The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-01-26

ject an tame he even wears a necktie.
When Bill yields. the agent meets him hall
way. an. him an Bill rigs a deal whereby
Bill arrays himself Usage fashion when,
eyer his hands crowded; formal. by tribal
customs. Other times Bill inhabits trow.
sers; an blankets an feathers is rooled
out.
..Shore. 1 talks with Bits father, old
Crooked Claw. This yere savage is the ace
kyard Of Osageland as a fighter. No.; that
outfit amt been on the warpath for TWEEN
ty years when sees EN-; then it's with
Boggs's old pards, the Utes. i asks old
Crooked Claw II he likes war. He allows
that, nacherally, he dotes on carnage an
goes forth to battle as jojobilant as q
drunkard to a shOotin' match. That Is,
Crooked Claw goes euryin' off to wal joyful
at first; later, he says. his glee is u heap
subdooed because of the big chances he's
takin'. Then he Tugs out 'ieyen skelps, ali
Ute. an eloocidates:
This yeie first maverick. says Colonel
Claw-ef course. l gives him In the Ameri-
can tong ne, not bein' equal to that reedic'-
ioLs broken Usage he tafks-'this yere first
maverick an he strokes the braided hal
Of o old an smoke-drfed skelp. is easy.
The, cha;lces. that away. IL even. Number
two. of course. Is twice as hard: an when
] snags onto number three-I downs that
hold-up over by the base OF Fishers Peak
the chances has done mounted to three to
one ag'ir. me- So 1t goes on. getting higher
an higher, ontil when I corrals my ELEVENTH.
It's shors 'leven to one he wins onless he's
got k!llil,'s Of his own to stand of mine.
Which I don reckon none he has though.
says Crooked Claw, curtin his nose plenty
oontempiuouA hss heap big sQuaw-a
coward: an. would hide from me like q
quail Els looks big an brave an strong.
but his heart 10 bad-hs u . poor knife In q
good sheath. So I don't waste a bullet on
him. seem his fear, but kills him with my
war-ax Still. he raises the chances ag'Inst
me to twelve to one. SO after thatI gees
careful an slow. I sends in my young men;
but sort O. bankers an hungers about the
suburbs OF the racket myself, takln' no
resks. an on the prowl TOR q cinch-some
sech pickup as a sleeper, mebby. But my
Eleventh is my last, that. away; thu Great
Father sets tired with US an he sends hos
walk-a-heaps an BUFFALO soldiers-thess
yere satages calls them niggers buffalo
soldiers." bein' they're that wooly-an'
makes Vi, quit. Which we'd a-had the Utes
too dead to skin If 1t amt for them OBJ
noxious walk-a-heaps an buffalo soldiers
that TINA
"An' at this old Crooked Claw tosses the
bunch CT Ute ~top-knots to one OF his
souaws. fills up his red-stone pipe with
~kinnikinick an begins to smoke. lookin a.
complac..nt as q Missouri catfish doorip' q
Joone rife. Which I tells this aneckdote so
as you-all gains a sidelight on how .ediotio
them sa,ages cpunts up the odds Of q game.
This yere Bill Connors has now been
wanderin' through this vale Of tears for
mebby she's twenty odd years. an accordin'
to Osal;e tenets Bills doc a whole
lot to gut welded. No, Bill don't make no
move; hs COMFORTS himself lethargio; which
the Responsibilities Of them nuptials de-
wolves en- Bills family.
IT'S one of the excellentest things about
q Injun that he don't pick out no wife
personal. deemia' himself most likely as too
locoed u, beat 30 difficult q game
sTDe tNo hours before sundouu tia ~.