The Southern herald., 1898-03-11
NAMING A TOWN.
n was NOt Sush = Dimeult rhizg e
Do, After All.

DO, After All.
AsI debouehed from the mountain
pass the town was right there's col
lection Of about 60 tents and shanties,
and a population OF $50 miners. prs
pectors and teamsters. had no sooner
appeared than ! was surrounded by
HUNDRED excited men, and was several
minutes before / could understand the
situation.
stranger, It be Just this way" finally
explained one Of the crowd. This town
hain't had no name thus fur, and We
can't agree on one. When we seen yen
comm down the pass we sorter agreed
as how we'd leave it to you to give It
name.n
"What's the general htuation7p ]
asked, as l noticed that every man was
armed.
"The general situashun," replied a
second man who had dangerous lock
In his eyes, ais that the gslO0t who tries
to name this town and dora hit sun
thin to please us will be planted in on
new graveyard"
"Yes. that's about the situashun.
added the man who had first spoken.
We've had seven men killed and four
or Eve wounded while tryin' to git a
name, and we've got sOrter mad and dis
couraged."
ut isn't giving me fair showi"
protested. "How can you expect me 10
suggest a name 10 please everybody"
"Dunno, stranger, but you'd better
try II on, fur this thing has TO be set
tied before we can git post offs, and
everybody seems anxious to shootl"
"What names have been talked oyer?"
wall, the string is too long to remem-
Der, but the seven who were killed
stuck out for 'Whoop-'er-up,' believe.
/ kinder favored it myself, but the
crowd seemed to think II lacked poetry.
What we pear to want is suthin' soft
and tender ana poetic-suthin' we kin
sorter hug up TO and brag about"
"How will 'Rosalind' do?" / asked.
Sounds purity nice, but not quite the
ticket, 'cordn' to my way o. thinkin'"
"Well, there's Mountainville,' Silver
City, 'Daisyvllle,' Rest Haven and
'Goldenrod'
'Kinder soft and tender, them be, but
not soft and tender null to hit us
plumb-ccnter. Give us few more"
I was racking my brain for another
list when two men who had been wrang-
ling for the last five minutes suddenly
proceeded to business, and the crowd at
once rushed TO surround them. This left
the way open, and turned my mule
and dug in the spurs and was out Of
sight before they missed me. A week
later, over at White Dog City, met the
man who had done most Of the talking
for the crowd that day. As soon as
he recognized me he held cut his hand
and said:
stranger, I'm awful glad TO see you,
and l want to thank ye on behalf Of
the boysl"
THANK me for what?"
"Fur givin' our town a name. II you
hadn't cum along that day we might
a had 20 men killed afore we got name
to suit u.s."
"But didn't name the town! When
the row broke out got away"
"But you named it, all the same"
be persisted. "When the row was over
and we found you missin' we put il
TO vote whether we should call the town
'Crawfsh' or 'Skedaddle.' Thar was
more Skeedaddleites than Crawflshers,
and so we agreed on 'Skeedaddle,' and
Skeedaddle she will be from now on
forevermore. Stranger, if you ar sorter
susceptible TO the great honor cou-
ferred upon ye, and II thar's a."
"But fail 10 see the honorl"
"If We ar sorter susceptible to the
great honor conferred upon We, and
thar's a place around yere whar' we
kin Ticker at your expense, why, /
wouldn't mind washin' some Of the
quartz-dust outer my throatl"
There was a place, and after the dust
had been duly washed down he shook
hands again and said;
81 don't mind sayin' that l stuck out
fur 'Crawfsh' as again 'Skeedaddle,' as
I thought it softer and tenderer and
more techin', but arter the choice was
made didn't do no kickin'. Skeedaddle
is uphonvous and poetieal 'nuf fur
common folks, but II you happen up that
l.. IL \