The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-09-09


days we found no water. All the tar
rapin was pantin like lizards. We was
nearin the Platte river, but | 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
Platter
''At this moment the whole of the col
umn,of tarrapin smelt the water and
stampeded. The king sat off on a gal
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
jist in time, for at the next jump he
went over the bank into ten feet of wa
ter. The whole column of tarrapin fol-
Tered, tumblin off the bank into the
river in solid sheet with a roar like a
big milldam.
Il could only stand back, look on and
tear my har, for l 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 tohead 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 Twas obliged
to see 'em all leap over the bank.
81 was as good as ruined, but did
have one laugh surprised out n me. That
was when the rear of the column came
up and see the little mig stretched on
his blanket tossed to and fro as by the
waves of the sea. Over he went into
the river and down to the bottom under
shower of tarrapin.
"One lone tarrapin stopped on the
bank instead of jumpin into the water.
Says to myself, 'Pll jist ketch you for
luck stopped to pick him up when
out came a pair of wings and he sailed
away across the river. If | hadn't seen
this internal fiyin 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
big splash. At the same spot and in
an instant up to the surface comes the
king of tarrapins, with the little darky
on his back. The big turtle blowed a
cloud of spray into the air like 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
cent into the venture. AS l stood la
mentin on the bank man on hossback
come up and asked what was the matter.
He was a man from the foundry and
one of the blacksmiths that had helped
shoe my tarrapins.
~ 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 a word about any hoodoo.
"The 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 'em. He said: Iron
is wuth big price out here. 1 might
dredge the river and git the Shoes
"'What'll you give?' says !,
Enough to take you to California;
says the feller.
"'It's whack,' says 1, aud as soon as
| had the money in my pocket [ cut
stick, bein afeared the blame fool would
back out. So on camo to this neck O.
woods, and here am yet and poor as
Jobs turkey"
''Did you ever hear how the man caInt
out who bought your terrapin drive?
asked a man of our party known as Col.
orado Joe.
"Never a word," said the Pike.
"Well," said Joe, 81 can afford to treat
on that trade"
care you the man sold out to?"
"The very man."
II swar!" cried the Pike; 81 thought
I'd seed you before. Let me see you get
up and walk. Jist so-jist so! YOU'RE the
man that got his right kneecap split by
kick from my big bell turtle"
"There you see the scar" said Joe,
barring his right leg.
"Waal, | swarn' cried the Pike. "Did
you rekiver much iron?'
"About all the iron and terrapins also"
"The devil! The tarrapin too? Why
how could you git the tarrapin when
they We're sunk in ten feet of waterY'
and the Pike began to look wild
mo trick at all, +" said Joe. II bought
all the horseshoe magnets in Denver,
stuck em onto the ends of poles and set
whole army of men and boys to fish
ing up the terrapins. AT every prod
they'd briG; up a terrapin, and some
times two or three. their iron shoes stick
ing fast to the magnets"
mot alive, was they?' asked the Pike,
"Yep; all alive and kickin," said Joe.
"Just nicely refreshed"
"See my dam luckr cried the Pike,
and he seemed ready to shed tears.
"As soon as I'd git out about ten acres
of 'em," continued Joe, 'and my black
smiths had got the shoes off 'em, sent
'em in drove to big swamp down the
river. Out of the four sections of terra
pins only lost about nine acres. For
ten years l had the biggest terrapin
ranch in America"
Gone thing more" said the Pike.
"Did you never see anything of my big
bell turtle what kicked your kneepan
open?"
"Yep; fixed him?"
WHAT"
"Well, one day man came riding to