The Mobridge news. [volume] (Mobridge, Walworth Co., S.D.) 190?-1917, 1914-03-27
William Trips
Old Mother
By Nj. QUAD
By NJ. QUAD
Copyright, 1915, by Associated Lit.
erary Press.


Always, debt jumpers, cutthroats, gam
blers, horse thieves and murderers and
call him wicked l mean for the reader
to infer that he was right up and
down bad.
Which was exactly the case with
William Trip.
Wicked! Well, he was that.
Such a swearer rs William was! He
would begin as soon as his eyes were
open in the morning and keep up a
steady fire until 10 O'Clock at night.
And he was a cheat and a liar.
You wonder that we didn't run him
out or hang him.
Well. somehow we always intended
to. but always put it Oft to a o
convenient date. The success of
bouncing a man depends Il good deal
On who the man is. On our first gen
lie hint to William Trip that unless
he WAS packed up and out OF camp in
side Of thirty minutes his anatomy
would be riddled with bullets he pro-
duced q couple of revolvers. backed UP
against the Red Eye saloon and calm
ly observed that he wa aching for q
little excitement. I think his actions
ut that particular time had something
10 do with our giving him the rope
and seeking to get along with his &C.
centric traits Of character.
Il move said Elder Beacon one
night when we We're talking about
Williams bad ways. that the com
mittee get the drop on him and then
run him into the hills"
Just 50. bat who were the commit
tee? That was another point we could
never satisfactorily determine. and that
was another reason why William con
tinued To abide with Us.
Shoot: Well, You ~ say such an
eve and such nerve. Just aS lar as he
could see the bowl OF a pipe in a mans
mouth he could smash it with q bullet.
Almost every hat in camp had an air
hole made by one Of his bullets. and.
though | was prejudiced against Will
liam. | had to admit that he respected
mems heads III shooting Ut their hats.
But there came a halt in William
Trips mad career. and it happened
in Il queer way. A fire in his tent onc
night burned up 4 lot of his traps. II
he had to make a ride Of thirty miles
on Colonel Cooper's old mare TO replace
them with new. The morning he rode
out Of camp was the last time We SAW
him. but we heard from a dozen diff
ferent ones just what happened. About
twelve miles from our camp was the
Overland trail, and just where Il w
trail struck in was a pretty little val-
ley with plenty Of water and wood. 1t
was q ~favorite camping spot with III
migrants. and the day William Trip
reached il he found half a dozen wag-
OBS and AS many families halted for
Il breathing spell.
The deviltry in Williams nature buh-
blcd over when he struck that valley
and behcld such q scene OF peace.
Children We're playing around. women
were washing and mending. and the
brawny men were repairing wagons
and harness and whiStling over their
work. William drew rein and gazed
upon the scene for Il few minutes.
Then he out with his revolver. Seated
before one OF the fires was an old wO-
man with her knitting in hand and q
pipe in her mouth. 1t was q long shot.
but the evil one urged William to tTy
it, and try he did.
What happened?
Something even worse than murdet.
The bullet went straight for the old
woman's head and crashed into her
brain. Then something awful follow
ed. She rose to her feet, whirled
around TO face the shooter, and true
as you live she seemed to look at him
for thirty seconds before she tottcred
forward and shricked out:
civilian! Oh. my son William:"
Then she pitched forward On the
grass and was dead in u second. and
the red blood oOZed out and made 4
terrible stain on the green grass.
And William-what did be do? He
was like II turned to stone. The old
woman's words plainly reached his
ears. and lie must have recognized her
face. In the awful moment in which
he sat gazing at the corpse Oil the
grass it must have flashed across him
that his poor mother had made that
long journey with neighbors for nc
other purpose than TO hunt him up-he
the boy who had left her years ago
and had been the subject Of her night
" prayers ever since. Wicked as hc
was he must have felt her devotion
and sacrifices.
And then?
lie sat there in his saddle, his eyes
fastened on his mothers corpse, and
the revolver still in his hand. The sit
nation had petrified him. While he Sat
thus one cf the immigrants. who. be-
lieving that the camp was to he at.
tackled by a force, leveled his rifle
over the wheel Of the wagon and sent
a bullet blowing through Williams
heart.
All. well: it's years and years ago.
and the twin graves in the valley have
long since been trampled out OF sight,
and White Dog Diggings can be found
10 more. but the day the news OF that
awful tragedy zane back to us We
dropped spade and pick and could