Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1893-03-11

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He did not look very neat when, a
few minutes later, he reached the
Walker residence and called his
neighbor out. He was holding the
calf up short, but his temper had
slipped its tether and caused him to
say bad words, to which Papa Walk
er replied in kind, whereat Papa
Benedict seized a convenient neck
yoke and killed the cause of the trou-
BILE.
OF course there was fight and
considerable i'll chosen language.
Then, as soon as possible, Papa Bene-
dict sued Papa Walker for the dam
age to his cabbages, and Papa Walk
er sued Papa Benedict for the value
of the calf After that they prose
cuted each other for assault and bat
terry; the younger members Of both
houses ''sassed" each other at every
available opportunity; Mrs. Walker
and Mrs. Benedict did no more
'neighborin," and Mort Benedict
and Nellie Walker busted up" with
each other-that is, Nellie broke
with Mort, who had a wholesome
contempt for feuds and such non
sense and would fain have ignored
the state of affairs, 80 far as Nellie
was concerned, except for the oppo-
sition any overtures from him would
have received on all sides, and espe-
cially from Nellie. So he had to grin
and bear it, leaving, however, all
hostilities to the others and speaking
pleasantly to any of the Walkers he
chanced to meet.
But finally, through a rash act of
his own, he was forced into the feud.
There was husking bee Of the
good old fashioned sort at Thomp-
sons one night, and the younger
members of the hostile houses at
tended. During the evening Mort
found red ear in his pile, and he
never knew what impelled him to do
1t, unless it was that Nellie looked so
pretty and tempting, he took his
former sweetheart in his arms and
kissed her, not once, but three times.
AS soon as it could be done with
out the girls knowing of it, Bud
Walker and Harvey Free invited
Mort and Pei Horner out into the
moonlit pasture, where Bud insisted
on having it out" Mort demurred,
but in vain, and much to his regret
was forced to lick" to standstill
not only the man he hoped some day
to call his brother-in-law, but the
latter's second as well, Pei Horner
being cripple and unable to accom-
modate young Free, who was "pinin"
on account Of his principals defeat.
That settled it. Thereafter even
tender hearted Mrs. Walker-who.
like Mrs. Benedict, sincerely but 81.
lently regretted the trouble that kept
her apart from her old time friends
these four long years, and who had
always had pleasant greeting for
all the family, especially for Mort,
who was a great favorite of hers
cut him dead when she happened to
meet him, and even the frigid in
clination of the head with which Mel
lie had been wont to recognize his
presence on those rare occasions on
which they met was now denied him.
All this cut Mort deeply. but he
was made Of too tough fiber to show
it; so till the end of the feud he tried
to act as though he did not care
just as did Nellie, who, however, was
o1l <. To .,~
awhile that she did care ''lots."
The spring Of 18S- is memorable
one in the history of many portions
of the Dakotas. The amount of rain
in the fall and the snowfall of the
winter preceding had been very
slight, indeed, and there were no
spring rains to encourage the farm
ers. The creek beds and coulees were
dry; the lake beds and sloughs were
as innocent Of water as powder
magazines, and the matted grasses
and reeds standing in them were as
dry as was the grass on the prairies
Everything invited the fire fiend,
whose work on the plains is 30 swift
and thorough, and he accepted the
invitation.
From the wheat regions up north
came tales of his deadly work-of
counties almost entirely laid waste,
of hundreds made homeless and PEN
niless, with nothing left even where
with to wiring their bread out Of the
soil.
In c. county and it's neighbors,
however, all felt secures the fires
were far north of them, and being
gradually exterminated. Besides,
they were in the Jim River valley it
is curious how much confidence the
proximity of a river will give to the
settler who is threatened by prairie
fires.
Mort Benedict and his father were
returning from the county town one
day, having been in to leave moth
er" for two days visit, and to have
the breaking plow repaired. For a