The Portland daily press., 1892-10-26

ton. Four solid sections of tarrapln fol-
| lowed the sound of the bell. Afore night
they'd formed in a column twenty rods
| wide and several miles long.
''The tarrapin moved at a pretty fair
gait, grain and pickin up their feed as
they Travelled, Which was glad to see.
| I'll not bother you with an account OF
the trip day by day and week by week.
1t is enough to say that | got along fine
| till after | struck the deserts and dry
and gravelly plains of Colorado. Then
my troubles began. The sharp stones
made my tarrapin footsore. Soon they
got so lame they could hardly travel.
Finally was obliged to stop at big
foundry, have shoes cast for them and
pit every mothers son of 'em shod.
had set of shoes cast for the big turtle,
but he wouldn't stand shoein. He raired
and pitched, snorted, bellered and kicked
the blacksmiths sprawling, SO we had to
let up on him.
"Next we got into great sandy plains
whar water was scarce and the sun aw-
full hot. There it was slow and lazy
travelin. Findin that my big lead turtle
was strong as an OK, l used to get on his
back and ride most of the time.
se'Bout this time / noticed that my
little niger boy was allus a-slippin out
and packin his blanket. What he was
up to l couldn't think. So one day got
off my bell turtle, tied the lead rope
bout his neck and told him to go ahead.
/ stopped and stood by the side Of the
road while the column moved past. The
ground was SO paved with tarrapin that
you couldn't have stuck your finger
down between 'em.
SAT last the rear of the column ap-
preached, and what did see? That little
niger had spread his blanket out on the
backs of the tarrapin, and ct he wasn't
a-layin thar sound asleep I'm the biggest
liar in the world. l took out my pistol
to shoot him, but refectin that he be-
longed to the hoodoo doctor, and also
that 1 might kill a tarrapin, let him
alone.
s.Soon the sand got worse. For four
days we found no water. ALI the tar
rapin was pantin like lizards. We was
nearin the Platte river, but I was afeard
of great loss before reachin it. How
ever, we toiled on and at last seed a
stragglin line of cottonwood trees, and
standin up on the back of my turtle
waved my hat and cried, 'Hurrah, the
Plattev
'sAt this moment the whole of the col
umn of tarrapin smelt the water and
sta1npeded. The king sat off on a gall
lop for the river and all the rest follered,
kickin up great cloud of dust. stood
up and pulled on the halter of my big
turtle, but couldn't turn him an inch.
At last, seein he was goin straight into
the river, leaped from his back. l was
list in time, for at the next jump he
went over the bank into ten feet of wa
ter. The whole column of tarrapin fol-
.ered, tumblin off the bank into the
river in solid sheet with roar like
big milldam.
81 could only stand back, look on and
tear my hair, for seed that as fast as the
tarrapin struck the water they went to
the bottom. OWN to their heavy iron
shoes they couldn't swim lick.
81 danced about, swung my hat and
shouted, tryin to head off and save few
acres Of the tarrapin, but to git in front
of 'em would have been as bad as gittin
before herd of buffalo, so was obliged
to see EN- all leap over the bank.
Il was as good as ruined, but did
have one laugh surprised outn me. That
was when the rear Of the column came
up and | see the little mig stretched on
L.. l. 10 r. 4I,,
waves of the sea. Over he went into
the river and down to the bottom under
shower of tarrapin.
Zone lone tarrapin stopped on the
bank instead of jumpin into the water.
Says | to myself, III jist ketch you for
luck stopped to pick him up when
out came pair of wings and he sailed
away across the river. If hadn't seen
this Internal fyin tarrapin before I'd
have tainted and tumbled into the river.
II watched the devilish thing and
seed it land near the opposite bank with
a big splash. At the same spot and in
an instant up to the surface comes the
king of tarrapins, with the little darby
on his back. The big turtle blowed
cloud of spray into the air like a spoutin
whale, and when it cleared away seed
the ole hoodoo doctor, an ole woman
and my little mig leave the edge of the
water and walk off into little grove of
willer trees.
81 seed then how I'd been hoodooed
and ruined. for I'd put almost my last
cent into the venture. AS | stood la
mentin on the bank man on hossback
come up and asked what was the matter.
He was man from the foundry and
one of the blacksmiths that had helped
shoe my tarrapins.
II told the man that I'd lost my
whole four sections of tarrapin; that
bein wild with thirst they had stamped
ed, jumped into the river and gone to
the bottom, where they would stay on
account of the iron on their feet.
didn't say word about any hoodoo.
'sThe man asked what I'd take for my
whole drove of tarrapin as they lay at
the bottom of the river. asked what
he could do with 'ern. He said: Iron
is with big price out here. might