Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-02-05
GINGER.

Little Code slr0lied eisurey along the
smooth strip of road which runs under the
Cut-bank down to the crossing of the Cot
tonOis, thinking to herself how strange it
was that all her friends should cOnspire to
keep her shut up in that gloomy ranch
house back under the hill, when such
strange and delightful places were to be
found jus! on the outside of it.
The sun was high in the cloudless north
ern sky, but the soft breeze, which came
laden with the spicy breath of pines,
lightly lifted the golden curls under the
brim of the sun-hat and tempered the
MONDAY heat.
The short season of summer bloom was
at its height and lilies and flx-Aowers
were being crowded by golden-rod and the
tall spikes of tn yucca, while the sage
brush exhaed, u Ter the heat OF the sun,
that pungent door that reminds you of old
New England gardens, shut it by picket
palings and filled with beds of sage, thyme,
rue, lavender, and all the aromatic herbs
our grandmothers knew and valued-yet
Is, withal, wild, sweet perfume, quite
distinctly Its own.
A little way out on the level which
topped The cut bank at the right lay the
foothills of the Antelope Mountains, ris-
ing and rounding against the dark blue
of the sky, while on the other side they
fell as gradually into the plain below.
Between ran the road along one of those
lodges which. forming the top of one and
base of another group of hills, wound its
way down into the canyon below, and
was gladly accepted as a highway ready
to hand by the dwellers in these noun.
famous regions, and upon this wild trail
the little maid, having slipped away from
her mamma, who was busy in her own
room writing letters, and the hOuse keeper,
who was deeply absorbed in the manufac.
turc Of burberry jelly in the kitchen, had
set out upon her travels
Papa Jack! Papa Jack!" she sung at
the top of her little voice, as she wandered
on Gold comin' to wide on big Toby
along with you, Papa jack
The prairie dogs came out and sat on
the roof of their houses and chatted back
at her; a big "rattler" raised himself into
few lazy coils, aud then sunk back under
the protecting shadow of grease wood
lynx cat, stretched in the creviee of the
ledge above, opened his half-shut eyes and
blinked sleepily at her, and the soft wind
soughing through the tops of the bic
pines that stood everywhere among the
hills, cought up the refrain - Papa
Jack!'
And so the words came just in time to
the ears of Jims who was hazing the lone
horned steer back to the bunch which was
being held for the work of the roundup
halt mile away on the other side of the
CottonCis.
Jim was cowboy of the Crescent outfit
and Goldy's papa's right-hand man, and
though he was what Jack Fordham some.
times called "suIky brute" no better cow
man ever colled rope or bestroie a bron.
co. The name by which his few and faI
between letters came addressed to tn,
Oreana Post Office was CHARLES Arthur
Stakes, but cowboy must needs be re
chrlstened into his rough calling and since
Charlie, good name, and one we'll likeC
among the boys, was ruled out of court by
the fact tnat it belonged to him by right
he was called Jim, and the name suited
the man, and the man answered to thu
name and no one demurcd thereat.
Jim and his horse Ginger were worth
more on the roundup" than any othel
two boys or three ponies on the Cottonci,
or the BlJou, and jim knew it as well a
every body else on the river He had NOR,
than once been offered big money" Il
take charge OF some rival outfit, out Ford
nam bad PICKED hlm up years before ava,
south ON the Canadian when he was dead
broke, buc6lng against his luck at faro il
julie Towards ''place" In the Old Abod,
Walls, and they had stayed together eve
since that old time.
Ginger was the pride of Jim's heart, tai
very apple OF his eye. No common bronco
but clean-built little mustang, with
record as cow-pony brought from Ga
wild Texas country, where jim found him
What ne wouldn't do DIT Jim's comman,
you might be certain that no horse coult
do. Rear till You'd swear he was boun,
to fall back ward and crush his rider. wal
at a nod from Jim into saloon an,
knowingly wink an eye at the man behint
the bar, and as for cows-holding, 5riy
ing, hazing and cutting out-he knew i
as we'll as his rider and a great dea
better if his rider happened to be a gree
hand.
And now, as | said, horse and ride