The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-01-10
Stories of an Inland State.

| Away up in the capital of the state "Ge.
ranium Jim" was known as James Trudt
! Alithuns. He was also known as j. T
! Alithums IN the county treasurer's Office
| Jim Allthums by the stock-yard authori
| ties. But in his home county he was "Gera.
| mum Jim.''
At this moment Geranium Jim was en-
| gagged in preparing for an energetic poliii.
| cal campaign. The prairie has an offing
as the sea. The violet Of the zenith turns
I. to hazy purple at the distant horizon, the
| skyline of the deadlevel prairie quiverins
! in delicate, diaphanous, silken strands.
The great form of Geranium Jim. six feel
| two 'in his stocking feet" small square
shack, two dogs, a broncho and an ''arbol
stable" made by placing On the tops oi
posts other posts and covering the whole
| thing over with a sunfiower thatch, these
alone broke the drearful, monotonouz
! stretch of the prairie.
Geranium Jim was cutting sod. He start
ed across the buffalo grass plot with a
single cut with the spade, driving the blads
down three inches with his heavy boot
The line which he cut into the sod was far
from straight although so il was intended.
After carrying this line twenty feet Gera-
mum Jim turned at right angles and cut
another line of twenty feet. And SO forth.
Finally he had a square of sod inclosed in
these lines.
Now he began cutting out the squares of
sod, three inches thick, eight inches square.
He piled them one on another as ne cut
them out, the yenow grassy surface down.
ward. the black rooty soil up. Having
finished his job, he turned and surveyed
the place from which the sod had come,
which would become with the first good
rain puddle" He would fill ii I'D with
manure and make it a garden. This was
his mental reflection
But there was work to do. He must
prepare for that political campaign He
was the leader of the Anti-SkiIets and
there were precautions to be taken. He
lugsed the sod-quares over to the shack
and then began placing them on the out
side OF the rough, fuzzy cottonwood clap
boards which formed the SIDE of the house
He worked all day and by evening the
board sides of the shack disappeared be-
hind an out-wall of heavy sod, eight inches
thick
Geranium Jim went inside his shack, took
his rifle up, saw that it was loaded. Then
he came out. stepped ten feet away from
the shack raised his rife and fired. Then
he fired again. Then again. He went into
the shack. None of the bullets had gone
through.
''rhat'H fix the Skillets," he said to him.
SELF
Now who were the Skillets?
The explanation will involve a story. In
Thorn county the politics all centered
around the cattle business, almost the sole
industry of the section. The campaigns
narrowed down to contests between the
horse thieves and the cattleman. This
is not to say that the horse thieves were
thieves who stole horses or that the ''horse
thieves were not cattlemen. In Thorn
county horse thieves never stole horses.
They stole COWS" Cove are calves,
steers, bulls. anything bovine. They stole
the cows, driving them off at night, brand
ed them with the skillet at Big Ike's and
that ended it. There was no recourse for
the cattlemen who had been victimized.
Big Ike had the biggest ranch in the coun-
ty and every cow on ii was branded with
the skillet.
Now what was the skillet? In Thorn coun-
ty every mans cows are branded with a
certain iron-two bsrs-a bar and an X
half noon-and SO forth. These brands
are small as a rule. A skillet is larger
than any of them. The thieves would get
a Bar X COW, take her to Big Ike's and
the skillet brand-a big closed circle with a
iCHS udIulc WOuiQ Dc oNci tuC
original brand and that COW became the
property of the gang of which Big Ike
was custodian
Thousands of brands had disappeared un-
der the big skillet.
But were there no agencies to protect
the innocent?
Oh. yes.
Where was the sheriff?
Big Ike was the sheriff.
But the Anti-horse Thief association!
Had it not been organized for the very pur-
pose of doing what the sheriff failed to do?
1t had.
The Anti-horse Thief association had
been in existence one year. Geranium Jim
had been elected president The members
had all pledged themselves to respond to
the call for help. 1t was significane that
none of Big Ike's gang had joined.
Two weeks later a bunch of half-circles
had been driven off. The owner aroused
the county. Geranium Jim led the posse
Of anti-horse tflevers who spread over the
country for miles searching for the bunch
Of half-crcles. At four O'Clock in the
morning Geranium Jim and five men over
took the bunch and four men in a draw
The battle began. Two of the thieves were
riddled all to pieces; the other two escaped.
The two men who were killed were pals
Of Big Ike.
That ended cow-stealing for year. The
next week after that killing the A. H. T. A.
held another meeting.
Then members Of the Big Ike came in and
Joined. This was good sign and the
honest cattlemen rejoiced. At the next
meeting eighteen more Of Big Ike's gang
~ Hoy
Geranium Jim or anyone else had expected.
But the climax was capped when at e later
meeting Big Ike himself. looking sheepish. |
came in and "jined'' and thus crowned the
Efforts of the association for Law and order. |
Cow-stealing had long since stopped. Big |
Ike's prosperity waped. He played less |
keno up in town.
Then came the annual election Of officers
Il A H. T. A Geranium Jim took his |
seat behind the little table on the rostrum |
Of the opera house at Stogs Center. the |
county seat, and raped for order with his |
hard knuckles. The ''minits'' of the last |
meetings were read and approved.
Now for the election OF officers. Secret |
,aIlot Geranium Jim took the floor. He |
nominated wilkins Friend. his neighbor. |
or president.
Then came the first surprise OF the meet 1
ng. Big Ike arose and nominated Gera- |
lium Jim for reelection. Applause greet /
d this. There was a big attendance that |
lay and everybody clapped. Big Ike had /
,een deadly enemy of Jim's and this was |
good sign.
This ended the nominations. Geranium
I'm took his old white hat and passed \
lround the room collecting the little slips 1
II paper with the names OF the men voted |!
or upon Them Then he went back TO the
able. rolled up his sleeves. to show that |
ie had nothing up them, and began reading
ne ballots.