American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1922-08-31

COMMUNICATION WITH every stranger
that visited the hills. You see. Bruce,
she couldn't write, herself. And the
n time l managed to get a written
message down to her, telling her to
give it to the first stranger to mail
one of my enemies got 1t away from
her. ! expected to die that night. l
wasn't going to be alive when the
clan came. The only reason l didn't
was because Simon-the greatest of
them all and the one 1 hate the most
kept his clan from coming. He had
his W reasons.
From then on she had to depend
on word of mouth. But at last-just
a few weeks ago-she found a man
that knew you. And it is your story
from now on"
They were still a little while. Bruce
arose and threw more wood on the
fire.
tits only the beginning he said.
Sand you want me to tell you ALP
she asked hesitantly.
"Of course. Why did l come here?"
You won't believe me when | say
that I'm almost sorry l sent for you"
She spoke almost breathlessly. 81
didn't know that it would be like this.
That you would come with a smile on
your face and a light in your eyes,
looking for happiness. And instead
of happiness-to find all thisl"
She stretched out her arms to the
Hforests. Bruce understood her per
fectly. She did not mean the woods
in the literal sense. She meant the
primal emotions that were their spirit.
ITO know the rest, you've got to go
back a whole generation. Bruce, have
YOU heard of the terrible b~lood-feuds
that the mountain families sometimes
have?"
"Of course. Many times"
"These mountains of Trails End
have been the scene of as deadly a
blood-feud as was ever known in the
West. And for once, the wrong was
all on n side.
"A few miles from here there is a
wonderful valley, where a stream
flows. There is not much tillable land
In these mountains, Bruce, but there,
along that little stream, there are al
most five sections-three thousand
acres-of as rich land as was ever
plowed. That tract of land was ac-
quired long ago by a family named
Ross, and they got it through some
kind of grant. l can't be definite as
TO the legal aspects of all this story.
They don't matter anyway-only the
results remain.
"These Ross men were frontiersmen
of the first order, They were %virtuous
men too-trusting every one, and oh
what strength they had! With their
own hands they cleared away the for
est and put the land into rich pasture
and hay and grain. They raised great
herds of cattle and had f1ocks of sheer
too.
1T was then tfTat dark days begaT
to come. Another family-headed by
the father of the man l call Simon
migrated here from the mountain dis
tricts of Oklahoma. But they wer,
not so ignorant as many mountain
people, and they were killers Per
haps that's a word you don't know
Perhaps y1u didn't know it existed. 4
killer is a man that has killed othe
men. 1t isn't a hard thing to do a
all, Bruce, after you are used to II
These people were used to 1T. An,
because they wanted these great land
my w fathers home-tlTey 'begal
to kill the ROSES.
A FIRST they made no wan on TIN
!, Folgers. The Folgers, you must know
were good people, too, honest to tn
last penny. They were connected, b
n marriage only, to the Ross tfamll,
They were on our side clear through
" At the beginning of the feud the lhea
Of tire Folger family was just IA your
+ man, newly married. And he had
son after a while.
T "rhe newcomers called 1t a feuC
But it wasn't a feud-it was Simpl
Z murder ooh, yes, we killed some {
,e them. F0lger and my father and a
N his kin united against them, making
great sclan-but they were nothing |
= strength compared to the usurper
"a Simon himself was just a boy whe
u becsn. But he grew to he the grea
est power, the leader of the enem
clan before he was t~wenty-One.
20 "Yon must know, Bruce, 5tlat m
own father held the land BUT Ale ws
so generous that his brothers wi
20 helped hiHn farm it hardly realize
n THAT possession was in his naane. Ar
father WAS "a dead shot 1t took
Hong time fsafOre they could kin him
" The coIdmess that had come Ov
her words did not in the least hide HI
:, Gepth Of feeling, She gazed mood
!. into the darkness and spoke aSmOst
u "a mOnot0ne.
Slut Simon-just a boy then-aI
Dave, his brother, and the others
!, them kept after us like so mar
wolves. There was no escape III
- only thing we could do was to fgI
baek-and that was the way v
learned to hate. A man can hat
Bruce, when he is fighting for h
~ 1900. IL. - -.