The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1902-05-22
70 70 Alb@d & H0NnyV0Tl for WldnIB Pumps and ThVmk


: EDITOR OF THE T0MAHAWK.
Seo~@~~@e~<,e~~e~e@e~e~~~@~
The title Of his newspaper was fero-
ssous. but not he. OF all the editors
that published west Of the Red River
In the boom" days he was tue mildest
and most sedate In appearance He
sometimes looked q in age; no one
took him for rs. and in truth he was
2s. Raised and educated in an Iowa
printing Office, TOURING" typesetter
for a number of years, he suddenly de-
sired paper OF his own, A clean
name with his fellows, joined to the
few hundred dollars he had saved, Sc
cured for him a plant, and he trans
ported this by rail and wagon into the
grass country, and because where he
located the Sioux had once ruled he
called his paper the Tomahawk. a
was a good newspaper. Typograph-
ically il could not have been improved
upon: every local doing was 70 b
found in its columns, and the editoris
page was fresh with homely and clean
" comments on the news OF the day
! He set no moral standard for the com
munlsy in which he lived; he indulged
in no lengthy dissertations as 10 What
the people should or should not do
He conducted his paper for the news
and II through his retiring disposition
he did not make warm friends he
nevertheless held the respect OF every
body. That he would fight, resent an
attack, make trouble II trod upon no
one ever dreamed He was too quiet.
One day in his search for news he
chanced to learn that the Washington
Merchandise company was quietly sell
ing liquor to the Indians. The knowi-
edge aggravated him. The company
was the one big trading center OF the
region. 1t had a main store and twen.
ty or thirty branches scattered over 500
miles of country. 1t was owned by
eastern spectators and managed by
local agents That they should permit
whisky TO be sold to the aborigines
seemed extraordinarily outrageous 70
the editor.
HIo thought it over and then wrote
letter to the president of the company.
briefly recIting what he knew and sug-
costing that stop be put to the sale;
that it might precipitate an Indian out
break, and anyway, it is violation OF
national law which the corporation
ought not to permit. He received in
reply a curt letter requesting him in so
many words to mind his own affairs.
The next issue of his paper bristled
with an exposure of what the merchan-
disc company was doing. He investi-
gated SO thoroughly that the govern
ment finally acted, and in the end the
company ceased the sale OF whisky al
together. 1t was signal victory fol
the Tomahawk.
But the same day that the company
surrendered. its manager. at SAND
Bluff wrote to The editor Of the Toma.
hawk:
81 shall reach your town Monday
If YOU are still in the country I shall
kill you"
The editor opened the letter, read II
most carefully, laid it down and said
half to himself and half to the press
beside him:
Its two days from Monday"
Then he picked up another letter
forgot the first and eagerly read:
"You wish me to come West and
take up life with you. agree with
you that we have waited long enough
l am tired working for others. but am
ready to work for and with you. BJ
the time this reaches you shall be or
the way. l will reach you Monday
noon if the stage Is on time. under
stand have to take stage from Sand
Bluff, but shall enjoy the experience
1t is agreeable to me that we should bt
married as soon as arrive"
The editor smiled from ear to ear
He walked to the rear OF his shack ant
looked at room he had been prepar.
ing for months for this very coming OF
his girl The only carpet In town wal
on the floor of this room, her picture
was over the dresser: white curtainl
hid the windows; little knickknsciu
had been placed just about as the aver.
age man would locate them.
Well said the editor, Il may bs
dead Monday. but she's coming. and
this is her room"
He was most quiet the rest of tht
day and the day following. He told nc
one Of the contents of the two letter.
he had received. Only he satisfied
himself If the Sand Bluff stage was or
time that it would reach his town Mon.
day at 1890.
mo reason, either said the post,
master. why it shouldn't be on time. ,
Sunday. without attracting any onei
particular attention. the editor barri
caded his windows and two doors. H,
something like breast
works back Of them. He made alss
several ingenious peepholes He knew
the Sand Bluff store manager, knew
the rage he had felt ov-. - whisk,
exposure. knew the via band o
frontier spirits that anziJ journeye,
with him when he was -ovt on busl
ness" He had no reason =. doubt bll
that the manager would arsive in tcu