The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-17

deep The river breaks In At one end through
canon about a. wide a. farm wagon and rum
out through the sort Of slit In the other end
This warm spring breaks out Close undsr tn,
black cliffs In pretty little piece Of meadow and
runs down into big. still pond blue a. Jay bird
and Just hot enough for sweat bath. All around
the far side Of the pond Ii the boaky. auakin' asp
willows and young cotton woods with sedge and
rank grass right down TO the edge q the water.
! The rncons 80 shut In with tho cliffs that there
| cont ever seem 10 DO any breeze down there, and
there's lust one big lunauc OF blue crane abou,
hve feet high that rides herd on the snakes and
| frogs around the edge Of the pond He seems to
have taken up homestead rights on the pond, and
around sunset he'll get out and dance and flap
his wings and whoop like q crazy man till don I
wonder there's nobody else wants 10 live there
~Thare was q fool tenderfoot that thought he
had consumption and went down to live In the
!, rincon one time for the sake Of the hotsprng
batha He built him brush shack In the vea-
dow and baohod It for while Buths didn't stay
long. Said that blue crane was too many for
him II was like being locked up In the D. I.
ward Of . hospital lie could SEQ only three
things TO do; 20 crazy. shoot the crane or move
He didn't want to 20 loco. and he had scruples
about shooting the crane. as that seemed 10 have
riparian rights on the pond; 80 no moved.
i was thinking Of the crane and the tender
foot as came out Of the bosky in sight Of the
shack, which there wasn't much loft Of but q
big lottery pile Of dried brush was half laugh
ing quietly TO myself couldn't have been
very nervous or excited But IL caught my at
tention when my pony stinened up on the edge
OF the clearing and como TO point Ike bird
dog. He laid his ears over forward and could
feel hin breathing short, but the place was still
as q graveyard. and all you could hear was the
dry saddle feathers creakng as the pony drew
his breath In
Il looked over - the pond and there was
the biggest mountain lion ever saw stretched
out In the sun big cottonwood log. mado
. quiet roach for my Winchester under my leg.
Then heard q soft. scaly sort Of a swish and
took my eyes of tho cot long enough TO see a
big brown snake slide off q rock and down into
the water When looked again the old lion
had turned around and was looking dead at me.
II was the same sort OF look old Blue Jacket
told mo about, a sort of quiet sizing up that mado
you feel blame immature and ignorant. like the
old cat ssvvied a whole lot Of things you'd never
read UP on al all.
Then no made his sneak different from any
thing ever saw cat do lie Just slid of tho
OF and across into the old bush shack like a snake
couldn't swear he moved his legs at all, and
he didn't seem TO go fast but he was out Of sight
before l could draw on him
Il rode around and circled the lean. 70 0make
sure 'ne'e WASH any oaek aoor' l"aSh taxing
any cnnncee oi Wishing inHde WINE mat cal was a'
hoi'e ~ Puhs up oiE ounuie Oh grass anu sew
an'o ana roae up ana ureW IL ON mo Snack linen
o"ckeu OH ana "a'choa nor pu1n' "aiung lor me
olu iel'ow 70 Vsca'e one must nave burned ten
minutes DeIoio me r"oi went ln' put 'here was
never VOW from INSIDE. FINALLY the mouse sim
ho'ea uo"h " ring OIL nov ashes' ana scat my
oa" IL 'hete wa" mar OF hde ol d mountain uon or
'hins eiso ihsioe except ioalhef seated chair
anu rusty Trying pan linen cohciuued
bean up against me gray cat myself
Aha's all nSM ABOUT ghos' cas ana shod
horses remarked Uncle jim Mayberry. but I'm
mere 70 s'ate inc piIenest V"rmlnt ever eaucussd
win was hat lame Grizzly 'ha' riz complications
over IN -dai Fals country when lived taeTe. lie |
"arnt no somnamouiaun phlanthropst neither;
les' pam grizzly lame IN MS OIL lore LOOT an Dig
as paiioway Dull lie shore had he whole
aehemeht iaaoo long as ne stayed In the helghoor-
hood an he'd a ruined tho reputation OF the town
ship ei he hadn't been inIucod Z move
lie knowoi moren plain bars got right r |
know. ASIDE from raisin' tho mortality o tn
cou ny worse'n small pox. tn boys was afraid ef
he toox up permanent quarters he'd WANT mix up |
In county politics an dictate tn tickets and distri
butte Offices alter tn election He didn't care fer
Ter dogs no moren he did Ter traps and be didn't |
care Ter traps no more'ns cat does for canteloupe
Pretty much everybody took hand hunun' him |
first an last but more OF em went huntin' him |
than ever come back. Rashe Thompson said he'd |
cit behind rock up tn canon an sing soprano,
ics' ! nveiglo oonhdin young men inter ambush |
But l ne'er did rightly believe that Anyhow. he
como mighty near leavin old man Malone 4 |
lngerin death up In tn hills fer clear spite. Jest
because Malone set a trap fer him.
You see Tim was somethin' OF tapper an
he made his bras down at tn store one night that
he could corrail that bar single handed. The
next day he goes up inter tn woods I build bar
trap 1t suro was a good trap Took old Malone |
most week cut tn logs an build it Well.
that bar must a lest set around IN tn bushes
watchln MIN do H. ior when IN old man got II
all done an was inside nxin III bait what does
That grizzly do but santer outn' tn woods with
saplln under his arm an spring tn trap from
IN OUTSIDE leayin tn old man Gagged. Tim were
held In duress three days before We come round
an found him. an he ssid all that time that blamed
bar used come around regular hrco times
tRtEN ia a. La. 4