The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-12-16
STEALING A COURTHOUSE.

THAT streak of yaller sand over there is
all that's left of Penner-ile," the cowboy re-
marked, as he pointed his thumb toward a
barren spot of earth lying in the midst Of
a level sweep of prairie two or more miles
to the west. "Penner-ile,'' he added, was
one time the county seat of Lone Wolf,
and If it hadn't been for Nancy Newly and
Champ Ellerson Penner-ile might have
been ~enjoyin' that same blessin' to-day"
/ was travelling afoot through Lone Wolf
county. and had met this swarthy plains
man riding his pony at an ambling gait
along the prairie highway. I ventured to
hail him as he approached. and when no
had brought his wiry little steed to a stand
still he looked inquiringly dow upon me-.
docs this road lead to Weeping Will
Iow?' I asked.
"It do, stranger" replied the horseman,
in an abrupt but kindly tone of voice.
"Is there a town hereabout called Penny
royal?' I next inquired. for 1 had such a
town on my visiting list.
The cowboys answer has already been
chronicled. All that remained of Penny
royal was a streak of sand. Nc vestige of
a building remained, not even a stone large
enough to mark a grave. Where once
glowed the firesides of a happy, prosperous
people, sand-feas and lizards now held
high carnival; and the piping notes of the
kildee, mingled with the plant of the
prairie owl, more often awoke the echoes
than did the voice of man.
"Penner-ile was laid out for a big city,"
the cowboy continued, when he saw that 1
was interested and inclined to listen to his
story. ''but John Winslow ruined its pros
poets when he got the county courthouse
located there. You see, when he came
West, he had a purity good stake. He had
made it suddenly back Ea~st-nobody knows
exactly how-and he set out to make more.
He laid out a town and named it Amaryllus,
or something like that, after a flower, he
said, that grew back East. Now, we cattle
drivers couldn't stand anything like that,
an we told him that he would have to give
his town a name that was more in keepin'
| with it's surroundings. There was nothing
more plentiful in that locality than skunk
weed and p~enner-ile, an he must make a
| choice between them two weeds. So the
town was called Penner-ile.
Not along after that Lone Wolf county
was laid out, and Winslow got the county
seat located in his town. an he was elected
4 JOQSC VI thO LII AC q oCCh
payin' his respects to Nancy Newly. who
lived at Weepin' Willer, then only a bunch
of shacks, on the south side of the Penn
mican river, five miles from Penner-ile.
Nancy wasn't handsome by a good deal,
but she was kind to everybody; an there
as no less than a hundred of us fellows
that would have been glad to have as good
a woman as Nancy for a wife. Her an
4 Nrouuhy bod M from, tho apna touyp
winslow hailed from. and they knew him
| purity we'll. When Newly died he left his
wilder a right smart of property an
money. Some say that Winslow swindled
her out of part of her money, but people
who said that didn't know Nancy very well.
Winslow got powerful important when he
was made judge. although he didn't know
| any more about law thai a coyote. When
any of the boys got yanked up for some
| deviltry they didn't call it a fine nor a
sentence-they called it Winslow's soothin'
syrup. an paid for their medicine without
a kick.
but 1 was goin' to tell you about the
| wilder. She owned all the land around
| weepin' Willer, besides a big cattle ranch
further Town the Pemmican. Alongside
of her land was Champ Ellerson's big cat
tie ranch. Champ has a heart as big as a
| load Of hay, an as the wilder lived in
| Weepin' Willer, he took it on himself to
look after her farms, just like any neighbor
ort to do. But the story got started that
he had mis- eye on the wilder and would
like to be a rival of Judge Winslow's. 1t
must have been a mighty awkward situa-
ton for Champ, for he was handler at
brandin' calves than courtin' a woman.
He an / had bunked together for mighty
nigh ten years, an 1 had never known him
TO take a hand at courtin' before. One
day he says to me. Pard, I've been tryin'
TO lasso Nancy Newly, but every time /
throw the rope she lodges L knew what
he meant; he had been tryin' TO ask Nancy
IL marry him, but he hadn't studied woman
nature we'll enough yet to know how TO
open UP the game just right
About this time people around weepin'
Willer began TO wonder why they had been
so stupid as to let Judge Wihslow get a
| cinch on the courthouse. Nancy Newly
had plenty of money which she was willin'
to put up. an it wasn't long before there
was a fight on hand to move the court
house to Weepin' Willer. An then was the
time Champ played a high card. He goes
to Nancy and proposes TO have the court
house moved TO Weepin' Willer within six
ty days. providin' she would consent TO
have her name written on the first mar
riage license issued from the clerks Office
after that event
THAT depends on the other name in the
license she replied. not KNOWN whether
| Champ was crazy or in dead earnest.
"1tn not be Judge Winslow.' my pard
replied. but it'll be plain Champ Elierson.'
4 Champ has never to this day told me what
happened just after that. but he rode out
to the ranch In the Afternoon an told me
that he had closed the biggest contract of
his life.
The arst thing he did was - have .