Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1892-06-02

a greaser il do anything for money
except work-and suppose she gave
him some money. or ne stole it; for
when came home from the upper
range one night l heard yelling in
the house. He was drunk, and she,
like a woman. was making it worse
by hanging around him. begging and
him to come and lie down.
LAS l run in he raised chair to
strike her. She never moved to get
out OF his way; just sort of punched
up and shivered.
Il had my gun on me- and l shot
him."
He turned to me fercely as if l
had made suggestion or an accus-
alton.
Il didn't aim for his arm to keep
him from hittin' her with the chair; l
aimed to kill him. and l did. l killed
him. and l married her. F"
His chin sank after this outburst
into the great swell OF his voluminous
beard, and his big voice, that seemed
to be made of hailing ships at sea or
roaring signals in q storm. sank to
husky murmur.
poor soul! poor soul! She had no.
whore else to go and no one else to
look to. and she married me when
l begged her to- but she never knew
another happy day. She pined for
him. planted him in slightly spot
under big live-oak, and she used to
go there and put flower things on him
and cry. She used to go when she
thought l was away; but l knew OF
it and many's the time I've wished it
was me down there to be sorrowed
over.
Il expect about this time wasn't
nice man to be about / used to
feel like killing something. mostly;
and If ever did anything to earn the
name OF Bad John Adam as I'm
known, it was then. I didn't care
what Ibid. We never saw any pleas
.ure together. l knew she pined for
him. and kept his picture by her. but
we lived together twelve years: then
she took the fever in the spring and
died.
The day she died she talked to me
good deal about how kind I'd been.
and how she wished she could a-made
mo happier But in the evening she
wont to sleep and woke up a little
Eighty, and thought we was all boys
and girls at school again.
':All at once she sat up in bed and
laughed and her face looked like
little girls. I'm going to him. she
said.n
He looked at me with curious,
ghastly darkness. Pm a-going to
him." he repeated. and again. in
husky whisper Pm a-soing to him. >
He threw out his hand in gesture
OF intolerable anguish. He robbed
me living and he robbed me dead.
She never spoke again"
Presently he looked up. you've
heard about the girl9 You might
have thought she'd be comfort to
me. | did everything for her man
could do She had a saddle horse
that could outrun anything in Texas.
saddle had made for her in San
Antone-cost $l50-a herd and
brand OF her own. l didn't want any
one to wait on her nor look at her but
ME; and, seeing the time her mother'd
had didn't want her to marry.
Everything went lovely for awhile
and saw the most peace and pleasure
l ever saw in my life-which amt
saying much-when she came to me
and said she was going to marry a
low-down. sneaking chump that
never thought enough of to keep out
OF her way.
She wasn't like her mother. 1
couldn't do q thing with her; when
she said thing she meant it; so l
tried drawing him off; and an I
found him sneaking back to steal her
I shot him.
They tried me for that; never
will forget the men that had it done.
I'll even up the score with every one
of them before l die.
She's gone back to Missouri to her
mothers kinfolks. She thinks I'm
too wicked to live and not fit to die.
and she writes to me trying to get me
to repent-but l know whether I've
got anything to repent Of send her
money"
Mindful OF the moral aspect OF the
case l tried little preach on my own
account Not an orthodox one. per-
haps but said that his neighbors
were pleasant kindly people. and
that if he lived on better terms with
them he might find it 80 and be hap
pier.
:, He took it as matter of course. and
somewhat humorously. OF course
you'd say all that; women folks always
do. But you've got pretty good
sense you're considerable OF man
yourself I'm willing tc own that
I'm pretty hard man. but We had
hard luck. l know these people and
you don't; there's nothing they won't
try to work man for if he'll cotton
to it I've lived fighting for my rights
and reckon that's the way I'll die.
But you'll send me the picture,
sure won't you? I'll take any
amount of preachin' If you'll promise
that You see l always think of
Matte as little girl l leave out all
the time out here and think of her as
she was ut your age and younger
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