Mexico Missouri message., 1909-07-29


est, cleanest, prettiest girl baby you
ever saw. All dressed up in white
lawn suit, with a blue sash, white
half-hose that showed her dimpled
knees and fat little legs, white shoes,
and a white bonnet with a lace frill
around the front, tied under her dim
pied chin with big white ribbon.
Gee! but she was the prettiest little
thing that ever struck Arizona, bar
none. took one look and said:
Angel, angel" You see, / went daffy
at once.
'Hello!" she repeated as she locked
round the room. at is a game? Oh
l see. l SPY" Then she padded over
to the end of the bar, pointed one fat
little finger at Pap Johnson behind
the ice-box, shouted gleefully: "I
spy!" and ran to Bill Jernigan. She
slapped old Bill on his chap-covered
legs and said:
zone, two, free for you! Now you
are it! All the res is home free"
Then she threw both arms around
Bills left leg and waited for the boys
to come home" You ought to have
seen Bill. He looked at me sort Of
dazed like, then looked down at the
baby, then looked away far off some
where, and said in a faint whisper:
well, I'm darned!" And if he said it
once he said it 20 times. Just stood
there like human hitching-post and
phonograph combined and said:
We'll, I'm darned!"
The boys all gathered round from
their safety corners, looking as sheep
ish as If the teacher had caught them
chewing gum, but l was too much in
terested in Angel to pay any atten-
ton to them then. l always was fond
of dogs and children and things like
that. l knelt down, so as to get some
where near on level with that little
white bonnet, and asked:
Whose little girl are you, honey?"
Mammals" was the prompt reply.
I'D bet a stack of blue on that"
said l. But what's your name?"
Anna Louise, thank you"
You're welcome. All right. I'll
believe that, even. Anna Louise goes
with me, but Anna Louise what?"
Muffin. Jes' Anna Louise"
And where is mamma?"
ooh, she's right over there" and
she waved her hand vaguely around
to embrace most three-quarters of the
compass. Then she proposed breath
lessly: Les play Lunnon Bridge
It's the mos'est fun"
We told her we would like to but
that we had forgotten how.
! Bill then swung her up on the bar
and gravely asked her what she would
have to drink She wanted soda-wa-
ter and we all took the same, although
some of the boys objected
When the drinks were all in hand l
got on chair and made an eloquent,
ornate and highly popular speech, in
which l said that never before had
seen the wisdom of naming our
thriving municipality Paradise" and
that at times it had seemed to me
the party or parties naming it must
have gotten mixed on their Scripture
or else have waxed sarcastic; but that
now a great light, the bright white
light of truth, had busted in on my
alleged intellect, and illuminated the
Utmost recesses of an ever sluggish
mind ("Hear, heart" from the boys)
An Angel had come to Paradise, said,
sweet little angel straight from
heaven, or st. Louis, or somewhere.
Her given name might be Anna Louise,
as she told us, but if so it was mis-.
take. Angel she was, and Angel she
must be. And inasmuch as she had
no other name, according to her own
gentleman present would doubt cloud
cries of mo, moi" from the boys), ]
took the liberty of giving her the
name of the fair city she had honored
with her presence, and proposed a
toast to angel Paradise"
Well, you never saw a toast excite
such enthusiasm-certainly not one
drunk in soda-water.
AS we finished the drink, the door
opened with some violence, and chap
rushed in, clad in spats, white waist
coat, stiff collar, a derby hat, and
some other useless outer habiliments
His glance fell on Angel, and he
yelped: me child, me child"
Angel stood there on the bar wav
ing chubby hand, and said; Hello
pop!"
After he had Gained down, he in
troduced himself as Mr. Hawthorne Of
Boston, who was touring Arizona fol-
his wife's health. He explained they
had stopped at the Cowboys Retreat
for few hours rest and Angel had
wandered away.
So Bill turned TO Angel and said
Come, sister, get on my shoulder, anG
it's us for mamma" Then he swung
Angel up and strobe out Of the saloon
Papa introduced us to mamma anC
explained we were friends of his thai
had found Angel and looked after her
They were just starting for Tucson IL
the hotel surry, and we were soor