Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-05-17
A Blood Stained Warrior.

John Robinson, the genial granger
and veteran warrior of Dayton town.
ship, was in town Monday. We met
him on the First National Bank corn.
er and we gazed at him in wonder and
with positive alarm.
"Why all that dreadful blood,
John?" we asked, anticipating blood
culdling story of holdup by highway
men or IA successful hunt and battle
with bank robbers. He looked at us
with a faraway expression in his beau
tiful hazel brown Sightseers and then
laughed with the modeSty OF Dayton
maid.
THAT blood looks bad but assure
you that | was neither shot up or
carved up by foot pad or ripped up
er suspicion of having done some
thing terrible and my friends are fol-
lowing me around in silence ready to
go my bond if the Marshal lays a
legalized hand upon my shoulder.
But how am l to avoid it? Pm a long
way from home and have only one
fancy shirt on my back, and if ! was
to take it off in town and hired it
washed while | waited suspicion
would point its whole fist at me in an
instant"
We told him he could borrow our
Overcoat until he got out of town, but
he said he didn't care ''gol darn
anyway and if anyone got funny over
that blood there would be more red
gore scattered around before he cried
enough
The whole front of his shirt was
covered with blood from the collar
band down and there was enough to
~ al ri
pearance. A narrow streak Of dried
blood ran down from the back of his
left ear. showing how the precious life
energy found its way to the shirt
bosom. Our suspicious were rolling
over each other so Internally fast that
we couldn't find tongue for the fateful
interrogation. Then a team came
along and drove us from the crossing
where we stood.
Gaining the Farmers State Bank
corner we halted. ! looked that shirt
front over and then modestly applied
the newspaper pump.
Was it a gun, John?'
"No." ... ....
Was . it slung shot?'
Was it knife?"
w as IL runaway:
''NO."
Was it a dog tight?"
NO"
Was it politics?"
Was it locomotives
"NO.'
Was it Joe Copler?"
no"
Was it bolt of lightning?"
"No."
Was it runaway plow?"
"No."
WAS it the kick of a mulc?"
"No."
"Was it wild busl?"
"No"
During this searching enquiry our
eyes were fastened upon that bloody
evidence of strife or perhaps worse,
and yet we failed to extract the de-
sired information from that old veter-
an who served in Gen. Sherman's old
Thirteenth regulars through the
Civil War and was never afraid of
that walked the earth in
shape man or beast.
We were about to start our news
paper pump again when we noticed
blood on his pants and shoes and we
also noticed peculiar pressure of the
lips and CLINT of fire in the eyes,
and we thought it time to suggest as
sistance but he didn't need any.
I'm all right, he remarked. I" II
am about to start for home and guess
I can get there all right. If pull
and come to town next week
you shall have a full history of the
trouble, but | want to warn you that
there will be more blood spilled before
this thing is over and / had a good
knife when the trouble began.
We shall await his return to town
with good deal Of interest because
we realized when our newspaper
pump began to draw fire from John IS
eyes it was time to let up notwith-
consuming desire to un-
ravel the mystery.