Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-05-21
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The day had been sultry. At 8 o'clock
the heat had not abated, and business
threatened to keep me at Caldwell
overnight. The prospect was not al.
Turing. Time hung heavily on my
hands. fumed about the office Of the
hotel awhile and finally dragged a
chair out on the veranda where Jim
Murphy, a cattleman who owned q
ranch some ten miles from the town,
sat in another, his pipe in his mouth
and his feet on the top railing Of the
baluSters.
Before us stretched out the one long
business street Of the place, its shops
gay with striped awnings. Beyond 1t
the prairie, wide and rolling, simmer
ed in the heat waves, the border line
between Kansas and Oklahoma indi.
Gated by a shapely hedge fence.
Jim bent over, knocked the ashes out
Of his pipe, reflled 1t and once mort
sat back in his chair. 1t grOaned be-
meath his weight.
"This here town amt what it used to
be ten year ago." said he disgustedly,
taking In its circumference. with q
comprehensive sweep Of his large hand.
"Then it was a corker Of town and no
mistake. Look over thar now at that
side street with them nice little frame
houses in straight rows pranked out
with square grass plots and people set
tin on the steps a-takin Of it easy.
Then think of them grand old days OF
dugouts and rattlesnakes and cowboys
them days before we got so almighty
civilized we can't shoot off a pistOl
without gettin arrested, and compar.
'em."
He sighed.
"Thar amt no sort of comparison, to
my thinkin," he added. "Them was tn.
times to live in"
He brooded silently. By and by, fix.
ing his pipe between the stubs Of wha,
few front teeth he had left, he began
again.
II remember" said he, when the
Westons first came to Caldwell. l,
was nigh on to II year ago. Can't seem
possible it's that long, but 1t is. Time
flies out here In the west, whar you've
got to keep hustlin to git any show
at all. Thar amt no such thing as
takin it easy out here. You don't dare
to stumble. You don't dare to fall.
Thar's allus plenty Of fellers right be.
hind you, ready and glad to close in
the ranks over your body If they catch
you laggin behind little even.
"But. as was sayin. when the
Westons came to Caldwell, thar want
more'n hundred people in the town,
If that. but they was people. They
want afraid Of nothin or nobody
that is, the men. OF course the VIM
min was scared nigh to death most OF
the time. but you couldn't expect moth
in else of wimmin. Thar want sin
gle coward among the men. Cowboys
and rattlesnakes and Indians was all
alike to them. They was game as
fightin cocks.
"The Westons took this hotel whai
we are settin now and got the Biz
Southern, jest beginnin to run then
from Chicago to Galveston, to STOP
off for meals. 1t was good deal OF
work to run such a hotel, 20 minits fol
dinner and all that, and you'd ei
thought Weston would er helped, but
he didn't. He set In the office smok
in while Mrs. Weston did the work
Work! never see anything like IT.
1t was wonder to me how she evei
kept alive. She couldn't er slep'
more'n an hour or two at night, up and
about before daylight year In and yeal
out, and she didn't give herself hardly
a mint to eat Time and ag'in I've