Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-02-25

syisitor to do chores, but if you will take
4ector and run across the beechwoods
to the bush pasture and bring the cows
home, / can get the milking done by
the time your uncle and the boys come
ITO supper"
Hector was a medium-sized, black
collie dog, and I stout, well-grown
bog of fifteen years.
Aunt Mary was the wife of Uncle
Eben Geddes, a thrifty farmer, then
Living in Paulding county, on the eX-
IRENE western edge of Ohio, and had
come from my own distant home to
pay these hitherto almost unknown
relatives and their children, my cousins,
. long midsummer visit.
HaYing been myself born, and so far
mostly brought up. in the backwoods,
the then wild, or partially wild, state
OF this part of the country was entirely
congcnial to my tastes and habits, as,
even at that early age, was quite a
hunter and angler. and had brought
with me the first gun l ever owned, an
old tiintlocl, smoothbore Indian
piece" really an accurate weapon for
throwing shot, and, as l fondly fancied,
almost equally good for ball.
Anyhow, thouhg it cost, to begin
with, only three dollars and half, my
faith in its powers (when it didn't hap
pen to miss fire. was mistaken, and
with it l had killed great quantities
of small game and not little of larger
kind.
So now. when on this evening, the
second of my stay, Aunt Mary asked
me to go for the COWS, nothing could
have suited me better, and, whistling
nm Hactnr 7 took down INV o,,n Y,Oxv-
~der-horn and shot-pouch and started
off in high glee.
Uncle Eben and his two boys were
busy in distant wheat field, and my
AUNT jolkingly called out, as I left the
house:
eff you don't get lost, Willie, or eat
ZEN UP by something, so round by the
sold clearing, on your way back, and
the boys will likely help you to carry
your game home"
''All right, auntie. I'll bring you
enough squirrels and cartridges tc
make a Sunday pie, anyway" l re-
piled.
And away went.
The pith of Aunt Mary's joke lay in
the fact that, although the woods
@abounded in game of various kinds,
they were supposed to contain nothing
more dangerous than deer, foxes and
. raccoonS, not a single one of the for
merly u Ubiquitous bears and wolves hav-
ing been seen for n long time.
The tract of primeval forest, known
as the beech woods, was one mile
across, and just beyond its further
edge lay the bush pasture, wide ex
panse of partly burnt-over land, on
which rich crop of grass had sprung
Nup. and which, being 4 government re-
serve, was open to the use of all the
settlers. )
In going through the woods, shot g
rabbit, two black squirrels and part
ridge, and having thus made sure Of
an ample filing for my good aunt's pie
hurried along to the pasture, sent Hec
tor to pick out from the herd and gath
~er In our own cows-a task which the
trained collie performed as intelligent
ly and twice as quickly as could have
~done-and started them, in single file
ION the woodland path. homeward
Then telling the dog to ''hie on,
sand knowing that he would drive the
seattle safely to the house, 1 made {
half-turn for the purpose of going
lengthwise down the deep woods, anC
$50 around by the old clearing.
AS two hours of daylight were still
left, had plenty of time to reach tn,
wheat-field long before shutdown, ant
hence strolled 1eisurely on my way
keeping sharp lookout for possibl,
Sgame.
BY and by small flock of wild pig
icons fluttered up from among the un
-derbrush and alighted here and Their
in the neighboring tree-tops-
1t was quite difficult to see the bird
amid the heavy foliage, but 1 wen