The Coolidge examiner., 1931-09-18

|
create a disturbance, during which
he shot, with intent to kill, at the
person presiding. 1t was necessary
to reply in kind. The body, un-
claimed, was. inferred in Boot Hill,
with only the prowling jackals to
mourn him, their own kin. 1t is
hoped that his nameleSS grave will
serve as warning to others of his
class"
Having thus mOdestly contained
himself in the matter of the actual
shooting, Yancey let himself go a
little on the editorial page. His
editorials, in fact, for a time threat
ened the papers news items. Sabra
and Jesse Hickey had to convince
him that the coming of the Katy
was of more interest to prospective
subscribers than was the editorial
entitled, Lower Than the Rattle
snake" He was prevailed upon TO
cut it slightly, though under pro-
test.
Sabra, reading the damp galley
proofs, was murmurOuS with admi-
ration. ITS just wonderful But,
Yancey, don't you think we ought
to have more news items? Gossip,
sort of. | don't mean gossip, really,
but about people, and what they're
doing, and so on. Those are the
things | like to read in a newspaper.
OF course, men like editorials and
important things like that. But
women"
That's right, too," agreed Jesse
Hickey, looking up, ink smeared,
from his case. Get the women
folks to reading the paper"
Sabra was emerging slowly from
the role of charming little fool. By
degrees she was to take more and
more of hand in the assembling of
the papers intimate weekly items,
while Yancey was concerned with
cosmic affairs.
AS the printing plant bOasted
only little hand press, the two six
column forms had to be linked with
hand roller. Over this was
placed the damp piece of white
print paper Each sheet was done
by hand. The first issue of the
Oklahoma Wigwam numbered four
hundred and fifty copies, and before
it was run off, Yancey, Jesse
Hickey, Sabra, Isaiah-every mem
| Der of the household except little
Cim-had taken run at the roller.
Sabra's back and arm muscles
ached for a week.
The paper came out on Thursday
afternoon as scheduled. Sabra was
astOnished and a little terrified TO
see the occasion treated as an
event, with a crowd of cowboys and
| local citizens in front of the house,
| pistols fired. whoops and yells; and
Yancey himself. aided by Jesse
Hickey, handing out copies as if
they had cost nothing to print. Per-
haps twenty-five of these were dis,
tributed, opened eagerly, perused
by citizens leaning against the
porch posts, and by cowboys on
horseback. before Sabra. peeking
out of the office window. saw an
unmistakable look of surprise
even of shock-on their faces and
heard Cass Bixby drawl. Say,
Yancey. that's hi of a name for
newspaper"
She sent Isaiah out to get hold
of a copy. He came back with it.
grinning. Ii was a single sheet.
The Oklahoma GaloOt. Motto:
Take 1t or Leave It." Beneath this
hastily assembled and somewhat
pied collection of very personal
items, calculated toN reveal the
weakness and foibles of certain
prominent citizens now engaged in
perusing the false sheet.
The practical joke being revealed
and the bona fide paper issued this
/ was considered a superb triumph
| for Yancey. and he was borne away
to receive the congratulatory toasts
of his somewhat sheepish associ-
ates.
Ii was mans town. The men
enjoyed it. They rode, gambled.
swore, fought, fshed, hunted, drank.
The antics of many of them seemed
like those of little boys playing
robbers cave under the porch. The
saloon was their club. the brothei
i their social rendezvous. the town
women their sweethearts. Literally
there were no other young girls of
manageable age; for the men and
women who had come out here
were, like Sabra and Yancey, mar
ried couples whose ages ranged be-
tween twenty and forty. Ii was no
place for the very young, the very
old, or even the middleaged.
Here, then, was the monstrous
society in which Sabra Cravat now
found herself. For her. and the
! other respectable women of the
town. there was nothing but their
! housework, their children, their
memories of the homes they had
| left.
And SO the woman who was, after
all, the most intelligent among
them, set about creating some sort
of social order for the good wives
of the community. Grimly Sabra
(and, in time, the other virtuous
women of the community set
about making this new frontier
town like the old as speedily as
possible. Yancey, almost single
handed. tried to make the new as
unlike the old as possible. He
fought a losing fight from the
first He, with his Uniformed
dreams-much less the roistering
play boys of saloon and plain and