Baxter Springs news., 1919-02-21

(Ihls was n Boou many years "bV'
There were two children in the fam
lily, Belle and Ellen, twelve and four
teen years af age. The lawyer we
shall fictitiously call McClain. In the
neighborhood was family by name
of Sutton-Wm. Sutton-whose son
Ezekiel (Zeke for short) was that
sort Of dashing young fellow, altho
ignorant, that the girls Of the neigh
borhood smiled upon his easy manners
and fair countcnance. Playmates,
Zske and Belle and Ellen spent all
their leisure hours together. Friend
ship ripened into love and Zeke found
himself courted by both Belle and
Ellen He made choice of Belle which
coolness between the sisters was soon
observed by McClain. He counseled
with the girls and was finally compell-
ed to move to --, MISSOURI
which we shall call Malletville, to
break up a very disagreeable love al
fair in the family.
Tom Osborn, n young farmer boy,
hauled McClain's effects to the depot.
He afterward moved with his parents
into the Missouri corn belt and pros
nerad gsi
Zeke Sutton grew to manhood in
Baxter and became notorious as
gambler and thief. He was finally
driven out of the country after he had
been accused, or rather limited at, as
being in the Coffeyville raid.
In After Years
"Jedge McClain, did ye say, Jedge
McClain? Yes stree, node the Jedge
when he was so gol dirnd stingy he
cut slipry elm bark airly in the spring
an wore hit fer galluses az soon az
hit dried out. But he's fuss class
Jedge an will try case on time ef a
Teller amt go no money"
So spoke an easy-going hammered
man to Tom Osborn, in answer to Os-
born's querry of the whereabouts OF
McClain; and thereby hangs a tale OF
Belle of the Ozarks.
Judge McClain was lawyer who
had tackled up his shingle in the little
town of Malletville, at the foot Of the
Ozark range. He had won his way to
the bench because the law firm of
which he was the senior partner boast
ed of the only lawyers in the district
comprising the circuit.
The Judges two daughters, Belle
, and Ellen, had studied law under their
father and had been admitted to the
(bar, Belle being appointed County At
torney by the Judge! Hence, the
firms name on the shingle was Nc
Claim, McClain & McClain, Attorneys
at-Law And County Attorney.
In the time in which write, the
country around Malletville was indeed
sparsely settled up, so much so that
a Young lady of refinement was up
against a strong proposition to find
a suitable love companion. OF course
there were a few backwoodsmen, but
this class could not court the hand OF
McClain's daughters-not when the
Judge was around.
Tom Osborne had come into the
community.a well-to-do, stylish young
farmer from the Missouri corn belt
and Immediately there was a fiutter
and a breeze with the ladies Of Nal
letville; it was a regular Kentucky
saddle gait to see which one would
win the hand of the dashing, gallant
Tom.
Both Belle and Ellen fell head-over-
heels in love with Tom at first sight,
and much speculation was indulged in
by all the knowing old women in the
neighborhood as to which one would
win Tom. They finally decided that
Ellen had won the prize, and the pub
lie accepted this as gospel, although
one could see that Belle was made
out of the metal that usually wins.
When a boy Osborn had known the
Judge back in Kansas and it was
through the solicitation of the Judge
that Osborne had located near NAL
letville and had been getting on we'll
in agriculture. One OF OsbOrn's ear
ly acuuaintances was Zeke Sutton,
whom he had not met before, known
far and wide as the champion corn
thief of Ten Mile Greek, which ran
along the section line Of osborn's
farm. Zeke knew every man from
Ten Mile Creek to the pawpaw patches
of Arkansaw and therefore 'fell in
easy with all newcomers who were
seeking to get acquainted with the
country. Failing in" was a peculiar
trait with Zeke-it always opened up
the channel which gave him the name
L.