The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-10-05
Memories of Old
Man McNeal
By Caroline Lockhart
Copyright, by J. b. Lippincott Co.

tSopS TlSht, py .. D. Lippincott Col
'Bug-hunters and these sry-g ass
gents is terrible innocent folks OBJ
served Old Man Nc Neal aproros OF
tenderfeet in general as he fried the
bacon.
Now there was a perfesser from
college back east wrote to Joe XIII
that he wanted him to pack him w
on the top of some mountain there il
Teton county. Montana, where he could
take observations. Joe wrote him to
git off at BlackfoOt.
The day he was coming Joe got on
the train piece up the. road to meet
him. There the perfesser was sittin'
in his skull cap and slippers. and he'd
plumb forgot about gittin' of. They
had to hold the train in Blackfoot
while he got his traps picked up. 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 climbin' fer a goat, and
he'd brought a No. 8 Charter Oak
cook stove He had a tent that you
could run q two-ring circus in. and
hadn't brought enough beddin' to wad
shotgun. He had somethin that
looked like coffin that he were so
particular about the boys was bettin'
it were his wife's corp.
But 1t seems he was one of them
there astronomers. and he wanted to
git up on the mountain to take look
around with a 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 camp fire while he
was star gain 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 a little huntin trip and |
was guidin fer 'em. Now amt what
you might call bashtul, 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 d.
vided skirts or boomers. never
seen anything like EN- 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 Ter waist
| reckon | come AS near runnin' that
| in, Nv
use, Molly" that SHES at nuthin
nearly bust l.c" ticket rope tryin' to
git away Yes, ma am. she was most
uncommon curious looking tenderfoot
Once there was tenderfoOt from
North Caroliny got off at BlackfoOt
The snow was somewhere near foo,
on the level and he wore a linen dust
er, He got horse from Joe Kipp anC
rode to browning, happened to bt
stopping at the Chink's hotel. He wa.
a plumb interestn' figure when h,
rode through the snow into town IL
that buster.
Some entertainin' tenderfeet uset
to come over from England to thu
ranch when | punched cattle down IL
the Musselshell country. The rancl
was owned by an Englishman, and on
time q lord came over He made
break right away by orderin' one o
the owpunchers to saddle his horse
DO it yourself says the COW
puncher, and the lord didn't know
what what to make of it, We mad
his life miserable after that. We'd ri
him out on the roundup and plagu
the life out of him about bein' a lord
We got him SO he was ashamed of II
and If anybody came he tried to kee
EN- from KNOWN it. hut he got to b
a frst-rate fellow; could bust broncho
and cut out steer with the rest O
EN-
THE meanest cuss | ever seen cam
out there to visit him. This cuss ha
'em around with him on horseback 70
fear the boys would take EN- II
never offered anybody one. The boy
stole everything from him they coul
, get their hands on. They stole hi
shirts and his neckties till all he ha
left was what he had on his back II
mad half-a,dozen silk handkerchief
that he'd got in India. and he wa
mighty choice OF 'em. Made kic
every time he missed one He hi
, EN- and did everything he could {
keep EN-, but finally the boys got hii
down to the one he wore around hi
neck. They schemed for long tim
to get this one, and at last one da
they caught him asleep and they too
IT off his neck He was sure mad whe
he missed it. Pretty soon after this h
went back to England cussin tn
, country.
Montana amt no place fer a tigh
, chested gent. II he amt willin' I
, whack up he'd better git out" col
cluded Old Man McNeal as he laid tn
bacon tenderly on a chip and passe
II around