Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1892-02-05
THE STAGE-COACH BABY

the man on the cracker box. this is
the hour for every sneaking son of a
Winnebago to say his leetle now l
lay me- in the reservation. Git and
he pointed To the door of the rendez-
vous with a gesture that admitted of
no delay.
Them copper-colored coyotes
would set thar like alabaster images
all night and the hull of ter-morrer
If there warn't somebody TO boot them
of. An they lissen an don't onder-
stand word, but look pizen KNOWN
you'd think they wuz drinkin' it all
in"
The Indians filed out and without a
sound disappeared into the night. and
the usual complement OF visitors gath
cred at the stove with the man on the
cracker box as centerpiece. There was
man who was selling patent clothes
reels. and another who was selling
Bibles old Capt Lemining and the
postmaster and n man from the Mis-
souri, Bottoms. whose team was hitched
outside. He told them that he en-
pected his 'old woman and little
gal" by the stage which was usually
late.
"Speakin' of the stage" said the
man on the cracker box. I'm regu-
larly glad amt in it Onct over them
driveways twixt here and Omaha was
enough for me. No, thankee pard,
ii cant 60 by steam. then | stays
where be. I've ne notion for travel
lin with wimmep and sick babies in
stage coach
Tell us bout it. can't YEP" sug-
gested the clothes-reel man, who was
dying OF what he called 'endwayn at
being stranded in such a forlorn place.
faint so much TO tell =" said the
cracker box man, cutting off a good
sized chew from the pig" OF tobacco
offered to him. IAN guess can wind
1t up afore the stage gets here, but
the dom and the sufferin' of it is
what hurts my feelins to think when
/ warnted 30 whoop and holler, that
kept it all in just ON account OF that
good for-nothin'-say. I'm gettin'
ahead OF my story.
Boys dye member when the
bridge over Pigeon river was built
political shenanigan 1t took, an how
picters OF the fine structure. as they
called it was in them New York pa
pers an how sot up all the felbcrs on
the prairie felt cause they didn't have
to take off their shoes an stockings
an ford the crick. An how the work
was we'll under way when the 81, 600
necessary TO finish it of was sent OF
by speshal messenger? Say, ] was on
the stage when the Teller with that
money started to come through.
There was four or five OF us OF the
inside of the coach that day-and one
woman with a sick baby-she was
tryin to get it home to her folks nfore
1t died. she said. She was young an
pretty but her eyes We're red with
cryin' an takin' care Of the young un
day an night. She didn't have much
ito say 10 any Of us, but when she
looked at us with them big sorr0wful
eyes our hearts just went down into
our boots and we would have laid
down an let her walk over US.
The baby was wrapped up in
shawls an wells and lag on a pillow
an was fed with one of them nussia L.
bottles an it whined an,cried a leeta,
in faint sick way, and the mothe r
kissed and cooed TO it an sung leet'e
hymns that made LIS all get colds in
our heads, an she feared il was gettin
worse and would die before she got
home! She was goin 10 the fur enc
of the stage route. she said, with her
eyes full Of tears.
The tother passenger that inter.
,ested US rid on the box with tie driver.
i don know how il was thai we saw
eyed right off that be was the Teller
that had che money for that bridge! /
guess it wur on the same principle that
birds OF taDe air know when to get to-
.gether an go south-a kidd Of II stinct.
Fact was, we didn't cotton rightly to
that bridge scheme. We thought the
nexteounty were putting on airs with
"a wrought lion bridge oG1 on the prai-
RE for the COWS TO hoof over But
twern't any OF our funeral and we
didn't IL axe it one
But that fe,ler with cloak with a
cape to IL sot up on deck a seein' the
landscape DER, as the old hymn ses,
an n lookin' kinder rich an satisfied.
les told ,on him self, an We kinder
wondered whar he kept the spGndulies,
II he had can in his boots, or in belt.
or his hat hnin'. An we got SO talk
in it over inside an the leetle womar
spoke up kind o. quick an. SEES she.
Don't please! my baby is worse. an
sure enun it were. an had n kinder
CONFUSION that made us feel as il we
we're murderers fur disturbin' of it,
AN then somethin' happened.
Tie horses fust took to gallopin'. an
there were pistol shot an the stage
stopped so quick we was all in heap
The little woman grabbed her baby
an its piller an laid 'em both on the
seat an hung over them. Jest then
the door OF the stage flew open an
head was stuck in. 1t were thet of a
man with q mask on an he had pis-
toll pinted ahead OF him.