Barbour County index., 1910-02-02

oInaIloh' lie repeated that he lIMMz
would stay where he was and that -
anyone who did not wish to be in his
neighborhood had his permission to
move on to other free grass. Perbans tbor
looked him over bit more carefully then and
notlced the popularity Of his nose and hie
eyes ana the handy and casual way be had Of
picking off the heads of rattlesnakes and cucb
thlheS win slx-shooter while he talked In
neishDorhood where cattle thieves were be-
ginning TO be troublesome man like that
would DC handy to have around They were
TO have an example presently of his willing
ness and ability to defend the rights of owner.
shlp-a small example, but convincing
IL was no easy matter to keep herd intact
III Inose Gays. The outlaw pure and simple
was bad enough but to the newcomer with a
small bunch of COWS" (cattle regardless of
gender) the vast, roaming herd guarded by a
Verltable army of punchers, whose respect for
any law was small enough, was an even
greater menace. Mcdonald knew of these
conditions and when, after his arrival
some of his cattle strayed away he set out to
inspect the surrounding herds After riding
some distance he came upon large drove
evidently on its way to market 1t was about
noon and the men were "rounding-in" for din
ner. Mcdonald started to address a herder
when the man turned abruptly and started off,
Mcdonald Immediately began looking through
the cattle, when the herder wheeled and
roughly asked him what be wanted
Il was looking for hobbled horses" was the
easy reply, whereupon the puncher made some
surly comment and rode away.
Mcdonald, presently satisfied that his stray
cattle were not with that portion of the drove
continued his search further along and came
up with the. chuck wagon" where dinner was
being prepared. Cow-men are hospitable and
the foreman invited him to dismount and Join
them. He did so and little later the surly
nhnr In vit,i,a
thing but a friendly look. In the course of
the meal the visitor was asked where he was
from.
"Mineola," he said Wood county"
The surly herder spoke up
These id sand lappers (east Texans)
are getting too thick out here"
Mcdonald set down his coffee
THE ID skunks and prairie dogs are al
ready too thick" he said.
An instant later the puncher had out his
pistol, but the sandlapper was still quicker
The puncher was covered before he could
bring his weapon to bear. Mcdonald said:
Turn it loose! Drop it,"
The herder still clutched the weapon which
he afraid to raise
The sand lapper stepped nearer to him and
with sudden movement raped him smartly
on the head with the heavy barrel of his six
shooter 1t was thing that as a deputy he
had done often and it was always effective
| The puncher dropped his gun. One of his
comrades sprang to his assistance but was
| covered and dsarmed with amazing sudden
! ness. The foreman interfered now, and the
! beginner of the disturbance was led away to
| a brook to have his head bathed and ban
| daged. whereupon the sand lapper quietly fin
| ished his dinner. thanked his host, continued
| the search for his missing stock and when he
| found them set out for home. Meeting a
| group of punchers among which was his surly
| friend with bandaged head. he expect
ed further trouble Nothing happened The
! sand lapper and his missing cows had the
| right of way.
! Commercial Venture and Adventure.
The inclination to commercial enterprise
still survived. At the end of year Mcdonald
sold his cattle and invested in the lumber
business at Wichita Falls.
There was a merchant in Baylor county
| Texas, to whom Lumberman Mcdonald sold
a good bill, on time. The account ran along
until one day the county judge of Baylor, one
| Melvin, dropped in and stated that he had
| called to settle the amount for his neighbor
He gave his own check for it and Mcdonald
| supposed the matter had ended. few days
later the bank returned Melvin's check as
worthless Evidently the quiet unobtrusive
life which Bill Jess had been living as a lum-
ber merchant had given the impression that
he was lnoffensive person, who would
pocket loss rather than make trouble espe-