The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-10-16
rgNpERFooT OF cuPPLE RANCH.

"Huutin' was still pretty good out IN
southwest Wyomin' when the Cuppleses
settled there said Jasper Hatch. the Old
hanger-on at the Yellowstone reserva-
ton. AT any rate, I was holdin' my own
in them days, and there wasn't nothin'
could stop me tween the park an the
state lines.
I used 10 lodge a heap out at Bar X
ranch, and what queered the Cuppleses
up there was the same thing that's queer
ed lots O. more good meanin' people out
here. If they'd a set up their gOidarn
henhouses, sheep runs an fences near
some town it'd been all right, but what
did they do! They picked out strip
about eleven miles from Chamberlain,
right acrost the trail tween town and
the Cayeuse river district II was the
longest, skinniest durn ranch you ever
seen, and TO make things worse they
fenced the whole thing in with baIb-wire.
don't know how long the dang thing
really was, but it cut of the trail and
every COW puucher that started his herd
for them runways at Chamberlin got 70
Cussin' the Cuppleses from the old man
down to Carrie, the pretty little gal that
usJa ride into town for the mail. Cup
pleses back line run right into the Cay
euse, and the front line ended over in
them buttes where not even coyote can
gallop two miles without breakin' his
neck.
That's what got the Bar X outfit sore
on the Cuppleses. o course they natu-
rally hated fence people anyhow, but
for a outfit TO go an deliberately string
six miles O. them id hshh0Ok tangles
acrost a wide grass trail was fit TO make
any cowman madder'n an old grisly.
But Pete McComas was the maddest
OF EN- all He was foreman up 10
Bar X and he allowed that he'd ride
through the Cuppleses place with q nip
pers in one hand an sixshOOter in the
other. He tried it all right, but he never
got over the middle wire. He started out
alone one night about o'clock 10 ride
into Chamberlin. He was for havin' one
o. them mean times o. his, I reckon, for
he took a bunch O. money with him. an,
sure enough, a pair o wire niDpers.
There was q red-headed hired man work
in for Cuppleses, an the more We seen
O that fellow the worse we al hated him.
He usta gallop into town wearin' the
fanciest looidn' toys you ever seen. Sus-
penders! What do you think of workln'
hand a-wearin suspenders2 But HE
did, and what's more he had a silk hand
kerchief round his fool neck.
THE Bar X fellows sized him UP for
one o them college tenderfeet that comes
out here once in a while for his health.
This ones name was Hays LandOn, the
postmaster told me so, but the fellows
christened him Nellie and swore they'd
Go him if they was any chance. He
didn't look any too healthy, kinda pale
and slim loolun', but for all that he was
the kinda chap women folks is apt TO get
sweet on l guess that helped the fell
lows to hatin' him a little more, for, by
gum, they wasn't a man from tn Idaho
line TO Dog Hut over in Ginseng county
that wasn't stuck on Carrie Cupples from
the first time he set eyes on her. o
rnah
workin' for old man Cupples this here
red-headed Hays Landon kinda had the
edge on en- all, an like as not they was
all more or less jealous.
But, come TO think, I'm headin' off
my own yarn. The night Pete rode down
{ Chamberlin intendin TO cut his way
right through the Cuppleses' fences he
come back walkin' about three hours
after he started.
You been { Chamberlin alreadyT
SAYS 7, as he come in tn kitchen door.
Nope ne says, lookin' kinda foolish,
not this time and then he hikes off t
bed.
1T took me a long time to find out
just what happened, but the facts is
these: When Pete started to cuttin' them
barb-wires that there red-headed dude o,
Cuppleses seen him an opend fire. 1
never did know what kinda fight Pete
put up, but just the same the dude got
his claybank pony tn first shot aud Nc
CdEnas had to walk home. I never told
that story on Pete till after he was
married an then he owned up to it.
Every once a month or so Pete usta
see Carrie down to the pOstoffice, an be-
fore long he was the worst gone man in
tn county. 1t usta make him hotter
hades 90 see her an that Hays Landon
ridin' of for the Cupples ranch as con-
ddential as two married folks, and / hon
estly b'lieve if he hadn't already got
kinda taste o Hayses style o hghtin
he'd a gone there an carried off the gal
10y force. He was that fur gone. An
they wasn't nothin' but Hays Landon t
stop him. Old Cupples was an old cripple
about 6l years old. They was two half
breed kids sleepin' out with tn sheep an
Hays was the whole garrison But Pete
never tried it. wild as he was.
1T was comm home from tn big stud
poker game in Chamberlin that Pete and
Hays Landon come together next. That
was IN night old Pierce Ganney skinned
the Bar Y foreman till he didn't have
the price of drink. Pete was ridin out
toward Cuppleses an had got about two
miles from them barb-wires. when who
should he bump into but the red-headed
dude standin in the trail strikn' matches
acrost his pony s foot.
What's tn matter nowT says Pete,
kinda iOOSenln' his artillery.
For Gods sake says Landon, turn
ing his white face up 20 the foreman,
VIII You ride TO town for DR.. McMan-
rers? Carrie is very sick-the pony has
gone lame, and
Pete didn't wait for the rest. He was
gone like a streak of lightning for Cham
berlin. He musta got the doctor all
right. an Carrie musta got well, for
seen en- all in town half a dozen times
a. I'D IL, al =
the red-headed dude on tn other. We
uone a lot O. fgurin as to when the row
would come off, for everybody up the
Cayeuse allowed that it was only a ques-
ton o. time when Pete'd have TO shoot
the knot onn Hays or Hays d shoot OF
hisn.
well. sir, they amt no way O. fgurin'
out such things. Twas along IN next fail
7 was comm down Chamberlin ways with
three loaded packs an a bunch O. small
hides when I put up at Bar X The
whole outfit was excitin' itself over the
news o. Pete MeCoy's weddin'.
Who you goin' L NARY, Peter says
T.
TIL Cupples GAL says he
But the mystery come when lot o
cards al wrote out in a ladylike hand.
was brought up in the mail. announcin'
that the presence Of Ike Sm0ot. q
Cetra Ct Cetra, was invited 10 tn wed
Gin o. HAYS Landoa on the fifteenth day
OF October.
when YOU goin' : get married.
pete saws J.
-October dfteenth,' says Pete. GRIMM
Eilda wise.
.Then we was al ready for a fight
we nat rally s-u0se6 that HAYS meant -
n --v Carrie. am we knew that Pete
was up c tn Same game. But we ali
went Z th weddin, an we all went
armed. vou bet
..-.r sir she, p-arcad into Thar