The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-10-02
EDITORIAL WHIz!

- "s~AA~SAAAS6 SSO uA4Os AuA
ry Co. Mr.. "Hank" Smith, his wife,
brother and two children made life
happy for two and one-half days, in
cluding Sunday. Sunday afternoon
Father Conlin came down from Avoca,
where he had attended our address,
and visited us, and a school teacher
Miss Coady, from Fulda, spent a day
with us-and in fact travelling" re-
gained all it's charms by their pleas
ant company. Monday afternoon
a professional hunter with six
trained hunting dogs, came over and
invited us to hunt prairie chicken.
The wind howled so fearfully that we
did not start until about $50. For
the remainder of this article the hum
ter is not responsible.
We had not pulled "triggah" in
many years-in fact. in so many
years that the chickens had forgot
ten all about it. We did not see a
chick who recognized us-and they
certainly would if they remembered
the terrible slaughter of bears and
other bugs in our earlier life.
Hank drove the team, and being a
guest / was always given the first
shot. There never was a secondr
Having had no sport of this kind
since we weren't bigger'n postage
stamp we were all rested up and in
splendid trim. Mr.. Blank, 1--WE for
got his other name) of course had to
tell US first that we shouldn't ram
the shells down the muzzle, nor tear
them open to see if they were o. K.
And he gently reproved us for trying
to shove them in big end first.
Pretty quick one of those dogs
pointed. He stood stock, stuck
still, and his tail fairly quivered with
stiffness. Then four other dogs 1--WE
left one in the buggy to take care of
Hank dropped like shot in bottle
of chloroform. We then calmly load
ed our gun, sang q song, and went
forth. Carefully laying the gun on
that dogs tail We leveled it up, and
timed the fuse with a pocket barome-
ter. The dogs head was one-sixteenth
OF rod too high, and it was sunset
before we could get it down so as to-
sight between the ears without killing
the dog. Just as wepulled the trigger
the tail trembled a little with excite
ment, but the shot took effect on
four birds, pinning them all to null
len-stalk.
We passed on about seven miles,
leaving the mullen-stalks dressed
with feathers and all marked GREAT
WEST, until we had enough birds to.
last all winter, when we turned about
and gathered up the load. On taking
off the last few they filed the wagon,
so full that several slid off; but they
promptly hoped on to the load
again, declaring positively that they
would rather stay on the load with
an "alliance agitator" than be left
on the prairie without any money to
buy caramels with.
On the way home the neighbors all
kept at their usual work until we had
passed, and then made no change in
their occupation. And thus ended
our first and last hunt that day!
The following day we received let
ters and dispatches from the GREAT
WEST and found everything was
swimming along there like a COW in
a cyclone.
At 2:3O p. M, Tuesday 22d, Mr..
Smith hitched up his four story
chariot, and we took an elevator to
Lime Creek, two miles north on the
Omaha line. But the elevator didn't.
60 high enough because we saw the
train pulling out just as we didn't
get there. So Mr.. Smith hired a team
and sent us overland to Hadley,
where we had to take horse for
Scandia.
1t was trip of nineteen miles. We
had to send a dispatch to the station
agent at Hadley to Mr.. Bert Jacob
son to the effect that the train that
took us had left us, and we would
not be there until Z p. m. And at
seven p. m. our prairie barque careen-
ed into the city OF Hadley. There
was no hotel at the station, and our
man to carry us ten miles north had
not turned up with his warehouses;!
However, we begged shelter at a.
boarding house, went over and
cracked a few cast-iron similitudes
with the station agent-apd then
struck out for the corner store. Here
about dozen men were waiting till
they couldn't 60 anywhere else hut
home, and We began to- talk. As
usual, the arms began to drue