Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1903-06-18

III was dinner time when JUMBO sam
rode up to the Hat Six ranch. Hospi-
tality is the first law of the cattle
country, and Jumbo Sam, who had
eaten breakfast seven hours before,
was in no mood to transgress 1t. His
saddle creaked as 1t was relieved OF
his 200 pounds, and the jaded COW
pony shook himself with satisfaction.
Dinner is now ready in the dinin'
car" sang out the cook. Come an
git 1t while it's hot"
In response to the welcome call the
crowd of COW punchers filed into the
dining room.
Come on, Jumbo" said Rufe
| Thompson, foreman of the Hat Six.
Better hit the grub trail right now, IL
| you don't want the cook to work over
time. Them COW hands Is liable to
clean off that table as quick as a
beaver workin' in patch O. fresh will
lows. They amt got no more manners
than one O. yer bears when it sets
down to an antelope carcass"
Jumbo Sam was a bear hunter by
occupation, and the smile was not
| lost on him. He made a hasty pre-
tense of scrubbing his bearded face
In the water trough at the side of the
kitchen, and followed Thompson into
the dining room.
| Set yere. Jumbo, right acrost from
Peg Simmons. You know Peg. At
| least If you don't you'd crter."
Other than an involuntary start,
Jumbo Sam gave no sign that he rec
| ogniZed Simmons. He took the seat,
| however. and bent his head SO low
| over his plate that Jack Fulmer, his
nearest table companion, said after
ward that he thought the hunter was
| about to ask blessing.
This expectation was not realized,
| for Jumbo Sam, with head still low
cred, swept the table with sidelong
| glances and helped himself literally
to beefsteak, biscuits and potatoes as
the food was passed to him. AS he
had reputation for conversation of
that personal variety known as brag-
gadocio, his silence was noticeable
| His close attention to the business in
hand, however, seemed to remove any
mysterious cause for this lack of To-
quacity. Not once did he refuse to
help himself to the contents of the
meat platter or pan of biscuits. Had
1t not been for his peculiar manner
during the meal his reticence might
have been passed by without com.
ment. Not once did he raise his eyes
to Peg Simmons. The strange twist
of his thick neck suggested rheuma.
tism, spinal trouble, earache, almost
any i'll, in fact, which could be con-
tracted by man who sometimes
tracked a grizzly in fresh snow for
two or three days with stopping until
he found his game.
Peg Simmons on the other hand
seldom looked at his plate. His small
blue eyes rested almost constantly on
the bowed head across the table. He
was a little man-hardly five feet
eight, and his slight frame contrasted
sharply with Jumbo Sans bulky fig
ure. Moreover, he was a cripple. One
day while trying to head a refractory
steer in gopher ground his pony had
stepped in prairie dog hole and
thrown him. Simmons left leg was
broken so badly that 1t had to be
amputated The surgeon did the job
In such bungling fashion that the op
GRAFTON had to be repeated. When
Simmons recovered he came to the
Hat Six ranch, where he formerly had
been employed. The proprietor gave
him money to buy a wooden leg, and
in few weeks Simmons had won the
nickname of Peg" and the reputation
of being one of the best COW punchers
Ia the Big Horn basin in spite of his