The Coolidge examiner., 1931-10-02

| Wigwam. He was restless, moody,
distrait. Sabra remembered with
a pang of dsmay something that
he had said on first coming to
| Usage. Cd, when | think of
| those years in Wichita! Almost
five years in one place-that's the
! longest stretch I've ever done"
The newspaper was prOspering
for Sabra gave more and more time
| to it. But Yancey seemed to have
lost interest, as he did in any ven
ture once it got under way.
Even in the courtroom or while
! addressing a meeting of townSpeO-
| pie Yancey sometimes would be-
| have strangely. He would stop in
! the midst of tlOrid period. AT
once a creature savage and over
| civilized, the flaring lamps, the hot ,
breathlesS atmosphere, the vacuOuS
white faces looming up at him like
balloons would repel him. He had
been known to stalk out, leaving
them staring. In the courtroom he
was an alarming figure. When he
was defending a local county or
Territorial case they flocked from
miles around to hear him, and the
crude pine shack that was the
! courtroom would be packed to suf
| location. He lowered over any
| jury of frOntierSmen-a behemOth
in a Prince Albert coat and fine lin
en-. his great shaggy buffalo's head
oh ni or
ponent. His was the florid hifa-
lutin oratOry of the day. full of SEN
timent, hyperbole, and wind. But
he could be trenchant enough when
needs be: and his charm, his mag
netic power, were undeniable. and
almost invariably he emerged from
| the courtroom victorious.
Sabra saw more and more TO the
| editing and to the actual printing
of the Oklahoma Wigwam. She got
in as general housewOrker and
helper an Usage Indian girl Of
| fifteen who had been to the Indian
school and who had learned some
of the rudiments Of household
duties; cleaning, dishwashing. laun-
dering, even some of the simpler
forms of cookery. She tended
Donna. as well. Her name was Arita
Red Feather. quiet gentle girl
who went about the house in her
calico dress and moccasins and had
70 be told everything over again,
daily. Isaiah was beginning to be
too big for these duties. He was
something of a problem In the
| household At the suggestion that
he be sent back to Wichita he set
up bowling and wailing and
would not be consoled until both
Sabra and Yancey assured him that
he might remain with them for
ever. When Jesse Hickey was too
drunk to stand at the type case
and Yancey was off on some legal
matter, he slowly and painstaking-
| ly helped Sabra to make possible
the weekly issue of the Oklahoma
| Wigwam.
Sabra. in a pinch. even tried her
unaccustomed hand at an occa-
sional editorial. though Yancey
| seldom failed her utterly in this
department. A rival newspaper set
up quarters across the street and.
for two or three months. kept up
q feeble pretense OF existence. Yam
cey's editorials. during this period
were extremely personal.
But II was Sabra who held the
women readers with her accounts
of the veal loaf, cOleslaw. baked
beans. and angel-food cake served
at the church supper. and the some
what touching decorations and cos
tunes worn al the wedding Of a
local or county belle.
If. in the quarter of a century
that followed. every trace of the
settling of the Oklahoma country
had been lost. excepting only the
numbers of the Oklahoma Wigwam,
there still would have been left a
| clear and inclusive record Of the
lives, morals. political and social
and economic workings of this
bizarre community. Week by week,
month by month. the reader could
have noticed in its columns what
ever Of progress was being made in
this fantastic slice of the republic
of the United States.
Sabra, except for Yancey's grow
ing reStleSsness, was content
enough. The children were well !;
the paper was prospering; she had
her friends; the house had taken
on an aspect of comfort; they had
added another bedroom. She was.
In way. a leader In the crude So
cial life Of the community. Church
suppers; sewing societies; family
picnicS.
One thing raEkled deep. Yancey
had been urged to accept the Office
of territorial delegate to congress
without vote) and had refused. All
sorts of territorial political posi-
tions were held out to him. The
ely of Guthrie. capital of the ter
ritory, wooed him in vain. He
laughed at political position. re-
jected all offers of political ma
ture Now he was being offered
the position of governor OF the ter
ritory His oratory. his dramatic
quality, his record in many affairs,
including the Pegler murder and
the shooting of the Kid. had spread
his fame even beyond the South.
west.
ooh. Yancey!" Sabra thought of
-