St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1891-08-22
old STOVEPIPGS DAUGHTER.


heaven. Name it if you can"
"What is it, Tom? A bear, or noun
tain shecp?"
"Wide of the mark, as usual. 1t looks
more like black ant; but venture the
opinion that it will soon resolve into
pony and man; and | will still predict
that it will turn out to be our old friend
'Stovepipe,' on his way to our camp,
prospecting for trilobites and bugs
Toms keen eyes were as goo" as spy
glass | looked up to him with the adj
miration had always felt since in our
boyhood days he had thrashed the bully
of our village, who attacked me merely
because Nature had endowed him with
more muscle than she had allotted me.
Tom sent him home blubbering, bidding
him remember that there was no boy so
strong but that there was another stron-
ger. Yes, we were schoolmates and
were graduated in the same class at col
lege; and when, alter having become a
rising young attorney, Tom suddenly
threw up his profession and started for
the Rocky mountains, !, of course, did
the same.
never knew just how Tom came to
take this sudden notion to go West, but
rumor had it that he had been Tilted by
some silly girl; silly, l say, for what
girl of sense could ever hope to find the
peer of Tom Hamilton? If sound mind
and sound body ever dwelt together in
harmony, they certainly did in his per
son.
Thus we two, destined by over-san-
guine parents for future presidents, be-
came simple prospectors, and at the
time my sketch begins, after roughing it
for two years over the widest and most
remote portions of the great mountain
ocean, had emerged from our tenderfoot
stage and were engaged in developing a
group of claims, which on account of
their altitude, we had yclept "Sky
High At this moment we were in
front of our cosy cabin, cooking and eat
ing our morning meal almost simulta
neously; for venison is not venison unless
served straight from the naked Goals.
Old Stovepipe, our prospective visitor,
was neither very old nor yet stoyepipe.
He was famous scientist, whose devo
ton to natures wonders often led him
through the most rugged and unexplored
regions of our continent, and whose one
cccentricity of sheltering his brains with
the regulation hat Of society, had won
for him the odd sobri luet of "Stove-
pipe.' Among the ordinary prospectors
he was held in the same esteem as the
rest of the "bug hunters" being looked
upon as man of little account; but
with the more intelligent-of whom
there were many-he passed for what he
was, brave, highly educated and pol
ished gentleman.
After breakfast took my way to our
claims, which lay to the west of our
camp, and Tom shouldered Washoe
pick and set forth to examine some prom
Using groupings several miles to the cast
While skirting along the further slope of
the mountain upon whose crest the soil
tary wanderer had been seen, his atten-
ton was attracted to some fragments of
paper floating towards him in the light
breeze. After little skirmishing he
secured one of them and read these start
ling words:
me. SELBY HOLLAND"
"Good God Poor fellow" exclaimed
Tom.
Without moments hesitation he be-
gan climbing the steep mountain side,
keeping as near as possible to the wind
ward. His strong limbs soon brought
him in sight of a dead pony, and little
further on lay poor Holland, badly hurt
and speeches., but with look of I'M
utterable gratitude beaming from his
eyes.
Tom took but moment for reflection
Stripping himself half naked for the
purpose, he bandaged the broken limb
so as to prevent it from swaying, and
gently gathering the sufferer in his arms,
began the perilous descent to camp.
After hours of herculean effort he de
posted his helpless burden on bed of
soft boughs in our cabin. The danger
signal-three rapid shots-rang echoing
out among the wild crags, and l came
rushing into camp.
Now, rs this little story is about Tom,
and not about myself, have not pre-
viously mentioned that I had been
launched upon the world as medicine
man, and although I had an inherent
antipathy 10 drugs, | prided myself on
MY surgical skill. I soon found that the
damage to our scientific friend consisted
of broken leg, fractured below the
knee, and some ugly Commissions about
the neck and jaw, the latterly luckily
without fracture, but the injury was SO
severe as to cause the rapid swelling
that rendered him for time unable to
articulatc.
IN, l,I
and the Inflammation reduced, and with
the volunteer aid of our few but whole
soulcd neighbors comfortable TO I'm was
added to our restricted quarters for the
accommodation of the invalid. It did
our hearts good to hear the offers of as
sistance and see the tokens of sympathy
and good will that poured in from the
scattered camps. Venison, elk meat,
grouse and trout were almost daily re-
celved, while newspapers (often of re-
mote date, and even an incongruous col
lection of books were among the dona-
tons, including Gulliver's Travels. the
New Testament and Hayden's Reports.
Thanks to the healthful surroundings
and the absence Of drugs, our patient
progressed as rapidly as possible to con-
valcscence, and we felt more than com
pcnsated for our care, in listening to his
wonderfully intelligent and instructive
conversation.
One Sunday, a few weeks later, while
sitting iii front of our cabin, Holland
having so far recovered as to be able to
reclinc i'll rustic armchair constructed
by the combined talent and executive
ability of the firm, we were greatly
astonishcd by the sudden appearance Of
Lanky Jim, our next neighbor, rushing
toward us with mind and body greatly
agitated by some unusual excitement.
Without saying a word, putting and