River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1893-12-21
LOST IN a PASTURE.
A Strangers Queer Experience In . Ter,
Town

n strangers Queer experience In . Texas
Town
A recent Belcherville, Tex, letter
says:
Say, mister, your horses are In the
little Belcher pasture. Any time you
get ready for them I'll send man on
horse to drive them up for YOU"
My jovial landlord addressed these
words to me the day after | had ar
rived at the little Texas city from
which this letter is dated. He was an
accommodating kind of fellow. and /,
wishing to be equally accommodating,
answered.:
20. you needn't bother yourself
about that My horses are both gentle,
and If they're only in little pasture
l can catch them without any trouble. :"
Mr. jackson looked little dubious.
but said 'All right" and ! supposed it
was. Later developments showed, how
ever, that the statement was incorrect
The next day had occasion to use my
ponies, and having previously learned
where the little Belcher pasture" was
| started to hunt them up.
When I entered the pasture noticed
that IL seemed TO be a little longer
than had imagined. A few hundred
yards from the entrance there was a
little belt of timber, through which
felt confident a creek flowed. ! sup
posed that the fence on the far side of
the pasture was probably just beyond
this creek. ! walked down to the tim
Der, jumped the creek at it's Darrowest
place, and made my way through the
timber on the farther bank.
After a walk of some thirty minutes
found myself once more at the edge
of the open prairie, but with no fence
in sight in any direction. There were
hundreds of cattle and scores of horses
to be seen, but none that looked like
mine. / made some Intellectual search
| for mine, but had about the same
chance of finding them / would have
| had in finding a needle in haystack.
Then, in disgust, tried to find my way
back to the hotel. This was easier
tried than accomplished. had gotten
''befuddled" in my wanderings, and
had no very accurate idea as to the di-
rection to be taken. Finally, however,
after over an hours wandering through
the bushes and over the creek banks,
reached the hotel, covered with mud
and ''sticktights." tired and much out
of humor.
Say, Jackson" called, sarcastic
ally, ''how many counties does that
little Belcher pasture take in, any
way? Does it stop at the Rio Grande,
or does it extend into Mexico?'
| Mr.. jackson looked rather aggrieved.
| but grinned as he answered:
II said your bosses was in pasture.
didn't say they were in no darned boss
lot, did /? Didn't offer to have them
driv up for you? That pastures five
miles long, but it amt over half mile
broad in lots of places, and there amt
mnch more than 800 acres in it alto
gether. Old man Belcher used to own
go, 900 acres here, and we called that
the Belcher pasture. He's sold all but
this little patch. though, and that's
why we call this the little Belcher pas
ture. See?"
l saw, and at the same time began
to realize that had gotten into the
land of big pastures. Next day as
passed along the streets of the town
heard one man say to his companions
"Boys, you see that fellow yonderi
Darned if he didn't get lost in the little
Belcher pasture. st Louis Globe
| Democrat