The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1909-08-20
Memories Of Old
Man McNeal

By Caroline L.ockhar

gents is terrible innocent folks" OBJ
served Old Man McNeal apropos of
tenderfeet In general as he fried the
bacon.
Now there was a perfesser from
college back east wrote TO Joe kipp
that he wanted him to pack him up
on the top of some mountain there in
Teton county, Montana, where he could
take observations. Joe wrote him to
git off at Blackfoot
THE day he was coming Joe got on
the train piece up the road TO meet
him. There the perfesser was sittin
in his skull cap and slippers, and he'd
plumb forgot about gittin off. They
had to hold the train in Blackfoot
while he got his traps picked up. Joe
says you never see such an outfit as
he'd got together to take Up on the
mountain. The mountain was so steep
twas hard climbn' fer goat and
he'd brought No Charter Oak
cook stove. He had a tent that you
could run two-ring circus in, and
hadn't brought enough .beddin' to wad
a shotgun He had somethin that
looked like a coffin that he were so
particular about the boys was bsttin'
1t were his ~wife's corp.
:. But it seems he was one of them
there astronomers, and he wanted to
| git up On the mountain to take a look
around with a telescope. Joe. says he
EneyGr tackled such.a iob'as gittin'' that
telescope UP. to the. summit, He didn't
|; take the tent or the cook 'stoye,
though, You bet the old man had to
sleep longside a camp fire while he
was star'gazin' in the: Rockies.
Then there was most .amazin' fe-
male from Chicago hit the Swift Cur
rent country once Her husband
come out on a little huntin' trip and |
was guldin' fer EN-. Now amt what
you might call bashful, and | don't
make no such claims, but when that
lady from Chicago stepped out of her
tent the morning after we got up in
the mountains | reckon | blushed fer
the first time in fifty years. What she
was wearin wasn't none of these di-
vided skirts or boomers. | never
seen anything like em before. They
was plaid and. | should jedge, some
tighter than her skin. They laced
down around the ankles and they was
Isyin' in Fuckers up around her waist
| reckon | come as near runnin' that
day as | ever did in my life. My cay
use, Molly that SHES at nuthin
nearly bust her picket rope tryin' TO
git away Yes, ma'am, she was most
| uncommon cur Gus looking tenderfoot.
"Once there was a tenderfoot from
North Caroliny got off at Blackfoot.
| The snow was somewhere near foot
| on the level, and he wore a linen dust
| er. He got horse from Joe Kip and
| rode to Browning. / happened to be
stopping at the Chink's hotel He was
a plumb interestn' figure when he
rode through the snow into town In
that buster.
Some entertainin' tenderfeet used
to come over from England to the
ranch when | punched cattle down in
the Musselshell country. The ranch
was owned by an Englishman, and one
time lord came over He made a
break right away by orderin' one OF
the cow-punchers to saddle his horse
DO it YOURSELF says the cow
puncher. and the lord didn't know
what what to make of IL. We made
his life miserable after that. We'd git
him out on the roundup and plague
the life out of him about bein' lord
We got him so he was ashamed Of il,
and If anybody came he cSed to keep
EN- from KNOWN it. But he got to be
firstrate fellow; could bust bronchos
and cut out steer with the rest Of
EN-.
The meanest cuss ever seen came
out there to visit him. This cuss had
a box Of cigars, and he used to pack
EN- around with him on horseback for
fear the boys would take EN-. He
never offered anybody one. The boys
stole everything from him they could
get their hands on They stole his
shirts and his neckties til all he had
left was what he had on his back. He
had half-a-dozen silk handkerchiefs
that he'd got in India, and he was
mighty choice of 'em. Made a kick
every time he missed one. He hid
EN- and did everything he could TO
keep EN-. but finally the boys got him
down to the one he wore around his
neck They schemed for a long time
to get this one, and at last one day
they caught him asleep and they took
II off his neck. He was sure mad when
he missed 1t. Pretty soon after this he
went back to England cussin' the
country.
Montana amt no place fer a tight.
chested gent If he amt willin' to
whack up he'd better git out" con.
clnded Old Man McNeal as he laid the
bacon tenderly on a chip and passed
II around.