The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-02-04
Selwood Of Sleepy Cat

morning nearly a year after the
tragic affair at Bartoe's place. that a
mountain man, seated in a light but
serviceable blackboard supplied with
comfortable lazyback seat, and
driving a team OF rangy Gay horses,
was headed westward quite alone on
the trail.
Wearing the long gauntlet, soft
buckskin gloves, the stout, broad
brimmed hat, and the knotted banda
ma neckerchief of the seasoned deni-
zen Of the trail, he was comfortably
clad; In fact, his aspect at all points
marked him as one likely to be at
home in the inevitable emergencies
of frontier life.
The horses slackening presently
their lively pace aroused their driver
from a reverie. CHANGING up, he saw
that he had reached the bluff of an
important crossing; the horses were
starting down-hill toward the bot
toms of the Crawling Stone wash.
Driving faster for few minutes
as he gained the creek bottom, John
Selwood turned his horses off the
trail toward growth of small trees
on the border of the creek.
Sitting quite at his ease with the
lines buckled about his left arm, as
the horses turned into the beaten
path, his eye fell on a horseshoe. He
paused to see whether it belonged to
one Of his mules-that is, to one of
the company mules. He saw 1t did
not; for these were of a particular
style and make, easily identified by
the practiced eye. He hesitated, de-
batting whether it was worth while to
add any insurance to luck by picking
the horseshoe up, when his eye fell
on an object lying on the road a few
feet farther ahead.
1t was a woman's shoe. 1t was a
high shoe, narrow and apparently
of good quality. He drove closer.
Reading the wagon tracks within
range, he saw that emigrants had
camped for the night near at hand;
the trail, swept by the shower,
showed where their wagons had
turned that morning into the road
again. This shoe had evidently been
jolted from one of the wagons, of
which there had been two. To Sell
wood it looked small and quite new.
1t was not unusual to see along the
way articles of every description dis
carded or lost from travellers outfits.
Worn boots and old shoes were COM
mon sight, but this was something
very different-to Selwood, at least.
With his horses switching and stamp
ing at the flies, he tried to decide
whether to pick up the horseshoe or
the woman's shoe.
I've been picking up horseshoe
luck ever since I came to this coun-
try" he said to himself at length
land it's been rotten luck. I'll take
a chance on beating it." So saying,
he stepped down from the blackboard,
and picked up the woman's shoe. It
bore inspection well-and Selwood
inspected it critically. 1t was built to
come well above the ankle. 1t was
fashioned for high and slender in
step, and as Selwood held it up, the
more he looked at IT the better he
liked it, and he ended by lifting the
box seat of his little wagon and
throwing the shoe into 1t. Realizing
that it would ruin all his chances of
luck thereafter to touch the horse
shoe, he spoke to the horses and
started on.
Driving faster as he gained the bot
tom land, he reached the approach
TO the ford, quarter Of mile ahead.
where he saw two canvased wagons
halted. One had made the ford cross
ing. Just the top of the other wagon
showed through the trees that lined
the creek itself. Voices raised high
in mule adjuration reached his ears.
1t was an ordinary sound and told
him all Of the story he needed to
know-the second wagon was mired.
On the other side of the creek
stood the wagon that had made the
crossing safely. The team had been
unhitched and two men, doubling this
team with that of the mired wagon,
were working In the water.
Selwood, watching from the buck
board, had no need to speculate as to
what the probable outcome of these
efforts. would be. The men were OBJ
viously novices at their job and In all
likelihood unacquainted with the par
ticular danger of the ford they had
attempted. Selwood spoke TO his
horses and, moving closer to the
scene, halted them on the creek bank.
The men in the creek were too busy
to notice him until he called out.
AT the sound Of voice both looked
up surprised. Laconic greetings ex-
changed, the older of the two men
waded across the sandy bottom at
Selwood's suggestion to speak to him.
While he discussed with Selwood the
awkward predicament in which he was
caught Selwood looked him closely
over. He was a man of forty-five or
fifty years; Selwood saw his longish
thin hair was streaked with gray, as
was his still thinner beard-trimmed
apparently, for sidewhiskers, but neg
lected during the exigencies of trav-
ell his face was very thin, and this