The Republican journal., 1898-05-19
The Lie Joe Savage Told.


to the time when the Indians were in the
country, although that time is by no
means SO far distant as to be beyond the
memory of living man; nor does it imply
anything especially wild and ferocious
about the character of the men in queS-
ton. 1t merely goes back to the first half
of the SOS, when two brothers OF that
name were among the prominent inhabi-
tants of that Sparsely settled district. In
some countries events of that period would
be considered comparatively modern, but
in Western Texas they are ranked as strict
ly ancient history.
1t seems, from careful survey of the
facts in the case, that neither of the
brothers was really a bad man at heart,
notwithstanding the fact that a great many
people who ought to know are strongly
inclined to think otherwise. 1t is certain
that of one of them was as true man as
ever trod the soil of Texas, or any other
State, for that matter. All who knew him
agree that the final year OF his life, at any
rate, was year of such courage and self
sacrificing heroism as one reads of in books,
but seldom looks for in real life. The peo-
pie of West Texas are not much prone to
hero worship, and whenever they agree
that man of their acquaintance is above
the average of mortality there is very Ike
ly to be some basis for the belief. Judging
merely from physical appearances, one
would have had little trouble in deciding
which of the two men would be more like
ly to prove of heroic mould. Bill, the
younger was a man of magnificent phys
ique, not unduly large, but with muscles
of such herculean strength as perfect
health ana the free life of a Western cow
boy are apt to impart. He was light
compleXioned, and is said to have possess
ed a vigorous. manly countenance, such
as ought to have made him more success
FIJI in his love affairs than he really was
Joe, on the Other hand, was as much a
picture of weakness and deformitY as his
brother was OF health and strength. He
was not only a peaked faced, slender slip
of man, but lie was cripple as we'll
When he was years old and Bill was
only 3, cyclone had struck the log house
in which the boys and their parents were
living. The mother and father were kill
ed, but when the neighbors came to look
through the ruins of the cabin they found
Joe crouched on the bed with his limbs
spread out in such manner as to protect
his baby brother. A heavy log had fallen
across his right foot and right wrist, crush
ing them both very badly, but Bill was
still sleeping in absolute Inconsistencies
of the existence of any such disturbing
affairs as cyclones. AS a result of his in
juIies at the time, Joe was ''club- footedn
through the whole of his life, and his
right forearm had big knot on it, and a
crook that made his right hand turn out
VIXEN it should have turned in. 1t is said
that Joe was proud of his deformities
rather than otherwise, presumably be-
cause they had been incurred in the de-
Tense OF his baby brother, and that Bill
was, for the most part, tenderly regardful
OF the brother who had sacrificed health
and almost life for him.
Naturally enough. Bill was the more
prosperous of the two. Before he was 80
he owned considerable "bunch" of cat
tie, and leased quite body of land in the
eastern part of Baylor County as a ranch.
Joe was his line rider, and in that capaci-
ty was enabled to do great deal of such
work as did not require any very great
amount of mere muscular strength. Every
thing worked smoothly with them until
May Coney came to live with married
brother Of hers who lived only a few miles
from the Savage ranch. She WAS not a
highly educated girl, by any means and
it is doubtful if She was more than fairly
Intelligent but she was pretty. and she
was tickle--and that tells the whole story.
In this case Joe was the first victim He
met May at one Of the bic camp meetings
that are common in that country in the
tall Ct the year, and after that he was very
pronounced in his attentions to her for
several nolths. Then his attentions ceas-
ed as suddenly and abruptly as they had
begun. People noticed this. and they also
noticed that just about this time Bill be
gan going 10 see her.
Bill took II up just where Joe laid it
down, remarked one cowboy to another
during ore OF the intervals in a dance on
one occasion.
Nav, that amt it," responded his
friend / think Joe laid it down inst
where Bil took it up.
One day as the two brothers and one OF
two Others were engaged in branding some
Of Bill earrings the subject was brought
up.
''Sure enough, Joe, what ever made you
quit goin to see that Conley gal SO sud
dent?' asked Jim Smith, one OF the help
ers, in a ocular way.
Il stopped SOS to give Bill chance. ="
said Joe, with what was evidently forced
attempt at gayety.
'Shucks.' calculated his brother You
neednt stopped for that. If | couldn' t
beat you / d better quit ~
There Was just the least bit of CON
temptuous emphasis on that word ''you. -
and Joe noticed it, A Slightly shamed.
panied look came over his poor, thin face
as he faltered:
"W- we'll, l didn't keer much for her,
no way | was just a foolin' from the
first
My deliberate opinion is that this state
ment was lie. 1t is my opinion, further
more, thar in this single, ungrammatical,
mlspronounced, mutilated lie there was a
loftiness of thought and purity Of purpose
such as an angel in heaven might well
aspire to. Bill did not take any such view
of the matter, though, for he only looked
up and retorted angrily
My opinion of anybody that would go
fool round a woman when he didn' care
nothing for her is that he amt much
man.
He's pretty small potatoes-he shore
is, put in Tom Jackson, the fourth man
at the branding. Nobody noticed the re-
mark particularly at the time, but subse-
quent events caused them to think a great
deal about il later on,
~ m surprised at you, joe said Bill.
The ghosG of forced smile lowered
piteously on Joe's lips for a moment, but
he merely rubbed his forehead with the
knot on his wrist in the nervous wav NO