The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1929-12-13

0a1- Practical Resu
Twas Christmas Eve upon the prairie
And we lowered round the fire.
We could hear the coyote. wary,
Seemed as if he'd never tire.
Some were thinking, softly talking.
Christmas times they'd known before;
The Christmas story some were hooking
They had no faith in Bible lore.
Just the foreman sat, unheeding,
With his head so frosted DER,
Bowed above his paper reading,
Seemed our chatter to ignore.
Gaunt was he and hard as flint-rock,
Fearless, tireless, without hate,
We mad seen him nurse the thin stock
And we knew his heart was great.
The wintry wind was wildly raging,
And the night was bitter cold,
And the bowling blast was waging
War upon the young and old.
Lean and hungry roamed the cattle,
And the horses, too, were thin;
We could hear the windows rattle,
While the fine snow sifted in.
Suddenly there came a rapping-
Surprise was written on each face;
Again it sounded-tapping, tapping
The foreman rose up from his place.
AS he threw the door wide open,
Huddled in the bitin' storm,
Stood a man there blindly gropin'-
And we saw a woman's form.
Once within he told his story,
How they'd tried the village inn,
But the landlord, though quite sorry,
Had no place for kith or kin.
Sadly down the road they'd started,
Seeking shelter for the night,
Spent and lost and broken-hearted
They had seen our feeble light.
No place had we for any woman,
And the foreman's face grew red,
But her patient eyes were brimmin'-
We couldn't hear what the man had said;
But we saw the changed expression
Flash across the foreman's face,
After that we had a session
That upset the whole blamed place.
Kim, the Chink, was heating water,
RED" was on the doctors trail,
All the fires were made much hotter
To resist the winters gale.
So the night passed-came the morning
When we heard that baby's cries.
Though we'd had the doctors warning.
Every cowboy wiped his eyes.
AS we fingered round the table
After breakfast time was done,
One who'd called the Story, fable,
Asked the boss, in jest and fun,
Boss, what made you change so quickly
When those folks came in that way?
Though at first you looked right sickly
You got busy right away"
Then the boss. his old eyes snappin',
Shifted slightly, then replied,
Say, pardner, did you ever happen
To hear of Christ, the Crucified?
Last winter when l made that visit,
To the folks back East, you know,
They were fixin' so exquisite
That | thought I'd see a show.
Well. it was sort of actin
Though a PAGEANT was what twas called.
And the folks were simply packed in,
Till those fishermen were stalled.
Well, it was the Christmas Story.
Call it fable, call it fact,
Christ, the Child, in all His glory,
Was the center of each act.
You all know the claims of hist'ry,
Shepherds merged of fact and mystery,
Always guiding men afar,
But the fact that made me wonder,
AS l saw that PAGEANT play,
Was the foolish landlords blunder,
When he turned the pair away.
So, last night, their explanation
How they'd tried the village inn,
Made me see their situation,
And l saw that play ag'in.
Now, you men will long remember
What that PAGEANT tried to say.
For a night of bleak December
Brought a glorious Christmas Day"
slim" had fetched a neighbor lady,
Now she brought the youngster in,
Every man must see that baby,
Every one was proud as sin.
We remembered that old stable,
Where the holy couple went:
Slim" remarked, st was no fable"
Every cowboy bowed assent.
H. E. Sand Creek, Mont.
cam surrounded by ment from the time when as q