The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-12-21
John Crawn's Christmas Present

I and had everything man might need
I in the world-except the one thing he
J especially wanted. That, Of course, was
a girl. They had gene 10 high school
together, and John had felt for years
that when the time came they would be
( hurried. Perhaps he took TOO much for
granted At any rate when he asked the
/ girl to FIX the day she looked a. him
bankly and asked: What day are YOU
/ talking about?" He knew perfectly wen
that she knew what he meant. and her
/ pretense made him angry. There follow
/ ed a conversation Of ten minutes length
/ al the end Of which John felt that be
was the most abused Of men.
You talk as if all you needed to do
/ was 10 ask me TO marry you" the girl
! said. q can't see where you got the
idea that I was waiting for you to say
the word. I don't love you. and I won t
marry you. But wish you every hap
/ piness."
That evening John Crawn met Harry
/ Lathrop at the club. They were cid
1 friends
"If you weren't such lazy chap
| John" said Lathrop, I'D ask you to g
with me up into the woods. I'm leaving
! tomorrow to take charge OF e camp on
! the south fork of the Caribou and ex-
( pect to stay all winter. There'n be sixty
! teamsters and sawyers in camp and
/ Wen be 800 miles north Of Milwaukee
1t was just what John Crawn was
! looking for He wanted to get away as
/ far as possible from the Girl and every
thing that reminded him of her.
They left the railroad at the Chippewa
! reservation and found Murphy the camp
boss, waiting for them with wagon
| and team.
Thirty miles over frozen corduroy road.
along the tops of the pine ridges and
/ down into the valleys between them
! brought the party, tired and badly
/ shaken. TO the "shack.' Gus" the
! German cook. was the first to see them.
! He was out behind the cook-house,
/ chopping I'D some frozen bull meat
/ with an ak, when they drove up.
That's what you'll have to live on"
/ said Lathrop. THAT and salt pork and
| a few fish and potatoes and bread"
They started in month before the
! holidays. The novelty and excitement
| Of life In a lumber camp was perha ps
/ the best coUnter-irritant John Crawn
/ could have found for his sorely wounded
! feelings. He learned TO handle one end
/ Of a big cross-cut saw and studied the
/ fine art Of making huge trees fall on a
! given spot by inserting wedges Of the
! proper size in the saw cash.
wen, Jack" said Lathrop a few days
! before the great holiday, I guess wen
have to spend Christmas in the woods
this year. We couldn't get back to Mil
/ waUkee without wasting nearly a week,
| and / at least, can't afford to-
John declared that nothing would
! please him better. Christmas was a
bore. He would rather spend Christmas
| IN the woods than anywhere else
"If you have any little things you'd
like to send back to town." went on La
! throp, well let the boys take them
over to the reservation If you'n pack
/ them up"
John declared that there was nobody
In town he cared enough about to send
a present to.
On the day before Christmas 1t started
| TO snow At noon the horses were hitch
/ ed to the big Sled and Gus" the cook,
! and Pete" q big Norwegian sawyer,
started to drive in for supplies for the
/ Christmas dinner. They were warned
/ to be careful and to take no chances OF
! being caught in q blizzard. In addition
/ TO laying in a big stock Of good things
! to eat and drink. they were to get the
mail, spend the night in town, and drive
out on Christmas morning.
! On Christmas morning the storm had
! developed into a genuine blizzard. The
snow came down in apparently solid
sheets. and the sharp edge of the wind
cut like a knife. It was impossible to
make out objects thirty feet off
Nothing but salt pork and bull beef
/ for Christmas dinner today" said La
/ throp. THE boys win never try to come
| back in this storm
It grew dark early in the woods. By 5
| o'clock It was almost black outdoors,
| and the wind roared through the trees
! with increased violence. Things had
! been made snug for the night when La
/ throp. looking out OF the window. saw
/ the team and sleigh draw up before the
shack"
He jumped up and ran out without a
word, a dozen men close on his heels.
/ on the drivers seat sat, or rather lay,
! Pete unconscious and breathing heav-
! ily A glance showed that ne had been
overcome by both whisky and the cold.
The sled was loaded with provisions, but
Gus, the cook was nowhere to be
! found. Pete was aroused and asked
where he had left his "pardner." but IN
his stupefed state he was unable to give
any intelligent information He couldn't
tell whether Gus" had started with him
or whether ne had decided to remain
/ behind in town.
ITS like this" said Lathrop, finally.
/ " Gus was probably 50 drunk that be
staid behind IN town. If he started and
fell off somewhere on the road Re Is
certainly frozen to death by this time.
At any rate. it would be almost certain
death TO go back over the trail tonight.
Wen have T. let It go and trust to for
tune that Gus is sound asleep under
a billiard table in town"
But John Crawn was not willing to
rest while poor old GUS was possibly
/ freezing TO death somewhere on the traiL
I'm going back 70 look fr him" he
/ said. Perhaps ne fell off the sled only
a little way back. In that case we VII
/ be IN plenty Of time TO save him. Any
way, I'm going to try"
! Iathrop saw that he was IN earnest
/ and agreed to go with him. They started
/ with a new team, letting the wise horses
/ pick their own way over the drifte1
/ track Two miles ont from tho camp
/ they came to a desd st0p. John Jumped
/ out and stumbled over the body ~ old
/ Gus" He put his hand inside the Jun
bermau's heavy Jacket and felt HIS heart
beating
He's alive. Harry he shouted. He p
( me get him in the sled"
They rftad the unconscious man into
I the box and started back TO the camp.
first removing the letter bag which vas
strapped around his shoulders A. re
cabin half a dozen men wno had expe-
+ rierce in treating cases Of tho kind took
1 charge Of him. Lathrop and Crawn sac
+ down close before the IRE - lock o ger
tire mail Lathroo noticed that Crawn
started as he picked up enc envelope
I JTe tore 81 o1en eagerly su3 seemed -
read its contents over several times
'FFsrrv" be said finally GIVE got 20
20 back "a town tom errcw. I've E3r e
message here that calls ne back a.
ou1a
pretty good sort ~ a CHRISTMAS pres
emf isn't Ho said Lathro9. villa q
su,i5e