Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1921-01-12
Bear Creek Hollow. .Jan..2 Fl.

= - A>Ns4A f~A<~A AAOAA~vvS J0As~S 100
Christmas is about all, over
with, except the indigestion
and that box of cigars which
you got from yer wife,. Queer
bout a woman, anyway! She'll
scold we >alloyear round fer US
in the pesky weed and then
when Christmas time comes,
she'll go and blow in her cash
fer a whole box of 'em for
YOU richly labeled ''Havan-
as about as genuine as the
smile you put on as you suck at
'em and say ''they're just fine"
Wall, as T., was saying,
Christmas is about over with
and I low we sartin' did have
some live time at our house.
Generally it's jest me and Ma
Indy, but this year my son: Hi
rum and his missus wanted to
go off ona visit and we offered
to take care of the youngsters
over Christmas, and I reckon
we got our hands full.
Zeke in Wire Fence 49,.
AS fer as the Christmas do
ings is. consumed them went
off without a hitch, exceptin'
they was a little rough an old
Zeke Dusty who I had hired to
do the Santa Claus act fer us
on Christmas eve. Seems like
we made a mistake not to take
old Tige in our confidence. Tige
is usually a peaceful and CON-
mon sense sort of 9 dog, but
when Zeke, in Squire Doolit-
ties wide fur coat with five
pillows stuffed in over his
stomach and a goats tail glued
to his chin, came trottin' up
our front walk shakin' a string
of sleigh bells and shoutin' at
his imaginary reindeer like a
wild west VOW puncher, old
Tige jest naturally thot there
be somethin'', wrong, and
we'll, Zeke didn't wait to let
the dog eat him up. He jest
dropped the bag and the i'm
aginary reins Of his imaginary
reindeer and beat it. Well
now, I don't know, maybe he
didn't drop the lines. Maybe
he jest turned them imaginary
reindeer around quick as light
MIN like and drove off in an
orderly fashion but I doubt it..
I reckon I do. Anyway he. got
all tangled up in the wire fence
somehow. Next day. I offered
to pay for the damages to his
new Sunday-go to meetin'
pants, but he jest wouldn't ev-
en- talk. I didn't dare to ask
him what become of his rein
deer. He'd have cracked my
cocoanut, sure: But Malindy
sent over a fine plum puddin'
and l guess he'll soon be on
speakin' terms agin.
Plenty Noise
Now, as I was saying, Christ
mas passed off all right, but
its the days since that has been
the most strenuous. You see,
like the mutt I be, I bought a
drum fer little Johnnie and q
mouthorgan fer Hirum Jr.,
which with. other more new
tangled noise contraptions that
they got, most drove me-
well, I'll say that if Hirum had
mt coined home before the
week, was, out and taken them
Indians away, I'd be a board
ing with Doc Freeman by now,
l reckon. Malindy said it ser.
we'd me right fer not KNOWN
better IAN to = buy the young
sters such. worthless things,
She says a pair, of stockings or
a necktie or somethin' like that
would be more useful all ar
ound.
Trouble Begin.
Well, the first trouble was
when l was a goin' to show lit
tie Jobediah how to start his
new locomotive. and broke the
spring the first clatter out of
the box That took me most
a half a,day. to fix. I hadn't Got
more'n about thru with that
when a second Sioux outbreak
arose when Johnnie broke lit
tie Cyrus jumping-jack. By
the fmeI got q new leg whit
tied out, Jobediah had broke
the reed in his tin horn, a thing
! couldn't fix, thank goodness.
Breaks Doll. Head >s.-.'s
But when the eyes on Sarah
James SO doll which she got
from her rich aunt in Boston.
failed to open and / tried to
jar loose the clogged mechan-
ism inside hVIfanninoe Tho IVA