The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-10-07
Memories of Old
Man McNeal
Copyright, by J. b. Lippincott Coz
By Caroline Lockhart

bS d. u i$Aff'AA~N~
"Bug-hunters and these spy-glass
gents is terrible innocent folks. op-
served Old Man McNeal apropos Oh
tenderfeet in general as he fried the
bacon
Now there was perfesser from
college back east wrote to Joe hipp
that he wanted him to pack MIN up
on the top of some mountain there III
Teton county, Montana, where ne couid
take observations Joe wrote him 10
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 STUN
in his skull cap and slippers, and he'd
plumb forgot about gittin' on Ihey
had to hold the train in Blackioot
while he got his traps picked up Joe
SAYS YOU never see such an outnt as
he'd got together TO take up on the
mountain. The mountain was so steep
| twas hard climbin' Ter goat, ana
( he'd brought No. 9 Charter oak
cook stove He had tent that you
| could run a two-ring circus In, ana
hadn't brought enough beddin to wad
shotgun. He had somethin' that
| looked like a coffin that he were so
particular about the boys was bettlh
| it were his Wife's corp.
But it seems he was one OF them
there astronomers, and he wanted TO
git up on the mountain to take look
around with telescope. Joe says he
never tackled such job as gittin' that
| telescope up to the summit. he dldnt
take the tent or the cook stove,
though You bet the old man had to
sleep longside camp fire while he
was star-gazin' in the Rockies.
Then there was most amazin' fe-
male from Chicago hit the Swift Cur
rent country once. Her husband
come out on little huntin trip and
was guidin fer EN- 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 veal III NdSil llbllt VI bhtSN VI
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 her waist.
| reckon | come as near runnin' that
day as ever did in my life. My cay,
use, Molly" that SHES at nuthin',
nearly bust her picket rope tryin' to
git away. Yes. ma am. she was most
uncommon cur GUS looking tenderfoot.
Once there was a tenderfoot from
North CarOliny got off at Blackfoot.
The snow was somewhere near a foot
on the level, and he wore linen dust
er. He got a horse from Joe kipp and
rode to Browning happened to be
stopping at the Chink's hotel He was
a plumb interestin' figure when he
rode through the snow into town in
that buster.
Some entertainin tenderfeet used
to come over from England to the
ranch when | punched cattle down in
the Musselshell country The ranch
was owned by an Englishman, and one
time lord came over He made a
break right away by ordern' one of
the COW punchers to saddle his horse
DO it Yourself says the cow
puncher, and the lord didn't know
| what what to make of it. We made
his life miserable after that We'd git
him ont on the roundup and plague
the life ont Of him about ben' a lord.
We got him so he was ashamed OF il.
and II anybody came he tried to keen
EN- from KNOWN it, But he got to be
first-rate fellow; could bust bronchos
and cut out steer with the rest of
EN-.
The meanest cuss | ever seen came
out there to visit him. This cuss had
boX OF cigars, and he used to pack
EN- around with him on horseback for
Tear the boys would take EN-. He
never offered anybody one. The bows
stole everything from him they could
get their hands on. They stole his
shirts and his neckties till all he had
left was what he had on his back. He
mad half-a-dozen silk handkerchiefs
that he'd got in India. and he was
mighty choice of EN- Made a kick
every time he missed one. He hid
EN- and did everything he could to
Keep EN-, but finally the boys got him
down to the one he wore around his
neck. They schemed for a long time
TO get this one, and at last one dav
they caught him asleep and thev tool,
II on MS neck. He was sure mad when
ne missed it. Pretty soon after this he
went back to England cussin the
'ountry
Montana amt no place fer a tight.
ehested gent. If he amt willin IN
whack up he'd better git out" con.
cluded Old Man McNeal as he laid the
bacon tenderly on chip and passed
II around