Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1902-12-18

- " Nh&A1 "a
a dozen men were gathered about a
red-hot stove.
"Was that you firm as you came
up, Jim?" asked one.
Jim Bottles was q man of few
words. He grunted out an inaudible
reply and pushed his way through
the circle of corduroy and boots to
warm his stiffened fingers at the
fire!
The men who composed the circle
in the settlement store that evening
were enjoying each others society
with the expenditure of little talk and
a great deal of tobacco smoke. Moth
ing was said for severa. minutes and
Bottles had an opportunity to thaw
himself out.
What time did you leave the val
ley, Jim?" inquired the storekeeper
tentatively to start the ball of con-
~versation rolling.
Bout two"
Bout two, nawthing," exclaimed
Harvey Smith, derisively, "you never
come no 20 miles in four hours In
this weather."
81 don't know, Harve,' remarked
the storekeeper in a conciliatory
tone, "a man with a good team can
make pretty good time comm across
the lakes"
He can't come from the valley in
four hours if he had the best team of
colts that ever was raised, b'gosh,"
said Harve, emphatically.
You'd do it yerself with your old
plugs, Harve, if you had a catamount
taggin' yer all the way" said Jim
Bottles.
who had a catamount taggin'
him?" cried out several voices at
once.
Il had a cat foller me all the way
from the lower pond yellin' as if Sam
Hill was a-twistin' her TAIL" replied
Bottles.
Bottles, you've been drinking"
cried Harve.
She followed me very step of the
way, I tell you. She was after the
fresh meat I was bringin' in. She
smelt it way up on the mountaing-
side, and she was hot after 1t. If it
hadn't been for the bells she'd have
come right out of the woods into the
sleigh, the bells sort of skert her."
"You say she kept up yelling'?" in
quired one of the interested circle.
"At every jump"
81 never heart of a cat after her
food yellin'," remarked a tall man
with a long gray beard.
mo more hev' l."
"Nor me, nuther."
Bottles" remarked Harve, "you've
been a drinkin' some of that valley
60 per cent. ill you seen cats"
Jim Bottles turned slowly at the
fire to warm his other leg. Goats is
not a nice thing to see," he remarked
m~editatively to his boot, 'but I'd
rather see live cats a burned sight,
than the things Harve sees when he
gets 'come-so.'"
After the laugh had subsidized 81
lence reigned in the little circle of
Big Sliders while they digested Bot
ties story in full.
"Did you say you brought in some
fresh meat?" inquired Harvey, knock
ing the ashes out of his pipe on his
boot heel.
1.-Two hind quarter of beef"
Lets go out and take a look at it.
I reckon you'll want some one to help
yer unload?"
Harvey rose from his chair,
stretched himself and, taking up a
lantern, went out towards the barn,
Bottles and or two others fol-
lowing on his heels. They all en-
tered the barn together. "The beef
is in the hind part of the sleigh,
Harve'." :
With a cry of alarm Harvey sprang
back IL feet, dropping the lantern.
"What ails yer" cried old Caleb
Grey, picking up the light and hold
ing it high. "Jehoshaphat! look out,
boys, she's about to spring!" he cried
IN the next breath.
A large yellow catamount with
claws deep into the haunch of beef,
crouched glaring at them in the dim
light. .
"That's the critter that followed
me all the way from the lower pond"
said Jim Bottles, quietly, turning
around. He was alone.
Harvey had run to the house for
his gun, while the others were out
side the barn door peeping in through
the cracks in petrified establishment
as Bottles walked up and put his
hand on the animals neck. She was
perfectly stiff.
"You can all come in, boys" called
Bottles. "You can put up your gun,
Harvey, she'll never claw nawthin no
more"
Shot under the eye, the catamount
had never moved from the moment
she alighted on the sleigh, except to
dig her claws deep into the haunch
of beef.
"Gosh all hemlock! amt she a big
one!" exclaimed old Caleb, admir-
ingly.
Reckon she amt more'n nine feet
from tip to tip" said Bottles, mod
estly; "but if I hadn't plugged her
with that shot I'd have gone to see
Sam Hill certain sure."- Ledger
Monthly.
A CReste Disrufae.