The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1903-03-17

an hankerin' to improve his breed.
Still he lowed it couldn't be done, an
that the. stock in everything wuz run
min out. One time he bought Dur
ham bull for bout a thousand dollars
an how he ever got the critter home
amt fur me to say, fur it wuz the saw
agest brute anywhar an twuz bout as
much as anybody's life wuz worth to
go in paster whar the beast WIZ.
Down on the crick jinein his farm
wuz a rickety cabin. Onery white
man name Gull lived in it. His wife
WIZ dead an lucky fur it, an he had
ten-year-old boy that was the trifinist
little haley in ten states. He wuz
eternally fiingin' rocks an things, let
tin down bars an leavin' open gates
on Downeys place, an sometimes
haugs would git in an root up some
bluegrass. The major hated a haug
cause he said, one on em could root
up mo bluegrass than drove of 'em
wuz worth. | dunno which he hated
most, Cults boy er haugs.
"Howsmever, one day the major
wuz ridin' home from whar he'd been
shootin' squirls, down in the hickory
bottom. Passin the paster whar his
cattle wuz, all of a student he saw
that boy er Cults comm, lickety-split,
over the hill outen boiler in the pas
| ter, an that Durham after him, bell
erin an snortin', an it looked like it
\ wuz all day fur that young un.
/ Downey never stopped to think how
+ much the bull wuz worth nor how
/ triflin that boy wuz. He raised his
rife an when she cracked that bull
/ fell dead as a do'nail
That wuz the Kaintuck in the old
man.
He rid on home, cussin' wild in
two languages, fur he'd ben captain
in the Mixikin waugh an he could
talk Spanish till it sized.
Day er two after that thish yer
! Gull up an died with somethin sud-
dent an what does the old major do
but have Gull buried an take that
1 triflin boy an raise an educate him.
Said he had to do somethin' to git
even ON the loss of the bull Lemme
tell you. That wuz mo- of the Kahn
tuck in him.
That boy crowd up to be one O. the
| finest men in the state. Boy warnt
actually bad. ,Jes wanted raisin' right.
/ tell You EFF a scrub calf is tuck outen
the knobs an put onter bluegrass it's
! goin' to make a good critter, an you
kin put a shawt-hawn heifer out in
the peaVine an it will make mighty
sorry COW. Howsmever, this Lem Gull
had good strain O. blood in him from
omewhar-mammy's side l reckin-
fur he come out monst'ous well-best
farmer in these parts, an he's Sinator
from this deestrik. Married old Dow
ney's datter, an the major used to say
the whole place would er gone to-
never mind-ef it hadn't er been for
the boy.
"Damph that amt him comiu' a
splittin' down the pike yander now!"
handsome, straightforward, white
moustached. gTay-haired young man,
who sat his horse like Buffalo Bill,
dashed by and lifted his cavalierish
hat to us with "Howdy, gentlemen
A yellow. one-eyed dog that had
been asleep in Aunt Betsy's yard,
raised his pathetic face and looked
astonished. game rooster with cape
like a buzzard's plume falling over his
shoulders. flew on to the sway backed
fence and crowed defiance to a domi-
nicker braggart across the way. the
squire returned: -Howdy Colonel
! Gull" to the horseman's salItation and
moved away. saying:
Head turned white when the bull
chased him. Owah lodge meets to-
night Jine u.s."