Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-06-16
JACK AND HAIDEE.

JACK AND HAlDEE.
"Paul, oh, Paul, come here; dol" called
out Mrs. Greylock from the cabin door,
as she held in her hand letter we had
just brought in from the store where the
postoffice was.
"All right, old woman, I'm a-comin
right along came in the deep tones of
her husbands voice, as the old man
strobe in from the barn; "what's the
row?"
ats letter from Haidee, an she's got
q boy, an Jack wants it called after
you," said Mrs. Greylock, all in breath.
"Wa-al, call that handsome in Jack
Furniss, blest eff don't. An Haidee's
got baby--why, sho! Old woman, you
and l is grandfathers. Hoop!" And the
old man fairly jumped off the ground in
his excitement.
After the letter had been read and re-
read by the delighted couple and COM
mented on during supper, Paul told us
the story of his daughters marriage as
we sat around the fire in the evening.
"To think of Haidee's havin baby"
began the old man; "why, it don't seem
but yesterday when she was baby her
own self. You see, my old woman there
had given me six boys, one arter another,
an nice fellers they was, too, if | do say
it. They kept the cabin lively, l tell
you, with their tricks an games an SIGH,
but sometimes I used to think it ud be
kind Of pleasant to have a girl round. l
didn't say nothin of the kind, but the
old woman knowed what I were thiinrkln irslln n
about, an guess that she SIZE INa-e5ffs as glad
as be when Haidee were born.
"The way she got her name were kind
of curious, too, for, as far as I know,
none of the Greylocks nor the old WON
ans folkses ever were called no such
name afore. Bout month afore she
was born, we were livin here in Texas
an the country were pretty wild, an 9
stranger came along an asked to stop al
night Wa'al, in course we took hin
in, an the old woman she gave him {
good supper. In the mornin he wen
away, but he dropped outer his saddle
bags some leaves of q book. dunno
what the book were, only it were wri
in poetry an it told how some Grease
tMexican) called Don Juan were wrecked
on an island, an how he come acros
some girl named Haidee, an monstrou
likely girl she must have bin from tn
story. 'Cordin as the book were writ
she were the prettiest girl you ever see
an my old woman's mind just got sot ol
that girl, SO when Haidee were borl
nothin would suit her but namin tn
child for the girl in the book.
eve didn't have but two or thre
leaves, an we didn't know nothin 'bou
the young woman afterwards, only jes
how she looked. didn't have no 'jec
ton to the name, an so our baby wer
called Haidee, an were baptized by
Methody circuit rider named Rawson
Idon't remember no great much bon
him 'cept he were terrible man to cal
an he rode the poorest critter ever sec
Wa'al, Haidee growed up healthy a
strong, an she were just the life of til
house. She were as pretty-wa'al, sh
were as pretty as she could be; no gil
could be any prettier, an her mothe
just thought the world of her.
"Time went on, an Haidee growed Il
TO be seventeen, an the young fellers bt
gan to come round the cabin good dea
I never 'spicioned what they come fc
more'n mule 'spicions what kind {
work he's goin to do when you're breaki
him, an l used to think they come t
hear me tell stories The old woma
was sharper than me, but she never Il
on; an thar sot an told them boy
stories, an didn't know no more wha
were goin on than coyote do bout pol
tics. Thar were one Teller in particle
Jack Furniss by name, who used
come bout three times q week. q
were fine, manly sort of chap, o GOO
frontiersman, a good fighter, tho !
weren't very old, an liked him. Fac
liked him so much that always aske
him to come again when he'd get up
30. Jack were always maxim me pre-
ents; he gin me that revolver over tina
an he was everlastinly bringin wild tn
keys or venison or bar meat to the ol
woman.
II used to wonder sometimes what q
earth he done it for, but then | didr
have as much sense as a moccasin snail
in them days. One day Jack an me wei
standin out by the corral an he SCENE
nervous like, an asked him what wei
the matter, when he up an told me l
wanted to marry Haidee. Boys, J
ruther darn sight he'd knock me dow
with maui; ! never had no such tuI
in my life. He went on with Ion
string bout how he loved her an no
he'd work for her an dunno what els
hut 1 didn't hear hizn--I were thinkin ,