The National tribune., 1891-12-24

the woods without having bagged anything,
alter having been gone three days
WHY DON'T YOU co ACROSS THE PLAINS"
and take upa "sqnatter's claim in the Rocky
Mountains-say New Mexico2 There's plenty
or game there large game too-bears, wolves,
deer, elk. and panthers; and no one 10 Kill
them except few miserable Indians! sug-
/ gested the attorney 10 Dick
The latter, who WAS tilted back against the
huge stone chimney. in diapidated rush
botiomed chair, pulling vigorously at an old
comcob, half hidden in the dense cloud OF
smoke his big lungs had pumped out OF the
strong, home grown weed, straghtened up, and
laying his pipe on the hearth, looked intently
at bis questioRer, and drawlingly said:
NEal III be dad -burnedl An Rothin'
] but pesky lnjius ter kill emp"
The young man. noticing how his simple sug-
! gestiOn had affected the lethargic monntaineer,
/ then continued TO expatiate in sort Of de-
! suliory eloQuence upon the advantage OF such
"a hunters paradise" rs he termed IL. and
painted a w0rd-piCture so realistic that the
now, thoroughly aroused Dick, emerging from
his shell Of normal reticenoe, anxiously in
quired Ia has pecnliRr intonation:
Whar be them thar Rocky Mountings, Mis-
ter2 Kin f0lkses git thar on beasts2"
Then waiting moment TO recover from sur
prise at his own volubility, he continued:
IN be dad burned, Tom Pollock. ef thar
ezn't whRr j means ter go Their settlemints
hyar ez gittin' too clost folkses eZ drivin
all ther varmints euten ther kniry; Rn' we
uns eZ hHiB't no other layout fer ter Law, hez
got ter Git, / low, an thor suddiuter ther bet
ter fer sich. Kin yer tell weuns, Mister,
HOW TER GIT YANDERg"
Waiting until Dick had subsided and was
pulling nc his cob again, an evidence thai
he had exhausted his dscnrSive powers for
the time being the Obligng attorney then
gave him long explanation fully answering
ali his interrOgatOries. specific and inferred,
which was listened 10 atteRtiRely aud thought
fully absorbed
Soon after Dick had received the desired en-
ljghtenmeut all but he aud Clariss retired the
lawyer q pallet which had been improvised
by Mrs Pollock, principally out of bear-skins.
behind some common, homespun drapery at
one side, where also, in two other places the
same appliance divided the single room of the
cabin into compartments approaching some
thing of privacy at least
Clariss then, who had been all the evening
hidden in The shadow Of one Of the obscure
corners quietly knitting without taking any
part IN the conversation, hut an earnest and in
terested listener, came and sat before the huge
fireplace with Dick, as was her won't on the oc-
casiOn OF his visits when the old folks had gone
10 bed
For some time Dick razed moditativeIy into
Ahb EiNmAlE NiiiiNlos NiN EliA Gittot 10 QUO
hand clasped in his. and her great. lustr0us
blue eyes, full OF perfect faith in the giant be-
side her, resting their penetrating look on his
now thoughtful face. For more than a quarter
OF an hour they thus silently sat- he deeply
absorbed In the air-castes his mind was con-
structing from the material infused by the at
torhey aud in him.
Suddenly Dick turned toward Clariss aud
taking her other diminntive hand in his i'm
mense paws, be drew her gently forward and
said:
T" Little gyrl, viii yer 20 ter them thar Rocky
Mountines long o me. ef I'd wait tell SPRING.
Thr's NO use ter talk bout ch'ice fer me- now
J mus git Outen hysr fore long. and atwixt
we-Rns. that thar deseripiin' o. his'n," point
ing toward where the lawyer was snoring,
hez Tux my idee ter mite; but seems likeez
I'd BE NO 'coUET VOW, NowHAR,
'thouGht yer wHz with me. ] wants yer ter
Gin me yer foelins on ther matter ies' eE yer
bIeEe ge'd 0rter, yet cts tol'ble suddint ter
AK yer, low
lie stroked her golden curls as If she was
some pet animal. and then held her al arms
length, watching her fAoe as the light of the
dying fire family illuminated ii, while lie
eagerly waited for her answer.
" ld yer low twas what yerd oughter do
ter git outen hyar an 20 yahder. ter them thar
Rocky MOuuiings, Dick, I'd 70 HnywhaF yer
wuz called ter 60, Yer know. Ef yer went
thought a-takin' me I'd be powerful ouhappy
an ez things ez atwixt we-uns, an fher hull
setilomint knows et, ct war bes' yer TUX me
long. No matter Whar we-uns went. ef yer
hey got ter git ei car & be no wuss nor hvar in
these hyar mountings Pap he lowed ter man
'tother day yed be a-takin' on me of some
whar soon. he kuOw'd yer war bOun' Ger lite
out, he said, WhHr game war plenty. Nam she
kind O TUX on et fHst. an tOe him she'd bin
n-thinkiu an a-pOTIn' over that ever sence we
uns he'd TUX ter one 'nuther. I'd hate mos
powerful ter leave EN-, Dick, fer they hey sof a
store 10y ne, an they's a-gittin' old. yer know:
but tbeT Scrptur say ihet a womin kin leave
her i0ikses an cling ter her man. ] mus fol-
ler yer, Dick. an they knows Ct Yes III 20
thar wgth yer ez soon ez Spring comes an We
uns ez-5ined, yer know"
Neither Of these children OF the mountains
were ever demonstratiVe They knew the
fTity OF their affection for each other uncK-
citaOle as II may appear 10 those whose lives
have been surrounded by a widely different
civilization. But they were just ss happy in
the love; ready 70 81 Ter if need be contented
with its measure. for ID WAS as pure as the crvs-
tai waters THAI flowed from the springs At the
bases Of their native hills. and as enduring as
the rocks that formed them
Dick and ClHFiss. after this mutual under
standing Of subject which was 90 change the
current Of their existence retired 10 their
sleeping places. ho 10 dream OF fearful sirug-
giles with impossible "varmints," aud Ehe Of
her promise that night 10 him.
IL
May, with It's wealth Of flowers and DAYS
resonant with The songs Of birds, came 90
the beautiful region where Tom POllock's
rude cabin was the only deformity in the
landscape. Many pitied little Clariss when
ON golden afternoon in the middle Of that
month she aud Dick were LINED by the
Circuit Rider" In the large room where on a
memorable evening Of the previous October she
had pledged her young life 20 her hunter
lovers Keeping. The fair haired gitl had been
tho pet aBd pride Of the "settlemint.7 and the
neighbors iocked 20 the simple rustic wedding.
inourned her leaving, and pitied her, because
she seemed 10 be going 10 another world
They had no more idea of the geography Of
the continent, outside of q few miles on both
Hanks Of the range, than they had Of
THE INTERIOR or AFRICA.
Them thar Rocky M0uutiugs might AS well
been part Of the moons topography 20 distant
were they in the minds Of the ignorant resi-
dents on the border Of Kentucky aud Tennes-
see in those days aud they knew as much
about railroad ne they did Of the tariff
=" III she wHr fool 'nuiI ter marry an go wsy