The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-01-28

you all the kinds of particular and gen
! eral devilment Ito run 'em alphabetic-
ally, as I did to keep track of 'en) that
Ann Eliza Scraggs, and Bridget
6craggs, and Belle Scraggs, and Fanny
Scraggs, and Honoria and Helen
! Scraggs, and Isabelle Scraggs, and so
on up to zed, raised with me, it would
go through any little germs of joy you
/ may have in YOU constitution like Sit
| tin Bulls gang q. dog-soldiers through
an old ladies' sewing bee. Look at me!
For all them years that cussed ambi-
ton of mine held me in its deadly tolls.
never heard the sound of blessed ST
| lence. Trouble! I'm bald as a cake of
ice; my nerves is ruined. If the wind
makes a noise in the grass like the
swish of skirts I'm a mile up the track
before I get my wits back, sWeatin'
cOldly and profusely like a water cooler.
amt got anything to tie 10 but
all them women by the name of
Scraggs, and them ties 7 cut by tray
elm fast between 1ayiights. Wisht !
could introduce you to Mrs. Scra ggs
as she inhabits the territory of Utah
you'd understand a power of things
that may seem a little misty to you
at present. However, I can't do that
nor I wouldn't, neither, if I was to be
made general superintendent of the
{
the aggregated Mrs, Scraggs in the
hands of providence, as bein' the only
power capable Of handling her. Yet
I don't believe in providence. I don't
believe in no hereafter, nor heretofore,
nor no now: 1 don't believe in no east
nor west, nor UP nor down, nor side
ways, lengthways, "cross-the-center
ton, bottom or middle. have lost my
faith in every ram-butted thing a man
can hear. see or touch, includin' every
thing I've left out. That's me, Joe
Bush" He stopped a minute. Trouble.
says he. Trouble wisht nobuGy' d
mention that word in my hea-in'
again.
well, he had US gUmmed fast, oil
right. Nobody in our outfit could push
up against such a world-without-end
experience as that. But Scra gg5 was
a gentleman; he didn't crowd us he
cause we broke. In fact, now that ne d
had his say, he loosened UP consid-
cradle, and every now and then he'd
even smile.
Then come to us the queerest thing
in that whole curiosity-shop of a
ranch. It's name was Alexander Full
ton. I reckon Aleck was about TWEEN
ty-one by the almanac, and everywhere
from three to ninety by the waV YOU
high as he stood but if you ran the
tape along his curves he was about
six-foot-four.
He weighed 120 pounds, of which
twenty-five went to head and fifty to
feet. Feet! You never saw such feet
They were the grandest feet that ever
wore q nan-long and high and wide,
and all that feet should be. Chawley
said that Alexander had ground plan
enough for a company Of niger SOL
diers, And hung to Alexis running
gear, they reminded you Of the swing
ing jigger in clock. They almost
make me forget his hands. When
Aleck laid flipper on a cayuse's back,
you'd think the critter was blanketed.
And then there was his Adams apple
he had so many special features. it's
hard to keep track Of them. About
a foot Of Alexis protrudin' into air
was due TO neck. In the center of
that neck was an Adams apple that
any man might be PROUD Of
His complexion consisted of freck-
les; when you spoke to him sudden
he blushed, and then he looked for all
the world like a stormy sunset bis
eyes were white and so was his hair.
and so was poor old Aieck-as white
kid as they MAKE 'em, and. beyond
guessing, the skeeriest--no- relatin' to
things but to people. How he come
to drift out into cur country was a
story all by itself lie was ,disap-
pointed in love-he had d he. One
look at him and you'd know why. So
he sailed out to the wild west. where
he was about as useful as a trinr-ed
mighty. We always stood between
Aleck and the cid man, until the boy
got so he'd make straight once out of
q possible five.
First off, he vas still: then. findin'
himself in a confidential crowd and
Dustin to let us know his trouble ne
told us all about IL. He'd never spoken
to the girl, il seems, more'n to say.
'tIcw-d'ye-do, ma'am.' and blush. and
sal on his hat, and make curious moves
with them hands and feet: but there
come another Teller along, and Alex
ander quit.