Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1931-05-21


Blue Blood OF the Decayed South
Poison the Red Blood Of the Great Mid
die West?' and saw him. two months
later, carry off in triumph MS his bride
Sabra Venable. daughter OF that same
Decay. Sabra Venahle. at sixteen,
might have had her pick of the red
hlooded lads of Kansas. all the way
from Salina to Winfield Not TO men,
ton more legitimate suItors Of blue
blooded stock up from the South. such
as Dahney yenahe himself. Sabras
cousin. who resembled at once La.
fayette and old Lewis, even to the
premature silver Of his hair. the length
OF the fine. doIiehocephalic. slightly
deeadent head. and the black stock at
sight Of which Wichita gasped. When,
from among all these eligihles. Sahra
had chosen the romantic but mpsieri-
ons Cravat, Wichita mothers Of mar
rIageahle daughters felt themselves re-
venged Of the Venahle airs Strangely
enough, the marriageable daughters
seemed more resentful than ever. and
there was noticeable falling off In
the number nf young ladies who had
been wont ~ drop round at the Wig
wan Office with notices OF this or that
meeting or social event to be inserted
in the columns Of the paper
During the course Of the bonntiful
meal with which the Vpnable table
was spread Yaneey cravat had eaten
almost nothing. Here was an audi
ence to his liking Here was tale
lievahle. vet true, was OF the opening
OF the Oklahoma country nf n wilder
ness made panulnns in an hour, OF
cities numbering thousands literally
sprung m overnight, where the day
before had been only prairie, coyotes.
rattlesnakes. red clay. scrub oak. and
an occasional hester hidden I'M the
security Of ii werdv draw.
Cont tnils swiShing. eyes flashing.
arms waving. voice soaring.
Folks. there's never hern anything
like II since Creation Creation
Hi That took six DAYS This WAS
done in one II was history nude in
mn hour--and helped make It. Thou.
sands and thousands IF people from
all over this vast commonwealth If
ours The talked like that) travelled
hundreds Of miles 10 get hare piece
OF land for nothing But what land
Virgin. except. when the Indians had
roamed it. Lands Of lost gods. and
godlike men' They came like n pro-
eession-a crazy processon-all the
way to the border, covering the ground
as fast as they could by any means at
hand--scramhlng over the ground.
pushing and showing each other into
the bitches to get there first
"They came from Texas. and Ar
kansas and Colorado and Missouri
They came on foot. by Cd. all the
way from Iowa and Nebraska They
came In hughes and wagons and on
horseback and mnIehack In prairie
kch0Oners and OK carts and carriages
/ met np with one old hnmesteader
by the roadside face dried and
wrinkled AZ a nntmeg--who told me
he had started weeks and weeks be-
| fore. and had made the long trip as
| best he could. on foot or by rail and
boat and wagon. Just as kind-hearted
| people along the way would pick him
| up. ! wonder II he ever got his piece
OF land In that savage rnsh--poor old
| devil"
He paused moment. PERHAPS In
retrospect, perhaps cnnningy to whet
the appetItes Of his listeners. He
wrnngAa breathless. "Oh. Yancey. 20
on ! GASoni' from Sabra.
We'll, he border at last, and 1t was
like fourth Of July celebration on
Judgment day. The militia was lined
up at the boundary. No one was al
lowed to set foot on the new land until
noon next day, at the firing of the
guns. Two millions acres Of land were
to be given away for the grabbing.
Noon was the time. They All knew 1t
| by heart. April %, at noon 1t takes
/ generations of people hundreds of
years to settle new land This was
going to be made livable territory over
night--was made-like miracle out
of the Old Testament. Compared to
this. the Loaves and the Fishes and
the parting of the Red sen were moth
| ing-mere tricks"
Pausing only moment at the side
| board to toss Off three fingers of Span
ish brandy. like burning liquid amber,
Yancey patted his lips with his fine
linen handkerchief I've tasted moth
ing like that In month. 7 can tell
you. Raw corn whisky fit to tear your
throat out And as for the water I
Red mud. There wasn't drink Of
water to be had In the town after the
first twenty-four hours. There we
were. thousands and thousands OF us.
milling around the border like cattle,
with the burning sun baking us all
day, nowhere to go for shade. and the
thick red dust clogging eyes and nose
and mouth. No place to wash, no
| place to sleep. nothing to eat Queer
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