The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1903-02-08

his gentle country folks were7. Nothing more
Or less than team Of song and dance artists
from Butte concert hail. The woman called
herself Helen Montague, and | don't just recall
,he mans name now. They didn't even pretend
to be married suspected that they were up
hete laying low about something or other, but
didn't ask any questions. A month or two after
they left read OF their being arrested down in
Billings for being mixed up in some sort OF
dope and robbery scheme up at Butte. Still
they behaved well enough here beyond drinking
good deal, and the woman was hrst-rate COM
pany.
But tha, little Ensshman knew all the time
that they weren't Simple country folk, ! re-
member her singing song OF hers, parody on
Wait Till the Clouds Roll By called Wait Till
the Bottle Goes Dry She called him Johnny
Bull the first time she spoke TO him. and when
she sang the sohg she would put Johnny at the
end OF each line Of the chorus. and he would puff
up in great way. He took her banjo and tried
TO play chords for her TO sing by, but made
mess of Il and gave ii in. Then he, and guess
the rest OF us, leased her 10 dance, and after
lot OF coaxing she gave us that Scotch dance
where they throw ZIP their hands on side
and then on the other--l think they call il the
Highland Fling Then she gave us the Fishers
Hornpipe and finally ended up with regular
old breakdown, holding her skirts about her
knees and footing il in great shape, while the
rest OF us clapped our hands for time. That was
simple country girl trick wasn't ts
Then he and she talked for a long time, he
telling about the sporty parts of the cities in
India, and she Of Butte and Denver and other
Western towns. They certainly struck up great
friendship, and her teammate seemed more than
relieved when he left the next morning
THE little Englishman was certainly most
entertaining talker and he showed such In
tense interest in all you told him that you nat
uray liked him. But he didn't admire Miss
Helen Montague for any simple country girl
LII - L. - a1eft Eassa
Probably when he came around to write the book
he thought that the desperate old man, who stood
by while the squsw was burned. would look fine
against a background OF simple country folks
and SO he lied about us all.
I'm getting to be pretty old man now-over
7o--and the greatest pleasure ! have had in life
has been the meeting and the entertaining of the
different people, hgh and low, that came this
way to the park. Well, for the last six years
just on account Of that thoughtless paragraph,
have been robbed OF this pleasure entirely.
almost dread strangers now, for ! feel that ! am
looked upon more as a curiosity than man.
! may not have done il justice in the telling
but it seemed TO me that the story of this gentle
old man, taking a natural pride in the friends he
had made and the notice he had attracted, even
among those in high places, reduced through
the agency Of the careless lie OF the great writer
to feeling himself regarded as a freak and a
monstrosity, was the most touching recital | had
ever listened to- Ninety-uine old prospectors and
hunters out of hundred would have been jub-
liant over the notoriety; Jim was crushed. He
impressed me as more sorrowful than resentful
He had hardly uttered a word against Kipling,
and several times he had praised him. Since, I
have tried vainly to recall his using the latter's
name once ! only remember his using a
pronoun or the little Englishman." This may
have been an inadvertency on his part or my
memory may be at fault At any rate his attitude
toward Kipling seemed to be one Of protest rather
than Of anger. He was only the one human
atom beneath the car Of the literary Juggernaut (;
still ! could not help recalling the with
which this same Kipling prefaces one Of his
famous poems:
The toad beneath the harrow knows
Exactly where each tooth-pont goes
The butterfly upon the road
breaches contentment to that toad.