The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-08-26

WRITTEN FOR THE SrNDAY REPUBLIC.
Ny ncighbors are mostly women. There
used Ia h. men enough years ago when 4
WAS "A hoy and 4 Young man, hut they
have all died uut or moved away. Now
you can so up AMI down ,he street. and
it, nothing but women, except in Il few
houses. And SOM IF the men hats LETT
are travelin. week in and wrys out, and
might as well not live here. And soma are
80 old and feehlc. like oil :aau hwes, aGl
Abraham Jones. that they don't count for
much. Sometimes when : ti:ini OF it. Il
seems tn me just Ike an lnIian village
that I've read about. when t!r men are
all of hunting. AMI fishing. and lighting.
] 'spose I'd have to DO most ri III. defend
ing hearth ard home if tie enemy came.
il there was an enemy. although l suppose
1 could count some on Eliza Sam.
Her real name amt Eliza sam: it is
Eliza Hunt. Shes called EiiZa sam 70
distinguish her from other Eliza Hunts.
There are three in this village, AID they
have to have their fathers arl husbands
names tackled onto theirs TO sell en- apart.
Eliza Sam wasn't rrvcr married ard her
fathers name WAS Sam. He lied about
five years ago: he kept tho s2w-m:il. Be
side Eliza Sam there is Eliza .i1hn end
Eliza Caleb. Eliza John is married 10 Il
man by the name Of John ami !il;1a Caleb
amt married. never WAS. and Was never
like to be: but they have tackled caleb onto
her name TO tell her from the Others.
Nearly half this vill1se IS made up OF
Hunts. l am a Hunt. bIt ! ain'r related
to the Elias near enough to say 81.
I don't believe anybody could trace out
the relationship betwixt Eliza sam and me.
] know her father used fo Try 30. He haG Il
picture of a genealogical tree hanging up
in his parlor. hangs there now: though
he's dropped off it in his grave. ii over 4
tree grew in a graveyard its Il genealogical
one. He used to he fond of trying u point
out to me Whereabouts I cane IN. hu; he
could't make out much. It's here. or here.
or here. Caleb" ne used Ia say. pointing
to one little twig after another. hut he
rever knew which l was. He lost the trail
ut the divide ", the branches somewhere
back. when an Fmmons come into the
Hunt family. IL never seemed much &C
count 70 me. and ! miss my guess if 1t did
TO Eliza Sam. bU: it pleased :he old man.
and We used TO stand there and let him talk.
/ trimmed a long birch stick for him 10 Use
for a pointer when he talked about his
tree. / never see that tree now but it seems
as If he must be standing in front of it,
only there's something the matter with my
own eyes.
However. I don't so in there very much.
now the old man is gone. Eliza Sam lives
there alone and folks might talk. if We
amt as young as W. might be. l guess
there amt any age-limit to tongues. l
r,-D,,t ~ la ,n,.sr1 -, -- --
thought a good deal of Eliza Sam. She's
too big and up comm looiin' TO suit some
and l don't mind her being ou.spoken and
wanting to have her own way. Women
folks always want TO have their own way,
and / don't know as they are any the worse
for owning right up to it, the way Eliza
Sam does. than to sort of mince around
and get at ii sideways. / believe in broad
sides, and open assaults. and no sneaking
under cover of bushes. whether it is a man.
or a woman. or a nation. / don't like the
lnjun way Of doing things. Whenever Eliza.
Sam has wanted anything she has always
taken a bee-lire for it. chin up and petit
coats flying in the wind. There's things
that can't be got in this world, whether
You work by hook or crook.
There's pricks for kickers and pricks for
sidlers, and Eliza Sam has met hers as
We'll as the rest OF us. But she amt cried
out nor made any fuss about it, she amt
lost a pound of flesh nor an atom of the
handsome red color in her cheeks. Eliza
sam Is a heavy woman. She must weigh
II hundred and seventy odd. though she
amt exactly stout. She has a large frame.
ana she has enough bone and muscle TO
take the wind out of a good many men
IN the viliage-and she has done it. too. /
know one man who used to get I'D and
sioie out OF the grocery store of an evening
whenever Eliza Sans name came UP. Hes
moved away now, out west. and all his
1olks. He's married out there I've heard
ana They're taikin' of runnin' him for Com
gress. Well, he'll get there. if sticking 10