Baxter Springs news., 1917-09-20

G4 were the amiable loafers- =
and Old Baumgartner. The person he
was discoursing about was his son
Sephenijah. ! am not sure that the
name was not the ripe fruit OF his
fathers fancy-with, perhaps, the
Scriptural suggestion which Is likely 70
be present in the affairs OF Pennsyl-
vania-G German-whether communicant
or not-even il he live IN Maryland:
"Yes-always last; expecial at tu-
nerals and weddings. Except his own
he's sure to be on time at his own
funeral. Right out in front! Hair
But sometimes he misses his wedding.
Why, ! knowed feller--yous all know
ed him, begoshens!-that didn't git
there till another feller'd married her
bout morn'n year aiterward.
Wasn't it more'n year, boys? Yas-
Bill Eisenkrout. Or, now, was 1t his
brother-Baltzer n-Cabbage? Seems
to me now like it was BalS. Somesing
wiss a B at the front end, anyhow"
Henry Wasserman diffidently intim-
ated that there was curious but
satisfactory element Of safety. in being
last-a "fast-nacht" in their language,
In fact. Those in front were the
ones usually hurt in railroad accidents,
Alexander Althoff remembered.
"Safe?" cried the speaker. "Ot
coursel But for why-say, for why?"
Old Baumgartner challenged defiantly.
No one answered and he let several
impressive minutes intervene.
"You don't knowl Hang you, none
of yous knows? Well-because ne amt
there when anysing occurs-alwayS
o little late!" :.
They agreed with him by a series
Of sage mods.
"But, fellers, the worst is about
courting. It's no way to be always
late. Everybody else gifts there tlrst,
and it's nossing for the fastnacht but
weeping and wailing and gnashing, OF
the teeth. And mebby the other
feller gifts considerable happiness-and
There was complaint in the old mans
voice. and they knew that he meant
his own son Seffy. To add to their
embarrassment, this same son was
now appearing over the Lustich Hill
an opportune moment for pleasing
dirression, For you must be told early
concerning Old Baumgartner's longing
for certain lands, tenements and hered-
itaments-using his own phrase
which were not his own, but which
adioined his. It has passed into o
proyerb Of the vicinage; indeed, though
the property in question belonged to
one Sarah Pressel, it was known colo
uuiaIly as "Baumgartner's Yearn."
And the reason OF 1t was this:
Between his own farm and the public
road land the railroad station when It
camel, lay the fsirest meadow-land
farmers eye had ever rested upon:
q am speaking again for the father Of
Seffy and with his hyperbole.) Save
In one particular, it was like an enemy''s
beautiful territory lying between ones
less beautiful own and the open sea-.
keeping one o poor inlander who Is
mad for the seas-whose crops must
either pass across the land OF his adver-
sary and pay tithes TO him, or 60 by
long distances around him at the cost
of greater tithes to the soulless owners
of the turnpikes-who sggavatingly
fix q gate each way TO make their tithes
more sure. So say, it was like having
the territory Of his enemy lying between
his and deep water-save, as l have
also said, in one particular, to wit
that the owner-the Sarah Pressel
have mentioned-was not Old Baum
gartner's enemy.
In fact, they were tremendous friends.
And it was by this triendshlp-and