Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1896-06-01


who rode with me-not to look back.
"When we stated, of co'se the fust
ten mile or SO was up hill mostly, an I
couldn't travel extra fast, so it was
bout 2 when we hit the summit, an
everything he'd went lovely. Then we
he'd little hand out, an the descent
begun.
81 didn't lose no time. The mules
stepped out gay me a-poppin the buck
skin among 'em oncet an awhile Jest to
keep 'em cheerful an in good humor, an
the hill-well, chain lightnin could go
down-with britchin. l hedn't went a
great ways when heerd fur off call
like a coyote got astray. Jumbo shifted
kind of uneasylike on the seat an
squinted sideways at me, but I was
a-whistlin THE Gal With the Travail
Train, and didn't see nor hear nothin,
Of co'se. Pretty soon the niger he
couldn't set peaceful an onconcelned no
longer an stealed look benin. Then
he leaned forrard, TIL his hans tween
his knees, an chuckled to hisself paid
no manner of notice. Now he screws
round again in his seat, chuckles, an
twists a little harder, squints at me
sideways again, an says:
"'She's a-wavin, jim
"'Set still, you blamed black breast
ed sandpiper, says l. Let 'er wave
"He was tol 'abul quiet fer shot
space, while you might cut pipe of
terbacker, mebbe. The calls sounded
pretty faint now. Far back up the rocky
trail I could ketch the clear, sharp ring
of her boss hoofs-pit-e-pat! pit-e-
pat! -pat!-remindin me somethin
of one of them gals from the east down
in Benton chassayin up an down the
room in newfangled wardanco they
call the 'Rushin Pollay'
"Jumbo's head swung around again
on its pivot. He squirmed an twisted
an chuckled some more. The fun was
too fast fer his ornery, woolly scalp, an
he bu' st out:
"'Dah! she waves, Jim. Now-now!
she waves. Dah-dah! she's a-wavin.
Now-now! she's a-wayin, Jim. Now
waves Jim-she waves!-she waves!-
she wavesp
Here he throwed out his wings-un-
dulatinlike an very takin an winds up
in loud Yah, yah, yah!'-doublin
hisself up an contortin an rollin round
on the seat till thought he'd drop out
the wagin. He was the most extropu-
lous coon l ever see-that's right! I
tried to kick him under the seat, but
fact is, was a-laughin at him till I
was nigh non campus Memphis myself.
L" 'Pit-e-pat! Pit-e-pat! Pit-c-patr
come from far back in the distance.
"Now commenced to pull in my
mules. We were gittin pretty well
down the slope an a few mile more
would fetch us to the camp ground. q
he'd changed The Gal With the Travail
Train fer THE Gal Left Benin Me. y
1t was still middlin early in the after
noon an mighty hot. After awhile got
my team down to walk an before long
heerd the hoss' hoofs comm closter
81 turned around an watched her as
she come up. Say! I've eat canned
Holsters an heerd talk of spanked babies
but you'd oughter seen that woman's
face! X y Whoosh! To stat fire fer
the purpose O. toastin bannack while
she wer' round an that color lasted, as
the poet says, 'wer' Unnecessary But
that want all, neither She was mad
clean through-as a sage hen with a
brood Of young uns; it stuck out in
pints all over her. An you could see
where the tears he'd left marks on her
cheeks, through the dust, an her hair
was like shower bath on her shoulders.
How could you be so mean, jim,
she says.
'Well-you see, mum-er-this
here-ah-blamed hill is SO COMPOUNDED
ornery 'pendic 'lar-uh-I couldn't
hold 'em up-'pon honor couldn'tp
"Of co'se guess she didn't b'leeve
me badly, but what could she say? We
travelled pretty slow the rest Of the road
to camp. I did feel tarnation mean, as
well as sorry fer her, all that's right! l
wanted to kick myself, to make myself
observation-disclosures l he'd
half a mind to make Jumbo do it. But,
then, he was niger, an didn't know
nothin.
"Well, Lifted got his leg broke
sho'tly after an that u'st up the expe-
dition-got into awrestle with grizzly
all took second money. He left his boss
an went close to git good pull, but the
bear was only wounded an charged. He
waltzed with him. / reckon it 'ud "a
been all day with Li'l'field if Wells
hedn't been nigh. He was dead shot,
you know. AS it was, he got out Of it
with broken thigh an a cash in his
hip from the bears claw you might
cache flask in. So as soon as he could
be moved, we went into Helena all they
left fer England
"Eh? Oh, the woman! Why-well,
she rode with me on the wagin after
that when we moved camp-jest orner-
~ didn't care to much as look at a sad
die fer more'n week. When she shook
han an says goodby Gan I was real sorry
to see the last Of herr, she looks at me
an smiles an says:
An Jim, next time we come to
Montana to hunt, try an pick us out q
span of mules that amt SO hard to
hold up, will your
can hanged my head, like derned
idjut, an said I would. "-William
Bleasdell Cameron in San Fro cisco Ar
gonaut.