The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1901-03-21

II thOugnI you q De IL Dackcdpplu
me, I'd strange you with your whis-
kers," said the stock tender. Honest
Injun, did she say anythin' about me?"
Il promised not to tell" replied the
old bull whacker. But l said that l
wuz goin' to give you heap of good
talk, an I'll keep my word. The mex
time yo hain't got nothin' else to do
get bucket of rain water an chunk
of CASTLE soap an clean up your har-
nesses. Quit gamblin' excep' in moder-
alton an when the moon is right an
quit cussin'-not but that l like to
hear you cuss when you're in good
voice an suthin' inspirin' happens.
think you've got nacheral gift an it's
been cultivated some, but it never does
no good to cuss.
What was you sayin' to them lead
oxen when they hawed out of the trail
as you come along?" inquired the stock
tender. you don't need to tell me be-
cause you wasn't more'n three miles
off, an l could hear you"
Il amt givin' you this on my own
say-so. | got it from a man with side
whiskers that comes out from Iowa to
renovate his lungs, which was wore
some. He called me his friend the first
clatter out of the box, an he told me
that cussin' was vishus an didn't do no
good. and that there wuz law agin it
in Iowa, besides it bein' wrong on gen.
eral princerples. l guess he must ha'
known what he was talkin' about. You
can't never tell what some of these leg
| islatures in the states are likely TO
spring on free people. / studied over
/ it heap, an | conclood that man
| can jest as well as not talk United
States without trimmin's if he oncet
gets into the habit of it. l reckon he
could quit before it got too strong for
him if he found it was injurin' his
health
why don't you try it, then?" said
the stock tender
81 thought you had some glimmerin's
of horse sense" answered the old bull
whacker. Il hain't freightin' with To-
connective along a standard-gauge
track; I'm directin' bulls, an have to
give 'em their instructions in language
they can understand along stretches
of gumbo. If | didn't have no regard
for the feelin's of dumb beasts | might
make half time by sockin' the buck
skin to 'em every jump in the road,
but | amt that kind of a man, an a
animal needs his hide to keep the flies
| off,
IF it wasn't for that you'd quit, 1
spoSe,' said the stock tender.
"Mebbe | would an then again
mebbe ! wouldn't" replied the old
bull whacker.
Il did oncet an l didn't enjoy it.
That was when | was ranchin' down
on Box Elder, an my sisters son
Dick come out to stay with me. l
was onto the fac that there was
pre-joodice aginst the use of vigorous
talk back in the east before | met
! the man with the side whiskers, al
though / had sorter forgot it, My
sister reminded me of it when she
wrote an said that she would worry
about the kid, because she knew that
we INDUCED in coarseness out west
an she'd hate right smart to see
Dick get coarse. | wrote back to her
an give myself a good character, an
| it seemed like she took considerable
stock in it an impressed it on the
kid.
after awhile Dick come along an
| interdooced himself. He wuz nice
| loolln' kid about 20, an he had ben
,;,,s @.
| Looey. He asst me about what
church privileges we had right off,
an | was grieved to inform him that
we wuz short an he wuz grieved to
hear it. He wuz quiet kid an didn't
say much. Sometimes | used to
think he had suthin' on his mind the
way he acted. We didn't get very
sosherble. he not havin' much to say
an me bein' the same way"
The stock tender snorted.
'Well, when l had anythin' to say
/ most ginerally went away down
the gulch apiece an said it. | wore
a trail there, | sure did. If it wuzn't
convenient to leave the shack when
things was goin' wrong l KEEP my
mouth shut an felt uncomfortable,
an things went along that-a-way for
about month, an the kid seemed
to be gettin' more uneasy all the
time, an | didn't press him hard to
stay when he talked about cuttin
his visit short.
"Finerly one evenin' at supper
time he upset some hot coffee in his
lap. an after squirmin' around a
spell an remarkin' how it hurt him
he got up an went outdoors an 1
seen him streakin' fer the barn. He
wuz gone about five minits, an when
he came back he looked as if he wuz
feelin' good. / didn't say nothin,
but day or two after that he wuz
milkin' in the corral an mean one
horned COW l had kicked him galley
west, with the milk on top of him.
l symperthized with him an said it
wuz too bad, an he agreed with me
in his mild way. Then he said he be-
lieved he would go to the house.
81 follered him that time, havin'
my suspicious, an when I stopped at
the door an listened l found that
they hadn't ben misplaced no ways.
What you said awhile back, Henry,
wuz honey an merlasses to what
that kid was Savin' obo1tt tbot oou-