Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1902-07-05

prepared to wish her joy and get over
his trouble in the best way he could.
Claudia Vanalster, who loved neith-
er of them-or, if she did, knew moth
ing about twas daughter of a mer-
chant, gray-eyed, peach-cheeked,
plump graceful, pretty, good, and fond
of admiration. She was a graduate
of the Enosville Young Ladies' Semi
nary, played the piano a little, paint
ed little, knew little need1ework.
spoke French with the Enosville ac-
cent and was quite the county belle
So 'Jim" Bowen asked her bashfully
If he might drive her to the Fourth of
July speechmaking and picnic in Jack
sons grove, and she said no. while
Marrock, who was chief orator of the
day, girded up his loins and strove
nightly, being determined to shake
down the stars.
The elders of Smith county celebrat-
ed the Fourth of July in the old-fash-
ioned way. Patriotism was as ram
pant out there as it had been in the
older sections of the country ffty
years before. They had no use for
new-fangled methods of rejoicing.
What their fathers had believed was
good enough for them They appoint
ed regular committee to see that the
thing was properly done.
Thus it happened that in Jackson's
grove large lumber stand was erect
ed on which the elders might sit, the
county trustees the village trustees,
the school trustees, the county judge,
the clerk of the court, the SchOOlmaS-
ter and so forth. Item-there was
smaller stand for the Smithville band,
which was strong and earnest, though
little crude. Item-an open space In
the front of the big stand reserved Tor
the readers and speakers Item-a
larger stand to the right, reserved for
the young ladies who should imper-
-sonate the States. Item-a large space
on the ground to one side reserved for
the fire-crackers, ,catharine wheels and
what not. Long rough boards laid on
trestles served as tables for the din
ers. There was any quantity of spring
water, ginger pop and coffee as pot
ables, but no whisky nor beer. Smith
vile was a moral community.
1t was a cloudless day. A thousand
people were in the grove. From far
down the dirt road came the oom-
pah, oom-pah of the laboring band.
AS it grew nearer an occasional bar
of 1.-The Star-Spangled Banner" be-
CduS duu1DIc oSulAQ II lOoS bh0 oi6
nitaries in open carriages, most of
them with grizzled whiskers, showing
the yellowish stains of tobacco-juice
Back of them came the principal fea-
ture of the procession, three farm
wagons metamorphosed into triumph
al chariots by the aid of red, white and
blue calico and flowers and filled with
forty-four gaily dressed young women
fmpersonating the commonwealths of
this glorious Union. They were flushed
with the ride and in more than one
instance their diadems mad been Jared
crooked, but were happy and proud.
In their front was Claudia in a gown
cut a la Greek, holding a sceptre and
wearing a pastebOard crown golden
gilt and bearing papier-mache
shield. She was "Colum Behind
the wagons at a slow pace came the
faithful James in his buggy.
The grove reached, the band
climbed to its stand, the dignitaries to
the center platform, the girls to their
platform The bands leader puffed
out his chest faced the gaping crowd,
swung his baton and the instruments
crashed into My Country, 'Tis of
Thee" half a tone fat The people
plunged into the tune haf tone
Snarp. Inc trees IT6mDieQ, out Ola not
fall. The folks liked their singing SO
much that they encored the band and
sang the last verse over again.
Alcibiades Curtius Dickson, county
clerk, a lantern-jawed man with
voice like foghorn, read the Declara-
ton of independence through to the
bitter end, rolling out the sonorous
syllables and pausing soulfully at the
end of each sentence. Eliphalet Abso-
lom Rawlins. county Judge. rose to
introduce the orator of the day, and
spoke for three-quarters of an hour,
touching upon Bunker Hl.i and the
state of the crops, tossing a handful
of bouquets to George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson, devoting five
minutes of thunderous denunciation
to Benedict Arnold and winding up
with glorious burst over the result
of the Spanish war. Marrok ran his
| fingers through his hair and glared at
him. Finally he got his chance
| Now this young man in the seclu-
sion of his law office had been reading
a lot of cheap literature and worrying
himself by thinking that he was think
/ ing. The result was that his skull had
/ become filed with lot of
things that he thought were
1 ideas and he felt called r,nou tn