Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1909-08-10
Memories Of Old
Man McNeal
By Caroline Lockhafi

Bug hunters and these .spy-glass
gents is terrible innocent folks OBJ
served Old Man McNeal apropos OF
tenderfeet in general as he fried the
bacon.
Now there was 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 of at Blackfoot.
THE day he was coming Joe got ON
the train piece up the road to meet
/ him. There the perfesser was sittfn'
in his skull cap and slippers, and he'd
plumb forgot about gittin' on They
had to hold the train in Riackfoot
while he got his traps picked mp. 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 3 Charter Oak
cook stove. He had tent that you
could run two-ring circus in. and
hadn't brought enough beddin' to wad
q shotgun He had somethin' that
| looked like coffin that he were SO
particular about the boys was bettin
II were his wife's corp.
But II seems he was one of them
| there astronomers, and he wanted to
git up on the mountain to take look
around with q telescope. Joe says he
never tackled such job as gittin' that
telescope up to the summit. He didn't
take the tent or the cook stove,
though. You bet the old man had to
sleep 'longside a camp fire while he
was star-gazin' in the Rockies.
Then there was a most amazin' fe-
male from Chicago hit the Swift Cur
rent country once. Her husband
come out on little huntin' trip and |
was guidin fer 'em. 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
layin' 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
gil away. Yes, ma am. she was most
uncommon curious looking tenderfoot.
once there was a tenderfoot from
North Caroliny got of at Blackfoot.
The snow was somewhere near foot
on the level, and he wore linen dust
err He got horse from Joe Kipp and
rode to Browning. ! happened TO be
stopping at the Chink's hotel He was
plumb interestin' figure when he
rode through the snow into town in
that duster.
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 a lord came over He made a
break right away by order.n' one of
the cow-punchers to saddle his horse.
do 1t yourself says the cow
puncher, and the lord didn't know
what what to make Of 1t. 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 it.
and If anybody came he tried to keep
'em from KNOWN il. But he got to be
firstrate fellow; could bust bronchos
and cut cut steer with the rest of
en-
The meanest cuss ever seen came 7
out there to visit him. This cuss had
a boz Of cigars. and he used to pack
'em around with him on horseback for
fear the boys would take 'em. He
never offered anybody one. The boys
stole everything from him they could
get their hanas on. They stole his
shirts and his neckties till all he had
left was what he had on his back. He
nad half-a-dozen silk handkercbiefs
that he'd got In India, and he was
mighty choice of 'em. Made kick
every time he missed one He hid
'em and did everything he could to
keep 'ern. but finally the boys got him
down to tho one be wore around his
neck. They schemed for long time
20 get this one. and at last one day
they caught him asleep and they took
II on his neck he was sure mad when
he missed II. Pretty soon after this he
went back to England cussin' the
country.