Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1913-10-10

wv was rude but comfortable and his
Gl " daughter Bess tended it with house
wifely care. Bess was Buds only
child. She was coy mountain maiden or TWEEN
ty and as pretty one of the wild MOWERS that
peep from the ground in the Big Black valley In
March
Bud had a neghbor, ST Withers 81 lived down
the stream a WAYS and the holdings of the two
men Joined 81 had a son, Bill. Between the
two mountain farms in the corner lay
triangular piece Of ground not more tnan TWO
acres in extent. Outside of the woodland this
was the only piece of land on the Jackson-With-
ers holding that not cultivated. 1t was
weed grown and though 1t would have supported
4 gOOdly crop Of grain, no seed soWn by the hand
Of man ever fell there. 1t known for miles
around as the debatable ground. Bud and 81
both claimed the place, and had wrangled over 1t
for years before the feud became deadly. At
the present status Of things if either set his
foot on the strip the other would have shot n1m
Bud Jackson had a hobby. He a collector
of birds
Scientists from st. Louis and from the west
ern state colleges came to his place every sum-
to look at his collection. He never would
add a bird to the lot unless it had been killed
in the state Of Missouri, provided always, of
course that the bird known to be a
rare visitant to the state. Bud didn't expect to
get any famngoes in Missouri but if he should
have heard Indian tradition that 500 years be-
fore a famingo had been seen on the Big Black,
he would not have added the bird to his colec-
ton until someone had sent him with the
proper attestation that it had been killed inside
the limits of his native state.
What a collection that was! There was pretty
near everything in it from the rubythroated hum
ming bird to the big bronze wild turkey Bud
had to build addition to his house to store his
birds Some people said that Bud cared more
for his birds than he did for Bess, which was
lie. For years Bud had secured the woods of
the Ozarks, extending his trips to the adjoining
counties for the purpose of getting one bird, the
ivOry-bed woodpecker. He knew that the ivory
bill was dweller of the southeast Uassaa States
but he also knew that struggling birds had been
seen IN the deep woods Of the mountains of Mis-
souri, and he kept up his search with his
shotgun over his shoulder year after year. He
could have purchased ivory-billed woodpecker,
killed somewhere else, for something like $40
but he would have Missouri bird or none. He
slept out nights in the woods and starved and
thlrsted on the trail of reports that the big bird
had been Generally it turned out that
those who told of the appearance of the wood.
pecker, not knowing much about BIRDS had seen
the log cock and had taken him for his still
bigger bird brother.
One day in the summer Bud noticed that Bess
had something on her mind She started sud-
denly whenever he spoke to her and more than
once blushed wildly. The old man didn't saw
much, but just thought he would let the thing
Just kept on acting as though she were way off
somewhere in the clouds. One day as the old
man was coming back from a collecting trip he
could have sworn that he Bill Withers old,
Sis son, making off across the brook from the
direction or the jackson home. Bud grpped his
gun tightly and felt lump come up in his
throat He thought he knew now how to account
for Bess' blushing He kept his own counsel.
however. He knew that If old Withers knew of
it he would be just as hot about it as he was
Bud eyed Bess curiously when she entered the
house and casually asked If there had been any
visitors while he had been away
No stammered the girl and ferl to blusbing
directly.
"Humph!" said her father
TWO days later Bess went out to pick black
berries, Half an hour after her father followed
In her trail. The blackberry patch Law In the d.
recuon or the debatabe ground Bud came to
rise In the land and looked off toward the tri-
angular bit of ground in dispute BY the great
aux. what was that he saw? There in the center
or the debatable ground were Bill Withers and
hess jackson holding hands and Bess' sunbonnet
was pushed way back. When Bud recovered suf-
nclenty he looked beyond the patch and there
stood old 81 Nlthers grasping a gun and looking
ut the pair OF lovers There couldn't he any
shooting that day either side and both old
lehows turned and went home 1t was not a
peasant evening that was spent that night IN
either the Jackson of the Withers home Bud
MY anu IuIheu ana told Bess that she
bringing everlasting disgrace on him by taking
up with the son OF that old thief Withers
81 W!thers said good deal of the same sort
10 MS son Bill but Bill, being fellow who
thought for himself, held the old fellow pretty
we'll in hand
About week after this a negro appeared at
the Jackson home and reported that he had seen
an tvory'hilled woodpecker In the big woods
Bess had been forbidden to leave the house Bind
seized his gun and made for the biz patch of
'fmber The negro had described the bird accu-
raE&y, Bud reached the edge of the woods
plunged in and had not gone ten yards before he
heard a strange rafting cry. He knew 1t from
the description ne had heard. He went in its
direction. In a minute he saw a great big bird