The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1892-01-23
THE MAN WHO DRAGGED

The MAN W HU BRAGGED.
His name was Phineas Ellsworth, but
we boys at the "HX" ranch called him
Billy Brag, for reasons which ten min
utes' conversation with him would make
obvious, even to total stranger. To
say that he was opinionated is drawing
it very mild, and to state that the chief
est Of his opinions wss the particularly
excellent ona he held OF himself is super
| fluops.
Those We're humdrum, monotonous
| days at the "HX," aud there was scant
opportunity for Billy to exhibit the
courage, prowess, skill, ability, and so
forth, which-we had his own oft re-
! peAted statements for it-he possessed
TO q remarka ole degree.
Once in awhile something would hap.
pen to relieve the monotony, but Billy,
somehow or other, was never on deck 10
show what he was worth. He always
turned up afterward with: "Huhl you
| gaioots jes make Inc ache all Overt wy
any bloomin tenderfoot cd tor We bet
tern that" or, THAT guz a fool trick.
Now, CT I'd been thar I'd a did so an
Bo;' or, Huh! dye call that anythin ter
meushun! wy, back thar, on tn Keya
PahN, we used t let TIL kids an wimmeu
| do that kind O. work.
And 80 it went for nearly year, and
though we invented many q plan to give
Billy an opportunity to show his worth,
he managed, on one pretext or another,
10 keep out of our snares.
One day Gale Smelling, who was out
looking mp some stays, fell in with a
Maverick steer feeding in a coulee, and
thinking at first that it was an Ink"
critter rode toward it, But the beast
was what is known as a bad un, and
horns down and believing with rage he
turned and charged on the startled
cowboy. Gale tried to turn his pony and
run, but tho animal was green and only
reared and snOrted. Gale thought he
was about to take place herding clouds,
but he yanked his gun and let go, catch
ing the steer right between the eyes,
and dropping it not more than ten feet
away.
Gale was bit new in the business, and
he was rather pale when he rode up to
the ranch and related his experience, but
there was triumphant tone in his voice
as be told Of his successful shot from the
back Of bucking pony,
Billy listened with superior air.
"Huhr no remarked disdainfully,
"Whad'je je wanter kill i'm fer? Ye cd jes
2 well creased an roped i'm Some folks
never hev no r'gard fer prop'ty, Waste
not, want nothin,"
We all groaned and proceeded to con-
grAtulate Gale on his luck, but Bill did
not seem TO care. He was getting used
b our irreverence, 1t may be noted,
however, that when we tried next morn
ing to get Billy to take galloping shot
At the stripe in a blanket nailed onto a
shed door, 10 see how near he could
have come to "creasing' a mad steer
from the back Of fool pony, our propo-
ition met with scorn. There ye go
agin," said Billy. Whats tn blame
use O. wassin er whole lot o cartridges
jes' t. convince er mess o gabblin egiots
that er thing kin be did? Aw, go- off an
try poundin san in her rat hole fer yer
wits Bot ye carnt even do that" And
he rode of. much offended,
When Joe Fleming, brother of the
boss, and Hank Barr had brush with
half u dozen Indians, and just escaped
with their lives, leaving = bunch of fat
cattle to be run of by Uncle Sans dear,
sweet proteSas, Billy's opinion was at
once forthcoming. Huh! Ye mout
jes' z we'll saved mos o tn critters an
got them thisvin red cusses too. Wy
didn't ye, wen ye seed EN- ridin down
on ye, jes' kill three or four critters,
pile 'em mp fer a barricade, an give tn
red devils rog'lar hi? Thatd ben bet
term losin tn hull bunch"
When Bob Hall, cowboy from the
80 Bar" the next rsnch-one Of the
moanest, ugliest, most quarrelsome bull
lies who ever hourished a gun-got
killed at the hotel in town by an unof
Tending tenderfoot, whom he had tried
TO compel to take a drink, Billy, as
usual, had something 10 say. Huh!
That's them tenderfeet all over. They
think eff er man tries t. hev fun with
'em hyGr thet they've got Z shoot, an
shoot quick. Tn galoot oughter'ye jes'
took Bob Hall b. tn scruff o. tn pants
an kicked r throwed i'm out, an Bob
fd've pollygized TOO quick Bob Hall
never had no sand
All the same, there was an old story
to the effect that once, when Billy had
been unaccountably absent from the
ranch for three or four days, he had been
in town, devoting considerable attention
to keeping ont Of the belligerent Mr.
Halls way.
But Billy's opportunity came one day
He had been laid up a week and was
still lame as tho result Of being on the
side next the ground when his pony
stumbled and fell one day, and was sit
ting at the door one morning about I i 80
when the stage came along. Several Of
us were in the ranch house and We're
somewhat surprised to hear the wheels
outside, for the stage road was two
miles from the ranch. As we crowded
to the door we saw something was up"
for Dyer, the driver, looked excited
"Mornin, gentlemen he said And
then 10 Boss Fleming: Fleming, l ex-
pect T. be held up over b Five Mile creek
Kin one o. tn boys go with me? III get
mother man at Parkers, am / reckon
threell be 'uough."
"Why, yes, of course, was the reply;
'you can have more if you want EN-
I'll go myself, But why didn't you
bring guards if you're carrying any val
uabIesYn