Iron County register., 1898-12-01
Blanton.
(From Forest and Stream.)

1
music of the hounds. when man came
along with an old Kentucky rifle,
doubtless thinking to cover my stand,
not knowing any one was there before
him. He told me l was off the run
way, placed me right, and asked who
l was with, seeing / was stranger.
told him l was with my friend whose
name adorns the head of this ram milling
tale.
| Ibid you ever see him ride through
these hills?" he asked. / told him
had heard of him doing it few times
and had tried to follow him the day or
two before.
s.Well," he said, sit is sight! /
have seen him try to head deer and
it is wonder he don't get killed. He
| iabs the spurs in as hard as he can and
goes through the woods, under branch
es and through brush and across logs
and gulleys at top speed. l wouldn't
ride after a deer the way that man does
| if knew it had on diamond earrings. :"
The day before, was sitting on a
stump at the point of ridge listening
to the receding music of the pack back
in the hills. 1t died out. and after
while | heard them coming into the
fiat woods down a draw a mile or so
below me. jumped on my horse and
hurried down there to intercept the
deer; but it had turned and | came
back to my stand. After a while |
heard them down there again and be-
fore l could make up my mind to go
down again the dogs and Blanton after
them burst into the fat. l could tell
where the dogs were by their mellow
voices, and could tell that he was close
behind by the .'yip" that now and
then f1oated to me on the breeze and
it told me that they were going through
those close trees on the dead run.
The story is not about the run but
about the stop. Suddenly shot rang
out, and then the ''yip" changed to
yell of victory and Joy. l knew what
had happened as l blew blast on my
horn and yelled a yell or two on my
yeller and, moment after, as l held
the screw-off top in my hand. said to
an imaginary man in front of me,
.'Well, Blanton, here's to you." And
that night by the campfire he told
about his quick stop.
"Well, sirs, l was just a-cuttin' it
through the brush and the dogs went
wild all at once about 200 yards ahead
of me, and there came big doe on
the back track. We saw each other at
the same time, and the doe stopped
behind white oak, and | says. Whoa,
Billy and Billy stopped so quick l
nearly went over his head. Thinks l,
old lady, you're goin' to catch it when
you come out from behind that tree.
And yelled, Come out of there and
take your medicine and she just pok-
ed her head around at me and wouldn't
come, and fixed my gun on that side
so l could get her the first jump. And
then she jumped out on the other side,
and it's a wonder l didn't miss"
But he had not missed, for as we sat
there on our camp stools and toasted
our sh1ns, while our backs were away
out in the cold, Madame C. Virginianus
was perched aloft in a sapling beside
the tent. Blanton chuckled and said:
Why, she'd like to chase me back
out of the fiat woods. But
the only time my father ever whipped
me was for turning back. and l don't
believe l ever turned back from any
where from that day to this.
We other fellows were ready to be-
lieve this, but we asked what he had
turned back from, and he continued:
lone day when l was about twelve
years old my father told me to take
two jugs and go to a blind distillery
about sixteen miles away and get them
filed, and when l got half there 1 got
to feeling lonesome. and don't know
what made me do it, but 1 turned
around and came back. When my
father saw me come home and found
out what l had done he whooped me
good and told me never to turn back
again when set out to do anything or
90 any where, and started me off again,
and you can just bet | went. When l
got back it was nearly night and 1 was
pretty tired, and slid off the horse at
the horse block and started to pull the
sack off, and an old niger we had.
named Uncle Billy, said, III take
'em for you; go and get your supper
But l was stubborn and pulled it of
myself, and when the jug in one end
of the sack came against the jug in the
other end of the sack they both broke
and all the whisky ran out on the road.
When nv father saw what had done
he spoke to me very kindly and quietly |
and told me TO go in and get my sup |
per, and | knew after that that he |
wanted to have a boy that would not I