The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1906-06-22

expedition that ever was, but pa was
as earnest and excited as Peary plan
ming north pole expedition, and a.
busy as a boy killing snakes. After
/ the cowboys and the scientists had
tried to get pa to make his will before
he went, and got the addresses where
pa wanted our remains sent to In
case of our being found dried up on
the prairie, and our bones polished
by wolves, we were on the move, and
pa was so happy you would think he
had already found live dinosaurs,
and had him in a cage.
For four days we rode along up
and down foothills, and divides, and
small mountains, and all the time pa
was telling the boys how, after we
had located our dinosauruses, we
would go back east and organize an
expedition with derricks and" cages as
big as a house, and come back and
drive the animals in. And when we
got them with the show people we
would run trains hundreds of miles
to see the rarest animals any show
ever exhibited to discriminating pub.
lie, and We could charge five dollars
for tickets, and people would mob
each other to get up to the ticket
wagon. Then the boys would wink
at each other, and tap their foreheads
with their fingers, and look at pa as
though they expected he would break
: out violently insane any minute.
. Finally we got up on high ridge,
and beautiful, fertile valley was un'
, folded to our view, and Bill, the cow
, boy who had had his herd of steers
! eaten by the dinosaurs, said that
was the place, and he began to shive1
like he had the ague. He said he
wouldn't 60 any farther without an
other hundred dollars, and pa asked
the other cowboys If they were afraid
too, and they said they were little
scared, but for another hundred dol
lars they would forget it, forget theil
families, and go down into the deatl
valley.
Pa paid them the money, and w
went down into the valley, and rode
along, expecting to Jump a flock O
dinosauruses any minute, but the val
ley was as still as death, and pa sait
to Bill: why don't you bring OF
your dinosauruses," and Bill said h
guessed by the time we got up to tn
far end of the valley we would SCI
something that would make us stan'
without hitching.
We went on towards where the val
ley came to a point where Their
seemed to be a hole in the side o
the mountain, when all of suddel
four or five gun shots were heard, an
four of our horses dropped dead il
their tracks, and about dozen me-
come out of the hole in the wall an
e told. us to hold up our hands, an
e when We did so they took our gun
n away and told us to come in out o
!. the wet.
n We went into cave and found tina
e we had been captured by Curry's gan
y of train robbers, who made their heaC
It quarters in the hole In the wall. TIL
leader searched pa and took all hi
v money, and told us to make ourselve
!. at home. Pa protested, and" said
d was an old Snowman who had com
q to the valley looking for the supposed
n to-be-extinct dinosaurs, to captur
# one for the show, and the leader Q
p the gang said he was the only d
e nosaurus there was, but he hadn
q been captured. Then the leade
d slapped our cowboys son the shoulder
and told them they had done a goo
r. job to bring into camp such a rio
If old codger as pa was, and then W
H. found that the cowboys belonged t
~ Curry's gang, and had roped pa l
10 in order to get a ransom.
|: The leader asked pa about ho'
re much he thought his friends at tn
e. east could raise to get him out, an
is when pa found he was in the hand
of bandits, and that the dinosauru
> mine was sailed, and he had bee
made fool of, he said to me: "Hel
\ merry, now, honest, between man an
man, wouldn't this skin your
began to cry and said: "P
both of us are skun. How are "
going to get out of this?" and pa said
watch me-"