Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1901-11-08
HANK SIMMONS
BY KENNErr F. HARRIS
Copyright, 1901, by Author. syndicate,
u ANK SIMMONS was never reck-

oned particularly sociable in
aiVidual, even when he was in Goods
Country where sociability was pos
siple to some extent. The gro
Gerry at 'the Corners" which
was the intersection of the Vim
.on, Orosbytown and Blockley roads,
IN saline county, No., Goods country"
aioresaid' never had any great attrac-
tioh Tor Hank, and the habitues of
that popular resort generally lowed
'hat Hank was right smart of good
company-fer hisself. He certainly
seemed to prefer spending his even
ings on the paternal eighty, mending
harness, reading the weekly paper, or
even Jess a-settin'" gazing blanlSly
'nto the fire of hickory logs, to the
charms of converse with the sages of
the soap box. Equally he Stunned
singin' school," and the strawberry
and ice cream festivals allured him not.
Not" he said, "by derned sight"
Therefore, he might have been con-
sidered eminently fitted for the soli-
tary life of sheep herder in the slopes
OF the Jarillas, whittier he had drifted
IN course of time, but he had to con-
less at last that he found it "sort o.
Lonesome" and that meant great deal
for him. An ordinarily gregarious
man would probably have gone stark
staring mad in from six months to a
year. but Hank had now followed the
flocks for three years, far from human
habitation and the sound of human
voices, and he was still reasonably
sane.
Once in two or three months the sup
ply wagon came around, and then the
driver, Bill Williams, usually stayed
with him day or two and helped him
10 move camp to pastures new. Occa-
sionally Mexican prospector>or a
party of Indians on hunt came into
his range, but the rest of the time
there was no sound but the ceaseless
bleating of his sheep and the quick
crunch of their teeth on the grass; no
sight but the same old everlasting hills,
with their scanty clothing of grease
wood and cactus and stunted pine; no
occupation but to slouch along after
his imbecile charges, or lounge in the
shade of rock and tree, no companion
ship but that of the misnamed Diablo,
the half-bred sheep dog. 1t was no
wonder that he felt it "sort of lone
some"
1t was not so much the solitude, he
said afterwards, as the eternal bleat-
ing, bleating, bleating. Or, at least,
that in some way acted upon his nerves
and Intensified the feeling of loneli-
ness. 1t sometimes happens that a
herder who is not Mexican suddenly
snaps the cord of his endurance and
runs amuck through the flock, with
awful slaughter. After this happens
he usually kills himself, for the sur
vivors continue to bleat. This is just
as we'll, for he would be an awkward
patient to conduct to Q lunatic asy-
lum.
But this is beside the story, except
to explain that Hank was so anxious
to have Bill Williams stay with him for
awhile longer on the occasion of his
last visit, and why Bill was so genuine
ly sorry that he could not.
"I'd like to the best kind, Hank" said
the driver. 'If Long wasn't short of
chuck an waitin' fer me on Madre Chi
quota, I'd do it, but I've got to hit the
trail shore. It's a slnche that you've
gotter come in, though, an I'll shore
bring some hombre to spell you ther
mex trip. Can you stick it out till
then? If you can't, get in the wagon
anyhow an let the. sheep go to hell. A
mans worth more'n herd of snotty-
uosed sheep"
"Oh, reckon / kin stand 1t till then, "
sighed Hank; "but it's shore lone
some" And so the long whip cracked
and the brake ground on the wheels,
{ and the wagon slid after the trotting
mules down the trail.
In two days Hank was sorry that he
had not climbed into the wagon, and
considered whether he would not dc
well to strike out afoot for the Madre
Chiqueta; but there were livin' cks
around the spring, and the coral was a
frail thing, so he gritted his teeth and
STAYED, and then in his need came a
man and a blackboard to the camp. II
is safe to say that no man ever got q
heartier welcome.
He stayed two days, and when he
went betrayed his eastern origin by
asking for the "bill."
"God!" exclaimed Hank, "ef yor
only knew how tickled I've ben ter have
Won here! How much do owe you
pardner? I'd like ter hire you fer tht
mex three months jest ter talk tel
me-"
That gave the parting guest an idea
He may have realized how this soitar.
herder felt. Perhaps even during hi!
brief journey the dreariness OF th'
desert had entered into his own soul
At all events, he unpacked his biz
cowhide trunk and took therefrom {
small box and a paper parcel. From
the box he took q curious little ma
chine. upon which he fitted a glossy hol
low cylinder from the parcel; lastl.
attaching tin funnel and winding NJ
the arrangement with key. Then
as Hank gazed in open-mouthed won
der. a curious whirring sound proceed
ed from the funnel, and then in nasal
vibrant tones voice which said: LA
dies and gentlemen, fellow citizens;
have no hesitation in declaring to yo'
tonight that In his attitude on tn
financial question, the presidentof tn
United States has placed himself i
direct opposition to the letter and tn
spirit of the constitution" "Knoy
Who that is?" asked the traveller. at
william Jennings Bryan. Here, we'
Jerk him out and try another. Sousa'
hand. How do you like that? Here