Evening star., 1924-01-20

You better get on home. SON,
Even at that age ! recognized some
thlng ominous in the mans tone
JUST as | was turning toward the
! ranch l heard some shots In q saloon
across the road.
JIM curtis and Van Rice, both cat
.Iemen. mad been standing at the bar.
= disagreement arose over the brand l.
ing OF some cattle. But few words
spoken. Van Rice. dead shot.
as was Curtis. drew his gun in a
hash and opened Before Curtis
! could get his six-shooter from It's
holster three bullets had gone
through him.
Don't. For Gods sake don't shoot
don't kin anybody" a neighborina
cowboy called to them, but too late.
He actually leaped toward the two
men holding his hands between them.
50 quick ard deadly was the aim
! mat two bullets went through his
Curtis, "a
My boss tumbled over behind a
stove in the center of the room, dying.
with his last gasp. though. he pulled
himself up on one elbow. took delib-
crate aim and fired a bullet squarely
through his assailant's heart.
Both men dropped dead.
Those are not pleasant recollec-
tions. but It was the atmosphere In
"nicn- started ltre.
Young Tex JOina Cattle Drive.
l stayed with the widow, Mrs.
Curtis, until the fall, when I ioined
group OF cattlemen and started on
one-of the most momentous JOURNEYS
IN history. We drove an immense
herd of long horns all the way to
Honeywell. Kan, then considered a
strange and foreign country. Though
we did not grasp it's meaning. we
20 L.,
the north and south of the west Just
few OF the herds had been driven
north of the thirty-siSth meridian. In
iact, we were duplicating the feat of
the Red River pioneers who went to
Abilene, AS told in Emerson Houeb's q
great historic novel.
The reason for driving these herds
north was to reach a new market
the Texas market having been killed
by the civil war and the political
troubles following 1t.
1t may seem odd that boy of
eleven years, little more than a baby
should be out On rough expedition
like this. actually working for a liv-
ing. Nothing was thought OF Il then.
| was little man. just as the others
were big men. We each had our lob
to do.
On that long drive we didn't see
single house, not the slightest sign
OF civilization, until after we had
We followed the route of the previous
herd. though We kept little west Of
the Chisholm trail. Buffalo were q
common sight in those days. In fact,
l ave helped my father hunt buffalo
over what is now Wichita Falls, Tex,
an important city.
On like journey I spent the lone
soonest and longest night in my whole
life. 1t may Indicate how my youth
full mind grew hardened to tragedy.
Two OF the cowbodys got into an
argument. over the cattle and one of
them shot the other. woundins~ him
badly. AS they brought the wounded
man to a little tent one of the cow
boys recalled that a doctor lived in
a little village forty or fifty miles
left with the wounded cowboy while
the riders went for the. doctor I
never thought of protesting. We
didn't complain in those days
+. BeaieEed by Wolves.
l sat with the wounded man and
listened to his means, bringing wa
ter and waiting on him as best
could; Between his means ! could
occasionally hear the shriek OF a
coyote or wolf. 1t turned out to be a
whole pack of wolves.
The cowboy was barely conscious
and I began to feel lonely. Unless
you have sat alone on prairie. with
icok like electric bulbs and hear the
piercing scream OF a wolf, you have
no idea how II can make your hair
stand on end. No sound carries such
terror as the Shrek Of wolf on the
hunt.
AS / sat there with the tingling at
the roots of my hair, realizing my
utter loneliness. the poor cowboy
died. Then-I had to sit up with his
body the 1ivelong night. The nearest
to company / got was the occasional
moo Of a COW whose calf was being
sought by the wolves
Toward midnight the wolves came
closer. set the lantern in the door
Of the tent, now really a. riorgue. In
a semi-circIe I could see the gray
forms of the wolves and occasionally
the light, reflected In their eyes.
grew into an old man that terrible
night. I can never forget any phase
OF 1T as long as ! live.
I did what any other eattieman
rifle and sat waiting, ready to pro-
tect myself Mind you. I was only
ten years old. The thought Of the
dead man with me was almost as hor-
rible as the presence of the wolves
outside.
The cowboys did not return with
the doctor, no longer needed, until
after 6 o'clock in the morning.
With childhood jolt like that, il
Is not strange that / have failed to
find anything nerve-wracking In pro-
noting a boxing match. But I am
leading into my next chapter.
Tonerrovs why PromotinS Fights