The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1916-04-01

| may be allow
ed, l will tell you of an Indian Terri
tory feud of which l was press agent,
camp follower and accessory during
the fact.
l was on a visit to Sam Durkee's
ranch, where 1 had q great time fall
ing off unmanicured ponies and way
ing my bare hand at the lower jaws of
wolves about two miles away. Sam
was a hardened person of about TWEEN
ty-five, with a reputation for going
home in the dark with perfect equa-
nimity, though often with reluctance.
Over In the Greek nation was a fam
lily bearing the name of Tatum. l was
told that the Durkees and Tatums had
been feuding for years. Several of
each family had bitten the grass, and
1t was expected that more Nebuchad-
nezzars would follow. A younger gen
Grafton of each family was growing
up, and the grass was keeping pace
with them. But l gathered that they
had fought fairly; that they had not
lain In cornields and aimed at the
division of their enemies suspenders
in the back-partly, perhaps, because
there were no cornfields, and nobody
wore more than n suspender. Nor
had any or child of either
house ever Deen harmed.
Sam Durkee had a girl. Her name
was Ella Baynes. They appeared to
be devoted to each other and to have
perfect confidence in each other, as all
couples do who are and have or aren't
and haven't. She was tolerably pretty.
with a heavy mass of brown hair that
helped her along. He introduced Lie
to her, which seemed not to lessen her
preference for him, SO 1 reasoned that
they were surely soul mates.
Miss Baynes lived in Kingfisher.
twenty miles from the ranch. Sam
lived on a gallop between the two
places.
One day there came to Kingf1sher a
courageous young man, rather small.
with smooth face and regular features.
He made many inquiries about the
business of the town and especially of
the inhabitants cognOminally. He said
he was from Muscogee, and he looked
it, with his yellow shoes and crocheted
four-in-hand. l met him once when |
rode In for the mail. He said his name
was Beverly Travers, which seemed
rather improbable.
One day when l was messenger for
half a gross of cigarette papers and a
couple of wagon tires I saw the alleged
Beverly Trayers in a yellow wheeled
buggy with Ella Baynes, driving about
town as ostentatiously as the black.
waxy mud would permit. l knew that
this information would bring no balm
of Gilead to Sans soul, so l refrained
from. including it in the ews of the
city that l retailed on my return. But
on the next afternoon an elongated eX-
cowboy of the name of Simmons, an
old time pal of Sans, who kept a
feed store in Kingfisher, rode out to
the ranch and rolled and burned many
cigarettes before he would talk. When
he did make grafton his words were
these:
"Sam, say, there's been a descrip-
ton of a galoot m~iscallin' himself Bevei
Edged Travels impairing the atmos-
pheric air of Kingfisher for the past
two weeks. You know who he was?
He was not otherwise than Ben Ia
tum, from the Creek Nation, son of old
Gopher Tatum that your Uncle Newt
shot last February. You know what
he done this morning? He killed your
brother Lester-shOt him in the cot
house yard"
1 wondered if Sam had heard. He
pulled a twig from a mesquite bush.
chewed it a moment and said:
HE did, did he? He killed Lester?"
"The same,' said Simmons. "And
he did more. He run away with your
girl, the same as to say Miss Ella
Baynes. l thought you might like to
know, so l rode out to impart the in
formation"
81 am much obliged, jim" said Sam,
taking the chewed twig from his
mouth. Eyes, I'm glad you rode out.
Yes, I'm right glad"
"Well, I'll be ridin' back, l reckon.
That boy l left in the feed store don't
know hay from oats. He shot Lester
in the back"
'Shot him in the back"
Eyes, while he was hitchin' his boss"
"And you say
eyes, Sam. Everybody seer 'em
drive away together in a blackboard.
with a big bundle, like clothes, tied up
in the back of it. He was drivin' the
team he brought over with him from
Muscogee. They'll be hard to over
take right away
"And which,
81 was goin' on to tell you. They
left on the Guthrie road. But there's
no tellin' which forks they'll %take-you
know that"
"All right, Jim. Much obliged"
you're welcome, Sam"
Simmons rolled a cigarette and stab