The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-07-11
-"Mrs. Howard" he began, Il"

MRS. Howard" he began, Il" "a
, Mother Howard" she corrected. II
amt used to being called much else"
Mother, then-although I'm not
very accustomed to using the title.
My own mother died-shortly after
my father came back from out here"
She walked to his side then and put
a hand on his shoulders. For a mo-
ment it seemed that her lips were
struggling to repress something which
strove to pass them. something locked
behind them for years. Then the old
face, dim in the half light, Gained. 4
what do you want to know, SOM"
"Everything!" 4 .4-'sE Y g,
But there isn't much I can tell"
He caught her hand. .u. r.. al
There is! know there is. -.
"Son-all can do is to make mat
tiers worse. II knew anything that
would help you-if could give you
any light on anything, Old Mother
Howard would do 1t! Lord, didn't I
help out your father when he needed
1t the worst way? But I'm as much
In the dark as you. All that / ever
knew was that your father came to
this boarding house when he was
young man, the very first day that he
ever struck Ohadi. He didn't have
much money, but he was enthusiastic
and it wasn't long before he'd told
me about his wife and baby back in
Indianapolis and how he'd like to win
mt fny hot IL 40
they always called me Mother How
ard, even when I was young thing,
sort of setting my cap for every good
looking young man, that came along.
I guess that's why never caught one
Of 'em-1 always insisted on darning
their socks and looking after all their
troubles for 'em instead Of going out
buggy-riding with some other fellow
and making 'em jealous" She sighed
ever so slightly, then chuckled. But
that amt getting. to the point,
though, is it?" III
IF you could tell me about my IA
ther-" -.
I'm going to-all / know. Things
were a lot different out here then
from what they were later. Every
where around the hills and gnlches
you could see prospectors, with their
gads and 1itt!s picks. fooling around
like life didn't mean anything in the
world TO 'em, except to grub around
in those rocks.
Your father was one of these men.
'Sguint' Rodaine was another-they
called him that because at some time
In his life he'd tried to- shoot faster
than the other fellow-and didn't do
it. The bullet hit right between his
eyes, but it muSt have had poor pow
der behind it-sll it did was to cut
through the skin and 90 straight up
his forehead. When the wound healed,
the scar drew his eyes close together,
like a Chinaman's. You never see
Squint's eyes more than half cc.n. -,
"And. he's crooked. just like his
ieyes-" Mother Howard's voice bore
a touch Of resentment. II never liked
him from the minute first saw him,
and I liked him. less afterward. Then
II got next to his game. ..
"Your father had been prospecting
just like everybody else. He'd come
on float up Kentucky gulch and was
trying to follow II to the vein. Squint
saw. nim-and Nhat,s more, he saw
that noat. It looked good to SQUIRT
ana late that night, heard him and
his two drinking partners, Blindeye
Bozeman and Taylor Bill-they just
reverse his name for the sound Of it
talking in Blindeye's room. I'm q
woman" Mother Howard chuckled-
80 just leaned my head against the
door and listened. Then flew down
stairs to wait for your father when
he came in from sitting up half the
night to get an assay on that float.
SQuint and them two others was fgurs
ing on jumping his claim before he
could file on it and all that.
"Well, there was a big Cornlshman
here that was kind of sweet on-and
I guess I always will be. He's been
gone now, though, ever since your IA
Their left. I got him and asked him
to help. And Harry was just the kind
Of a fellow that would do it. Out in
the dead Of night they went and
staked out your fathers claim-Harry
was to get rs per cent-and early the
next morning your dad was waiting
to file on It, while Harry was waiting
for them three. And what a fight 1t
must have been-that' Harry was
wildcat in those younger days." She
laughed, then her voice grew serious.
But all had its effect. Rodaine
didn't jump that claim, and a few Of
us around here fled dummy claims
enough in the vicinity to keep him of
Of getting too close-but there was
one way we couldn't stop him. He
had power, and he's always had it
and he's got it now. A lot Of awful
strange things happened to your fa.
Their after that-charges were fled
against him for things he never did.
Men jumped on him In the dark, then
went to the district attorneys Office
and accused him Of making the at
tack. And the funny part was that
the district attorneys office always
believed them-and not him. Once
they had him Just at the edge Of the
penitentiary, but IL happened to
know few things that-well, he
II L. H-AA AraA