed?"
"Ye'll see me put away. eh2"
"Why, there, see? That's the grave all
ready. Shed"
Thank yer Tom. thank YER an Pm all
ready"
Then such a crash and jerk! The dog sprang
mp and around and then down to the ground.
and began 20 howl and howl; and the men fell
hack, fell back and down. as il shot by grape
shot and canister.
Around and around swung the huge and
heaying body and then il suddenly stopped:
stopped right still and with the face lifted and
the head a little sidewise, il looked straight at
Tom Hound and ] looked black at US, you may
say. but not unkindly, for only two or three
seconds, yet 1t seemed years. for no one had
thought OF the black cap.
Then quick aud suddenly It began TO twist
and whirl and wind the other way. and we
two tumbled back and down to the ground as
best we could, for fear that we might faint and
fall.
] left Hound TO finish his work alone, and
set out on long and eireuitOus walk over the
hills to try and shake of the nightmare Of this
miserable day on nv way home. sat down
on bOwder for half an hour above the town,
and on rising up and looking back, as one
always will after day like this, only then
j saw the huge and shadowy old dog, with his
hastily, but more than once the old dog bumped
his huge bowed head against my heels.
The next morning found him lying close by
my door; and he put out his nose little licked
his tongue ont just the least hit as il he wanted
to say that his brave old heart was broken, but
be didn't whine At all.
OF course ! couldn't stand the dog at all, and
80 j went 10 Hound. After some muttering
aud suIlen protests against my request that he
should take the dog 10 the woman, he finally
put tow string around his huge neck and we
together led him 10 her cabin.
She came tearing out like a wild beast;
kettle Of hot water in one hand and knife in
the other. and Oaths enough in her mouth to
sink a ship.
You've hung an innocent man 2" she
shrieked, as she hurled the boiling water at
Hound.
"Then who killed Berry," shouted back
over my shoulder from a safe distance.
q killed him, and III kill you. you devil!"
She was frenzied with rage. but we were we'll
ont Of her way. Besides that crowd was CON-
ing and she had sense enough to get back into
her hut.
"IIave TO hang another one, Tom said
finally, after we had walked to his butcher shop
in silence
lie tied the dog back by his bunk and patted
his bowed old head for long time. Then he
came out and up to me and said sharply, " Not
"well, what will we do?"
"What will we do2 Keep our damn mouths
shut and do nothing; that's what we'll do
Didn't you know 'afore that Shed was a-dyin'
for her? Well. did an that's why kinder
took to Shed an' tried 20 make his hangin' easy
Like. Now he was willin' to die for her an he
did die for her an that settles it.D
Hound had thrown these words off from him
as from his shoulder with his big sIedge- ham,
mer right hand, and simply said, half to him
aud half TO myself, rs j went back to my cabin
in a sort Of echo, That settles it"
And the next morning. before the break of
day, big woman on a big bell mule with a
bunch of grass stuffed in the mules bell rode
quietly out Of camp on her way 10 The Dalles.
The pack train stole quietly on after, followed
by a tramp picked up for the occasion. And
all so still.
Then Tom and went to the carpenter and
had a pretty cross and headboard made for
the new grave on the hill, and Tom took the
dog along 10 see Us put them up.
What became of the woman? Well. now. I
don't like 10 say anytime hard Of any woman
or record any womans decline or fall. But the
last heard Of her she was keeping boarding
house for Congressman in Washington. IL is
hard 10 stop when once on the downward
road.
Piefars Of Gen. StAnnurd.
Comrade s. 81. Southard, Brandon, VT. has
gotten out an excellent photograph of Gen.
Siannard, who immOTtalzed himself at Gettys-