The Coolidge examiner., 1931-12-04
CHAPTER xIl-Continued

WaruS or DeWllQereQ government I.
The page appeared under the title
of Indian News, and its contents
were more than tinged with the
grOtesque.
The Osages were Wigwam sub
scribers. They read the paper, or
had it read to them if they were of
the older and less literate genera
ton. Sabra was accustomed to see
ing the doorway suddenly darkened
by huge blanketed form or TO look
up, startled, to behold the bril-
liant striped figure standing beside
her desk in the business office. If
Yancey chanced to be in the occa-
sion became very social.
How -
How
want um paper"
'All right. Short Tooth. Five dol
lars"
The blanketed figure would pro
duce a wallet whose cheeks were
plump to bursting with round silver
dollars, for the Usage loved the
sound and feel of the bright metal
disks. Down on the desk they
clinked.
The huge Usage stood then, wait
ing. Yancey knew what was want
ed, as did Sabra.
"Me want see iron man. Make
um name"
WhereupOn Yancey or Sabra
would conduct the visitor into the
composing room. There were three
linotype machines now, clanking
and chattering away. Once Yancey
had taken old Big Elk, Ruby's IA
ther. back there to see how the lin
otype turned liquid lead into print
ed words. He had had Jesse
Hickey. at the linotype's keyboard
turn out old Big Elk's name in the
form of a neat metal bar, together
with the paper slip of its imprint.
There was no stopping it. The
story of the iron monster that
could talk and write and move
spread like a prairie fire through
WaZhazhe. Whole families sub
scribed separately for the Oklaho-
ma Wigwam-bucks. squaws. girls
boys, papooses in arms. The iron
monster had for them fascination.
that was mingling of admiration,
awe, and fear. 1t was useless to
explain that they need not take out
a subscription in order to own one
of these coveted metal bars II had
been done once They always would
do il that way. Sabra. if she hap
pened to be in charge, always gave
the FIVE dollars to her pet charity,
after trying in vain to refuse it
when prOffered. Yancey took it
cheerfully and treated the boys at
the new Sunny South saloon. now
a thing of splendOr with its ma.
hogany bar. its brass rail. its mir
'ror. chandeliers. and flesh-tinted
oil paintings.
The Levy Mercantile company
had added fancy grocery and mar
ket department to its three story
brick store. Ii was situated on the
street floor and enhanced with a
great plate-glasS window In this
window Sol displayed a mouth-wa-
tering assortment of foods. juicy
white stalks of asparagus in glass.
as large around as a mans two
thumbs; great ripe olives, their
purple-black cheeks gliStenIne with
oil; lobster. mushrooms. French
peas, SardineS, mountainous gold
en- cheeses. tender broilers. peaches
in syrup. pork rOasts dressed i'll
frills Dozens of chickens. pounds
of pork, baskets of delicacies were
piled in the cars of hOmeward
bound Osages. Often, when the
food bills mounted too high, the
Indian agent at WazhaZhe threat
ened to let the bill go unpaid. He
alone had the power to check the
outpouring of Indian gold, and even
he frequently was unable to cope
with their mad eXtravagances.
ITS disgusting" Sabra Cravat
said, again and again. What are
they good for? What earthly good
are they? Ignorant savages who do
nothing but eat and sleep and drive
around in their ridiculous huge
automobiles"
Keep money in circulation" Sol
Levy replied. for she often took
aim to task after seeing a line of
Indian cars parked outside the
Usage Mercantile company's store.
"You ought to be ashamed of
yourself"
Now. now, Sabra. Not so grand,
please. | don't do like dozens of
other merchants here in town.
Make out bills for goods they
haven't bought and give them the
money. Or charge them double on
the bill that the Indian agent sees.
and return them the overcharge
They come in my store, they pay
what the article is marked, and get
what they pay for. Inez Bull comes
in and gets silk step-in. or Sun
Maker he buys twelve pounds of
chicken and ten pounds of pork
should tell them they can't have
it! Let the President of the Unit
ed States do it. The Big White
Father"
Not only did Yancey agree with
Sol, he seemed to find enormous
satisfaction in the laviShneSS with
which they spent their oil money :;
in the very absurdity of the things
they bought.
Donna came home from a bridge
party one afternoon, the creamy
Venable pallOr showing the Marcy
tinge of ocherous rage. She burst