Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-09-22
SHE HAD ME COVERED. "
Gavs eA~s .

There were two of the most eminent
lecturers in the United States aboard
and one evening they both gave the
passengers a talk"
The man who was obliged TO take al
this made a virtue of necessity and
! listened.
I've crossed the prairies of Illinois
in a stagecoach with party the mem
| bers of which had never seen one
another before starting and before the
! end of the trip became friends for life.
| One man who had a stentorian voice
| said he never felt he had room enough
| to sing except when he was on what
was then called the grand prairie of
| Illinois We turned in, sitting straight
| I'D as we were, about 10 o'clock and
were Jared from side TO side and
jolted up and down all night But aft
| err the first night we slept well and
were ready to crack jokes at one anoth-
! er in the morning. There were two
matrimonial matches made on that
| trip. Curious. wasn't it? The parties
! had no acquaintance before"
A rough looking man not quite so
old, sitting in seat opposite, had been
| listening to this contrast between the
Olu anu new hlelilONS VI lloNSl anu Ut
this point spoke up:
"Mebbe you gents would like to hear
one of them stagecoach romances."
The old man acquiesced. The other
passenger looked as if he would like
to call the conductor and have both
men put off the train as nuisances.
az don't look like man as has had
a romance, do ?" the third party went
on. 81 was better lookin' before n
Teller went gunnin' for me in the AL
hambra gamblin' saloon at Cheyenne
in 1868 and give me the scar. You
talk about travelin' furder east in the
forties and fifties. You didn't hev no
SIGH places to stop as Cheyenne when
it was the terminal of the L. p And
as for your canalboats. with lecturers
on 'em, they couldn't "a been as lively
as stagecoach with road agents stop
pin the way and Iinin' up the passen-
gers for their valuables. 1 was sittin'
on the box with the driver of Il coach
one day-the inside was empty-when
right out on the plain, where there
WANT anything but cactus and gopher
holeS-not a tree or even shrub to
shade her-we come up with the pur-
test gal / ever see walkin' In the hot
sun. She looked awful tired and hot,
and l suggested TO the driver to take
her up. He said If she wanted TO ride
she'd have to pay her fare. | asked
her why she was wHlkin'. and she said
she hadn't no money: she'd run away |
from home on account of Il Stepmother |
and was tryin' TO get to some civilized !
town where she could locate and make i
a Twin
THE upshot OF it was agreed to pay |
her fare. and she got inside. The mon |
ey want nothin' to me, seem I'd lust !
raked in some $1,000 at faro. and 1 /
didn't mind little sum like that when
a purity gnl was concerned. The tears
almost come into her eyes when she
thanked me for doin' OF it, and / wish
ed L had some excuse to give her a
lot more.
WAL. after spell l climbed down
and got inside the coach. The old
coachln' days in the east back in the
forties might "a been sociable, but |
reckon Teller seldom had u coach all
10 hisselr with purity gal. And meb-
be there want nothin' to start a love
anair on one o them Illinois or Ale
gheny mounting rides. In nv case
there was mighty big favor TO start
one. a gal as has Jist been saved
from walkin' on an, allSaH plain in the
not sun and transferred to the leather
seat OF stagecoach is in a mighty
good condition to be made love to by
lie man rs done it