The Snyder signal. (Snyder, Tex.) 1887-????, 1920-06-11


l had sojourned many years ago. l stopped for
a week. And, as all visitors do, | heartily
plunged into the business at hand, which hap
pened to be that of dipping the sheep.
Now, this process is so different from ordi-
nary human baptism that it deserves a word of
itself. A vast iron caudron with half the fires
of Avernus beneath it is partly filled with water
that soon boils furiously. Into that is cast GER
tain villainous compounds which is allowed to
stew and fume until the witches broth is strong
enough to scorch the third arm of Palladino her
self.
Then this concentrated brew is mixed in a
long deep vat with gallons of hot water,
and the sheep are caught by their hind legs
and flung into the compound. After being
thoroughly ducked by means of forked pole in
the hands of a gentleman detailed for that pur-
pose, they are allowed to Chamber up an incline
into corral and dry or die, as the state of their
constitutions may decree. If you ever caught an
able-bodied two-year-old mutton by the hind
legs and felt the $50 volts of kicking that he can
send through your arm seventeen times before
you can hurl him into the vat, you will, Of
course, hope that he may die instead of dry,
But this is merely to explain why Bud Oakley
and l gladly stretched ourselves on the bank of
the nearby arroyo after the dipping, glad for
the welcome rest and pure contact with the
earth after our muscle-racking abors. The
flock was a small one, and we finished at 8 in
the afternoon; so Bud brought from the corral
on his saddle horn, coffee and a coffee pot and
big hunk of bread and some side bacon. Mr..
Mills, the ranch owner and my old friend, rode
away to the ranch with his force of Mexican
trabajadores.
While the bacon was frizzng nicely, there
was the sound of hoofs behind us. Buds six
shooter lay in its scabbard ten feet away from
his hand He paid not the slightest heed to the
anOrOaphlnQ nf
Texan ranchman was so different from the old
time custom that | marveled. InStinctivey |
turned to inspect the possible foe that menaced
us in the rear | saw a horesman dressed in
black, who might have been lawyer or par
son or an undertaken trotting peaceably along
the road by the arroyo.
Bud noticed my precautionary movement and
smiled sarcastically and sorrowfully.
You've been away too long," said he. you
don't need to look around W en- anybody gal
lops up behind you in this state, unless
something hits you in the back; and even then
it's liable to be only bunch of tracts or petit
ton to sign. never looked at that hombre that
rode by, but I'll bet quart of sheep dip that
he's some double-eyed son of pop gun out
rounding up votes for the legislature"
Times have changed, Bud" said |. oracular-
ly. Law and order is the rule now in the
southwest"
Il caught a cold CLEAN from Buds pale blue
eyes
mot that I" began, hastily
"Of course you don't said Bud warmly
you know better You've lived here before
Law and order, you say? Twenty years ago
we had EN- here. We only had two or three
laws, such as against murder before witnesses
and being caught stealing horses, and voting
the Republican ticket. But how is it now? All
we get is orders; and the laws go out of the
state. Them legislators set up there at Austin
and don't do nothing but chew the rag, telling
how the country can be saved, when the coun-
try is already saved. Me for the old days when
law and order meant what they said. A law
was law and order was a order"
But began.
Il was going on" continued Bud while this
coffee is boiling to describe to you a case of
genuine law and order that | knew of once in
the times when cases was decided in the
chambers OF a siX-shooter instead of a supreme
court.
you've heard of old Ben Kirlman the cat
Tie KING? His ranch run from the Nueces to
the Rio Grande. In them days, as you know.
there was real cattle kings Now they are called
capitalists. Luke Summers was one of his
range bosses. And down to this kings ranch
comes one day a bunch of these Oriental peo-
pie from New York or Kansas City or there
abouts. Luke was detailed with a squad to
ride about with em, and see that the rattle
SOb laII WARNING WHeH lncy was COM
ing, and drive the deer out of their way.
Among the bunch was black-eyed girl that
wore number two shoe. That's all | noticed
about her. But Luke must have seen more.
for he married her one day before the caballard
started back and went over on Canada Verde
and set up ranch Of his own. I'm skipping
over the sentimental stuff on purpose because
never saw or wanted to see any of it. And
Luke takes me along with him because we was
old friends and | handled cattle to suit him.
I'm skipping over much what followed be-
cause | never saw or wanted to see any of it
but three years afterward there was boy kid
stumbling and blubbering around the galleries