The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-04-25
A TENDERFooT NATURALIST.

=
! gathered round him, Il runs UP with q
young .feller from the East which he's
one OF them naturalist fellers as is alwus
| pesterin of birds, a-shootin of their
for their skins. This Teller, which his
name is John Abbot. is right slap on,
4 from MASSACHUSETTS. Bosting, L believe, is
the name of the town he halls from. And
he don't draw the line none whatever
at birds. little nor big, but takes in
puadroopedes and other reptyles all sim
lar.
wall. this here Abbot which 1 calls
him Abb for short, he hires me to haul
him and his outfit from Laredo hundred
miles norwest through the chapparal, a
stoppin' wharever he wants TO hunt.
Abb he's out of the wagon and "a
walkin' ahead. His shot gun is swung
! acrost his arm and he's lookin' for some
| bird or other 10 shoot at when suddenly
! up jumps one of them blue quails. He
shoots at it on the fy and only jest
! wings it, and it hits the ground "a
runnin' a streak, with Abb after it. l
yells at him TO let it go. cause he'll see
! hundreds of them furder on. But he jest
| yells back it's a rare bird, thets what
he calls il, and keeps after II a-chasin'
| of it through the prickly pears and soap
weeds and cat-claw thorns. And 1 yells
| TO him frequently to look out for the
! pears
In course the quail bein' winged tibet
away it can only run. but it chooses the
| thickest places, special maxim for all the
! prickly pear clunps in sight And finally
Abb gives it another shot what bout
lays it out, which it jest manages to
crawl into the middle of big bunch of
pears. Abb he sees whar it's hid. and in
his joy at feelin he's got his rare bird,
| and not havin' no experience of the Texas
pear crop. he runs and jumps full tilt
plump into the middle of the clump, a
landin in it sittin' down.
wall, you fellers know the results of
SIGH a toomultous landin into a lot of
prickly pears, and ii give me a hour OF
hard work and Abb a hour of tortoorous
agony. which I pulls and picks. the
needles out of his clothes and skin. But
he gifts his bird. and he says he feels re-
paid complete. Howsomever, he changes
his mind bout tibet same In the next
mile or TWO. He kills bout hundred
of them blue quails. and then he begins
to b'lieve what ! tells him tibet they
amt so ALFRED rare after all. Any
how, he says he knows what Texas pears
is like after this, and so he's larnin'
some and the experience amt lost none.
THE next symptom this here Abb
shows of his eastern veerdancy is after
supper tibet night. Which we has made
a dry camp havin' of a plenty water in
a kag in the wagon. And l leaves Abb
dark hunt with the lantern a-recon-
noiterin if / can git some veinson. 1
leaves him rolled up into his blankets on
1.-THE ground by the fire. which I tells him
to keep the same goin'. and to have me
some coffee bilin' when l comes back
bout midnight, cause I'll likely feel some
worn and cold. And special l wants the
fire KEEP goin' bright long bout tibet
time, SOS I'll be able to spot camp all
easy.
49, I saunters off with my Winchester
and the lantern. But l tramps hull Let
round in the brush never shinin' nothir',
and final I concloods it's bout time TO
give it up Tor tibet night. So. then l be-
gins to look for the camp fire in bout the
direction it ouGhter be. Which don't SPY
it none whatever nowhar. though ] gifts
on top a ridge. Howsomever, keeps "a
goin' the best / knows how for camp and
final after hull lot of trouble and
walkin' and sarckln' round I locates the
wagon.
las I pulls up by the wagon, tired and
hungry kyote banks away off somewhars |
And Abb he shivers all over and axes me
if I heerd it. And it develops thet he's
been skeered of a fool kyote a-barkin
ever since l left camp, and had clum' into |
the wagon eXpectin' every minute a hull |
passed. of them would charge onto him. |
Thar he sits all the time in the wagon. |
which his shot gun are down on the |
ground. whar, he had forgot and left It |
when he clum in. And so skeered is Abb |
tibet he acfooaly couldn't git out the |
wagon long enough to put some wood on |
the fire or git his gun.
Which l swears some hard And bein' |
too tired to make up a fire I jest rolls 1
into my blankets On the ground, and |
leaves Abb a-sittin' in the wagon. l has |
to tell him tibet I'll shoot him if he don't |
CT diGtr lin Of mo VIII nd
talk, afore he gifts over his skeer of the
lone kyote. Which the same is in course |
a-barkin like he was a hull pack.
Next mornin' we resooms our journey. |
And Abb he's found out tibet koyotes
amt donjous none, which they seems
danjous and amt, while pear clumps don't
seem danjous and is So he's larnin' some
fast.
Long bout noon tibet day we finds a
place as Abb concloods will do for his
business for a day or two, and we camps
down. | knows the locality round is
good for deer, and l tells Abb I'll sar-
coolate round some into the ridges near
by and git some venison. | tells him to
look out for havaleen. which them same
And he axes me If he'll shoot some If
they comes round. And l tells him. |
wall. he might shoot a young SOW pig,
which 1T would be good eatin'. But the
old ones and the bears amt no good, bein
mostly tough. So / starts out. sayin as
how I'd be back in a hour or two.
II finds some fresh deer signs afore I
gifts out of sight of camp. and l locke
keerfuI round as l fOllers it along. When
makes the first rise I spots two deers
bout six hundred yards ahead. And l
begins to make a sneak onto them, which
hey's young does and mighty fine eatin'
gifts into fair range. and works up still
4 little closter. SOS 10 make shore shot
And I'm jest a-raisin' my Winchester to
git bead onto one Of them. when a
shot rung out to my left. And a follerin'
# thet shot is bout tharteen more shots I
n continuous Succession. In course it's
complete at the first alarm,
and is stampedin for the next county.
Il goes back to camp and sits down
lisconsolate-like and ! hopes as how tfst
planned Abb has shot hisself with one Of
hem thsrteen shots I hears. After q
ong time he comes in with his gun ove-
lis shoulder. and l axes him what's nap
}ened. He says as how he's ambushed
tome wild pigs a1l killed some II them.
les left them whar he killed them. but
lie Il take me TO the place 50 he starts
III and I calls him back NSlHch ! axes |
Tim whar he's goin. AM he SAYS h $
,oin' to find the pigs. in course Eat
sees some buzzards a-s2rckliu' rom
4 the air over q spot exackiy opposite J
o whar Abb starts 10 60, which 7 says | I
posin we goes tibet away. He amt !
lone convinced. but persuade5 him f-al :
q go with ne first Ard promises him I
het If I don't lead him n tho plscr
trsight then III % with hIrn whsreTe-
e says Which leads him - the exack
pct az wunst. ard thar sc finds some I {