The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-05-03
VERY THOUGHTFUL,
Was This Little Woman in Supplying
Husband With Matches.
CNew Orleans Times-Democrat.

III
The group in the cosy corner OF the
Grunewaid lobby was talking about the
intuitions of women, and voluble gen
tleman from Chattanooga had just con-
cluded a glowing encomlum upon that
quality in the sex. Yes, it's quite true"
said a stockman from Nebraska, after a
short pause. Women certainly do have
intuitions that take the place of judg-
ment, and, just to illustrate the point
which has been made so beautifully by
our friend from Tennessee. I'll tell you a
little story. In 1885 1 had a horse ranch
on the North Platte, twenty-five miles
due west of Singleton. That part of Ne
braska wasn't much settled then, and
the country between the station and my
place was a bare, rolling prairie, inhabit-
ed by nothing but coyotes and jackrab-
bits. Early one morning in the last part
of October l started to town in my light
wagon to get some supplies. A cowboy
named Jack Cutting, who worked on the
ranch, went along for company, and we
had gone perhaps a mile when / looked
around and saw my wife standing on a
little knoll by the house, waving a towel
tied to a stick. Naturally | was startled.
Something wrong l said and started the
team back on dead run. My wife met
us, all out of breath Here's your match
box, Will" she painted, handing me a lit
tie German silver case. You went off
without it, and I've just filled it for you
fresh. We had had a. very open fall that
year. and the weather was like May. an
as neither Jack or myself smoked or had
any intention of cooking on the road,
was pretty mad to be called back on such
a fool errand. Plague take the match
es,' | snapped. You've made us lose half
an hour and / whipped up my team.
Now If you've ever been in Nebraska you
know it's a country of sudden changes
political and climatic. That morning the
Thermometer must have marked nearly
60: by noon it had tumbfed 20 degrees. and
before O'CLOCK a terrinc snowstorm swept
down out of the northwest and closed in
on US like a bank of fog. To cap the eli
max, the team, scared at a prairie wolf,
ran away for half a mile, and when
brought them up at last we were so turn
ed around l didn't know north from south.
To go on at random on that desolate prai-
RE was straight-Out madness. The only
thing TO do was to stay right there until
the storm was over, but never having
dreamed of such an emergency, we had
taken no wraps or blankets, and we were
already half frozen. Fortunately we had
brought along some empty crates. Wen
break EN- up, said Jack, and can knock
enough other wood OFF the wagon to make
a fire that viii keep us alive until we get
our bearings. What lucky thing you
have those matches! Yes I said, with
tears IN my eyes Wise little Woman
And to think, I scolded herl l shall never
forgive myself In five minutes we had
cleared a space in the snow and had a
heap of light wood ready. ] took out the
German silver case, opened it with my
numbed fingers, and The Nebraska
man paused and slowly cut the end off a
cigar. ''Well?" exclaimed the gentleman
from Chattanooga, impatiently. what
wife had filed the case with safety
matches that strike only on the box" re-
piled the NebrasSan quietly.