The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-03-18

Now, whether the COW disowned the
calf, or the calf the COW, ! never found
out. Anyway, the day that the COW
disappeared into the bottom land that
little calf trotted up to the house and
tearfully begged to be loved. Well
you might have thought I'd had enough
OF pets for one while, but, no; the
helplessness of that poor little calf so
went to my heart that for weeks |
rode nine miles eevry day for milk.
and fed it to that little creature with
my own hands"
A sort of foster-mother," sug-
gested
Yes, l was a mother TO that little
orphan calf. But, if you'll believe me
IL was case of how sharper than
serpents tooth is an ungrateful child.
or however that goes. Yes. sir, that
cali followed in the evil course of its
mother, only if anything it was worse.
sort OF like Agrippina and her son.
Nero. only this was a daughter.
You see, the COW was perfectly
open about her evil deeds, but the calf
was underhanded After trotting
around me, looking as innocent as
though butter wouldn't melt in her
mouth, shed all of sudden disappear.
and come back after a few DAYS with
an ear torn and the skin raked off her
side; and pretty soon I'd hear that
shed been attacking horses or fighting
other cows.
one day she chased an unluckv
workman out onto the railroad bridge
and Kept him there until a train came
along and the engineer slackened
enough to take him on and carry him
TO Plum Station. Another time she
got after tramp that was camping
on the bottom land among the willows,
and forced him to take refuge in the
forks of a crooked tree, where he
roasted until one of us went down and
called off Miss Bessie. In fact. the
only return that calf ever made for all
my loving care was to scare away
tramps. If | could have kept her
around the house just for that purpose
she would have been one Of the best
investments ever made.
But as years went by that calf be-
came more abandoned to evil. She
would wander farther and farther
from home, until now spend half my
nights worrying about her and more
than half the day following her up and
taking her home with me"
Il should think you'd get rid of the
creature" l interrupted.
Kill her? Yes, l suppose that
would be the most sensible thing to
do but you know how it is about al
ways loving the prodigal son the most.
Yes, sir; wherever that animal goes it
takes my heart with it. and. though
it's nigh onto eleven years old. | never
can think Of it as anything but a pet
calf"
And so it was bringing up that
heiter that interfered with your liter
airy career?"
"lnterfered? Well, should say so,
Back at the start l did publish some
poems in the local papers. and | read
one or two essays at the Zion church
libraries. But people wouldn't believe
they We're original No woman. they
said, who spent her time chasing wild
cows over the country could write
odes to spring and essays to Shake
speare
My literary career was killed.
bighted in the bud. And, as my in
come was small and | had to do some
thing to make out a living, I've Just
turned by hand to anything that came
along
Instead Of gaining fame as the
American George Eliot, I've been
called Colorado Cowgirl and Broncho
Buster. Instead of welding the pen.
I've driven a fOur-horse stage. branded
cattle. broken saddle horses, sung in
church choir, run blacksmith
shop, kept school, given music lessons.
run a hotel, taught painting, carried
mail. roughed it on horseback all the
way from Colorado to Oregon. and
taken hand in pretty much every
thing else except shoveling wind off
the roof. But notwithstanding off
this, What you want now is rest and
shelter
Take my outfit and make tracks for
Wilkins ranch. Just give the pony his
head and he'll land YOU all right.
ITS over that way" rising and ges-
turing toward the southeast.
/ tried to protest against this plan.
but the Colorado cowgirl was already
several yards away.
That's all right meet you later at
the ranch" she cried, turning for a
moment before she plunged into the
thicket. But first" she added with
almost maternal solicitude. Il think I'll
just look around and see If can't find
that little speckled heifer."