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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (March 4, 1897)
GETTIN' SHET IT was In a little house on a little street of a little Nebraska town the Town of Bubble. ' T was In a little house on a little street of a little Nebraska town the Town of Bubble. The little woman was crouched up on the carpet sofa In n limp heap. She a-patchln', 'I'm glad I ain't got enny looked 111, but sanguine exhausted, children to keep a-slavln' fer they do but relieved. The remains of the mid- take such a slew of work!' But when day meal were on the table. There I got through the mendin', nn' Tom had were traces of aslies about the stove, read every word in the paper, even the The baby's gown was begrimed. In advertisements there she was! Tom spite of these facts the mistress of the he'd yawn an' yawn, I'd tell as how modest home smiled sweetly. I was dead beat, not bavin' trot much "Well," exclaimed her visitor, one sleep the night before with the baby conipi eiicn.Hive glance einliracing the tliat was croupy. She never pretended unwonted neglect of the place. "I heard to hear. I'.y'm by, Tom, he'd go into you were not feeling well, but I did our bedroom that's off the settin'-rooni, not know you required assistance with an' he'd haul off his shoes, an' sling 'em your housework. I supposed, of course, on the floor real hard. That didn't stir your friend Mrs. Mason was with you." her. It was awful provokin'." The little woman looked up with a "It must have been!" her visitor nc- sparkle in her eye. qiiiosecd. "O, I'm well enough. I was sick ..Ti1(,n tiv waa thp i)n.yn'. Not enough up to last Tuesday. I've been ,.,, M.M.V M.,S(in c.:)Ii,.a t borrvin'. She gettin' better ever since. I'll have the ,. ,,u of ,,se for folUs table red off an' tilings straightened be- lilt ,.,.,.,,,,, sll(, siM .. snp Wiint. fore Tom gels home. If I feel like It ,,,, a,lvtliiii from a person she neigh now I can let things be. There ain't ,.,,,, wMh iat sl)p JlIst w(,Ilt , ,,. no one to notice. Mrs. Mason, she don't ,()k ,f fl.)M,V nn,,, Timfg ilow com.- over. Truth Is, we've got shot ,. g,.,,,.,.,-!. k(.,,t .meltln'. "Taln't o, Mary .Mason, v e just, tn empnatic repetition, "had to get sliet of Mary A,:ls""-" 1 he visitor was sympathetic. The lit- tie woman was contiilential. 'Me an' Tom," she explained, "have llved on farms all our lives. So w we rented the farm ami moved Into town, I thought the change was tine. My! I says to Tom. 'ain't it nice to Ilve In a large place. I never before suspicioned how comfortable It was to live reel near to folks, an have them folks neighborly. Out n the half sec- Ion we might be two weeks Ithout see- In a body to speak to An here we've got .. p,H,ple In this town, an' two trans a duv-not to mention the vtu nice. 1 says to l orn, 'but what's cest s rs. Mason. l,y she comes in ha onen I ai,. i got a bit of time to be oiesoiiie or the stock There's m y bets if an her husband, s, r k do, t count. She can't r.-a.l or write only Iloliemy, an' slie ain't got no use for that language since site mar- rled oiil'n her folks. Take It altogeth- r, she's wllllu' to neighbor lots, an' that,' I says to Tom, 'will be mighty pcrkln' for me!' " "Yes," assented her visitor, with a rising Inflection on the i losyllable. "Tom, he didn't say much, lie's kind of slow-like, lie jest said. 'What suits you, Kliza. suits me!' Well, Mrs. Ma- win she come. She kept cumin'. Some- times, If she got Samyel off early, she come In before our breakfast. She ai- 1 Ills come In before I got the dishes dune I up. An' she stayed. She stayed all inoriiln'-even wash nioi iiin's s,,m.,. ' times she talked. Kiuln aioin? sln I;, .to ! kept nlbblin . Sometimes 'I was a bit of cheese, or a couple of crackers, or a hunk of spice gingerbread, or the top oil' a Jar of Jell. 'I can't hear you when I'm u-ruhbiii'.' m say. That never mattered a bit to her. She'd wait till 1 got through rabbin' an' was a-hilin'. Hut whether she talked or whether she oiou i sue anus conn sure as tlu ilav- light diil. she alio nhe alius siave.l." kepi a-nibbliir, an' The narrator treated herself to a tct spoouful of medicine mil of a bottle on the wlndow-slll before she proceeded. "Our girls get home from school ai 12." went on the prostrated chatelaine, "an' I alius have lunch lor 'em then Sometimes It's reel good. Sometimes Us only scraps. Anyhow. Its the best me an' Tom can afford. Hon't you think she stayed for every one of them lunches? My, yes. She don't have to get dinner for Samyel till 1. an' he lowed that she most generally got peck ish about noon. So she'd set down with the children reg'lar, an' then go across home to get dinner. Um of times they'd be just n snag of pork, or n gumption of fried potatoes, or as much Jam leavlu' ns you'd sneeze at. 'There ain't nothln' here, Mrs. Mason, to ask j' io nave a title or,' I says to her often. 'O laws,' she answers, 'what's good enough for you is good enough ir me; ah sue sets down." Her visitor sighed softly. "Then she would stay nil afternoon She was alius here when Tom come Homo to supper. Her husband took his upper at the hotel, so she used to Jlne u. Samyel never got back from the tore before 11, so she'd stay at our house to pass the time. Tom he'd go or me wan, an' come back, an' there ine was. 'Head the uoos!" she'd y. Tom, who U natclillly pellte, 'ud read it. lieu read, an read, an' read ' .uary .Mtisou ud put In, 'go on! I could Jest set hero all night - u piic uiu preuy near; mere wm a mournful silence. "On th fArm," continued Mrs. Bob- OF MARY MASON. Inson, "me an Tom alius wont to dpii at 8. How was we to go to bed even at 10. with Mary Mason a-sittln' there? 'Land o' the llvln'!' she'd say, seeln' me .,., .,, lm, ,,,.,. pai.U.1Kl, of V(1.st tlmt 5 (,,,ntSj. SilVi 'when half a cake will make a bakln' f,. , ,, samvel. I'll take a bit of your'n. The next time she come Mwoud be flavorln. 'No use of me get- . a .,,,,, ,,,,. ()f vai,m,u-, she'd saVi ..,. j ()Ilh. nmkp ft cake 01lce a u.(,,k A ,., ., ,, me Xlu.u there was tea. Samyel drank only cof- f),(i . . .,.,,, pxtravai;.lnce for lllPj. H,p s..,rs. ,, ,, a ,,,, of ,., ,,. ,.. .,. ,akl KU of ,.,.,.. So shp t()()k lmu.hmost PV. ,lm.mi ,..,, ,,,, ,.,,,.,.,. Tickles.' she often ob- spm, .,., lnosf ,,,., f , f but Samyel says they rust out the linen' at mfnp , ,. k(nv . , . ,. s (t , , ;, ,,.,., ,,,,, M,.s , ,,,.,, 1(1k at tnat f , , kt(.ll(,n ,. , ! 1 A ,1,'I"vssl"S l signlllcant silence f",lmvo', "5Il ""' Tom," said the protesting voice, "wanted to talk It over, but 'twas only between V2 at night an' tl 1,1 nornln' we got a chance. 'Tom,' 1 s:lys nl111 ' night after she'd been 1,1 "' borrjod our last half-dozen of lW- wi.vln she'd return 'em when they P't cheaper, 'Tom, we got to get sliet "'' M:ll'.v Mason!" Tom says, 'I don't know how we're goiif to do it unless "'"ve back on the farm.'" "1!" oll couldn't well do that!" lval ,,;ls.v' si I begun to give her hints. 1 irlve her all kln.i .f liim I saiil as how I'd never been iw..,i t, sassiety. an' that much of It made my head ache. I said as bow Tom just loved sol Hood that there wasn't any thing he liked better than spending his evenings alone with me an' the chil dren. I said late hours was fearful weariu' on our constitootioiis. an' that niter this We was going to bed not lator'ii !l o'clock. I said I couldn't re turn her visits because' Tom hadn't no use for women that was alius gaddin' an' besides It wouldn't be no use for me to go over seeln' she was never home. Them, an' lots other gentle hints 1 gave her. She only says, (). stutlln'! 1 ain't one to make n fuss because a body can't keep up. with the rules of ettlrqiiette! 1 dou't ml ml If you never come over. 1 won't get mad. I ain't that proud sort, (lues I'll take a bit of that roly-poly over for Samyel's din nerIt'll gave me mnklu' sass." It was that way right along. When she got through entlu' she was sure to want somethln' to take home for Samvel 'You jest put an ex try tablespoon of coffee In the pot,' she'd say, 'an' I'll run over with Samyel's cup. That'll save me makin some. Well, when I told loin that them mild saylu's of nilue ud no more mix Into her mind than you could make sulphur blend with wa ter, Tom says, -Tell her we're golu' to move back on the farm. Mavbe then she'll begin to neighbor with the folks that has Just got married across the alley. nun very nay 'twas a quarter to 12, a week ago yesterday-she come a-walkln' Into the kitchen (she never knocked!, a big plate In her hand. Like usual she had a whole big welcome ror nersetr. 'I knowod,' she savs, 'vou wtus almln' to have a Idled dltmer to day, nn' I thought I'd Jest run over and get enough for Samyel an' me out'r rue pot wnne it was hot.' So up she marches to the stove, and takes the lid ott'u the kettle, an' begins a-sneartn1 out the salt pork, the turnips, an' the cauoage. -Ntke alive: she savs. nro-i dltt" round, 'there ain't no carrot Why ain't yet got some carrots? Me an' Samvel we're reel fond -it carrots.' "'Maybe.' says I. kind of sarcastic like, 'we'll have lots of 'em soon. That Is, if we move back on the farm, like we're talkiu' of doiu'." "Tom thought tliat'd be a knockdown blow. So did I. Hut 'twasn't. We didn't know Mary Mason. She smiled all over. "Craclous me!' she says, 'if that ain't luck! I told Samyel this niornln' I was clean beat out hoiisekeepin' an' would like a chance to recooperate. Here It Is! I'll go out to the farm with you an' stay for three months!" ' "Then I knew that my last hint had fall'ii Hatter'n the breakfast puffs you make from a newspaper prize recipe. I had felt my family peace a-goin', I had suffered my own health a-goin' an' I seen my dinner a-goin', too. So, I riz In my wrath. " 'No.' I says, 'you ain't coniiu' for yon ain't goln' to be asked.' "She bust out a-latliu'. " 'Mercy me!' she says. 'What a one you are for jokln'! I never see the beat of you. Mis' Itob'sou. I ain't so awful pertickler that 1 wait for folks to ask me.' "Then my temper rises. It eonip un like mill; a-b!lin'. You don't know it's near the top till It runs over. 'I ain't jokln',' I says. 'If we move back on the farm 'twill be to get sliet of you!' "'What':; that?" she says, an' stands there a-gawpin'. "'It'll be to get shet of you!' I re peated reel deliberate. 'This is the last hint I'll give ye, .Mary Mason!' " "Did she take it?" the visitor queried. A faint smile of triumph illumined the face reposing ou the patchwork pil low. "O, yes, she took It along with the Idled dinner. She said, though, that her faith in human natur' was shook. She said she'd never again try to neigh bor with n woman who didn't appre ciate the friendliness of persons more accustomed to sassiety. She 'lowed she never had much use nohow for folks who couldn't tell findooslckle from sauerkraut." So your ordeal Is at an end?" We believe so." the little woman said hopefully. "It's a week since we had the biled dinner most of which we didn't have. She ain't come over since. I'm gettin' my health back. Tom an' me Is llvln happy an' peaceful again. We go to bed at half past 8. The children gets all their share at meal times. I red up when I feel will In'. Tom says It's too good to last. He says she'll come back one of these days. Do you think she will?" O, surely not!" I hope not," returned the little worn- nn. smiling brightly. But the next in stant she cast toward the door a fur tive glance that was dark with dread. "We've got shet of Mary Mason I know, but will we stay shot?" Chicago Trib une. In tho Canories. A tourist in the Canary Islands says: "I know nothing more cheerful to the vagabond than the readiness of friendship among the common neoido of the Canary Islands. Go where you will abroad you may shake the hau l of the beggar, loafer, peasant and cot tager. All have the sauie free and hearty welcome for you. They seem to delight in outlandish acquaintance. and If you happen to be a woman you instantly appeal to their better selves. Here, as elsewhere, 1 have kindly mem ories of people whose names 1 never knew and who did not know mine. I remember driving by diligence with a brave and heroic-looking voting gen tleman, beautifully clad, lie wore long boots, radiant linen, velvet brooch. es, a short, smart jacket and a wldo brliiinied bat. "Men of breeding might go ns far as his native village to acquire his per fect manners. Wondering who this picturesque and operatic young man might be. I afterward questioned the diligence driver la rascal I had reason to suspect of stealing my bag, wlili all my tilings, and the wonderful bargains. In Orotava lace and embroidery I had driven), and learned that be was a vil lage butcher. So with all the trades people here. I wanted to match souiq stuff sold me by a woman of Orotava down at Saata Cruz, and was Informed I could apply to Don Tablo, or Don Pedro, and then to Don Nicholas of the Puerto. Surnames are suppressed every one Is still ns well born as they were on the peninsula in the days of Lope de Yega and the German ambas sador, asking for a servant's creden tials, was presented with proof of his descent from a Gothic king." Good Words. A Lucky "Spec." Several days ago the schooner Rob ert I. Carter struck on Alden'g Hock, and to all appearances was a total loss! Nautical experts agreed that she would leave her bones there, and her owners stripped her and sold the hulk to Charles Barllett, of this city, who bought It for $70 on "spec." Last night's wind and tide floated the schooner off, and. to the amazement of the salts, she came drifting up the harbor. Bartlett had her towed lu. She Is worth $45,000. and has besides a cargo of 1.200 tons of coal, most of which Is salable.-Port. land (Mc.) special Boston Herald. Tbo old-fashioned copper, or lc plec a Uttle mora than an Inch. ' LASSOED A MOUNTAIN LION. The BarlnK Exploit of Two Intrepid ralifornldns. Two men living In Green Valley, In the mountains east of San Diego, bad a lively experience with a mountain lion recently. They were ou their way to the Urltliu ranch ou horseback, and Mrs. Hobbs, mother of one of them, was with them. Young Hobbs was rid ing ahead, with Uritlin behind him, when a sudden turn In the creek bed through which they were passing took Hobbs out of sight for a second. In that brief space there was an unearthly howling mid screeching, followed In stantly by the rearing and plunging of the horses. Mrs. Hobbs shrieked in fright and there was a general hubbub. A mountain lion had jumped out up on young Hobbs, uttering ferocious cries as It leaped on the horse's shoul ders, and used Its hind claws with great rapidity. Hobbs' leg, fortunately was encased In long boots of heavy leather, which resisted the lion's onslaught. The horse in plunging dislodged the screaming brute, which darted back un der the shadow of a cactus thicket. Hobbs reached for his gun to prepare for another attack. (Jrirtin had his hands luii in looking alter Mrs. ilobbs, whose horse had become unmanage able. PliKdnjj her at a safe distance lu the rear, he returned and hastily put up a scheme with Hoblis to take the big brute alive. Ilobbs was to draw It from the thicket, while Orlflin, with a lariat ready, whs to rope It. Griftlu retreated a few steps, making his lariat ready, while Ilobbs, with a warwhoop, dashed toward the clump. The lion, crouching In tlie shadow, screamed with rage and jumped out toward him, frothing nt the mouth and spitting. The horse trem bled with fear. At that moment Orlflin spurred for ward, threw the lariat with steady aim, and In another second had the lion struggling In the dust with n tight rope around Its body. It clawed and screech ed, making a frightful uproar, but Grif fin, sinking the spurs In deep, dashed down the road, dragging his feline cap tive over rocks and cactus. Hobbs ran back, got his mother, and returned, bringing up the rear. Grifflu kept up a lively dog trot In order to keep the line taut, while the lion wasted Its en ergy clawing at the rope, occasionally making a sally toward the horse in front of him. Hobbs, by attacking It from the rear, HE LASSOED THE LIOX distracted its attention, so that before long the ranch house was readied. There another lariat was secured, and the Hon was conquered and placed in a cage. It was a fearful spectacle, cov ered with dust and blood and uttering tierce growls as It turned its great yel low eyes tiiMin its captors. It was very lean, and hunger had evidently im pelled its luckless onslaught. LIFEBOAT OF NEW DESIGN. Cylimlrlcnl Llfe-Savinu Uont Which May lie Propelled Sidcwlsc The old-fashioned lifeboat, which too often upsets and drowns gallant fellows bent on saving the lives of others, may soon have to give way to a curious-looking cnift which has been built. The new life-saver consists of three iron cyl inders strongly knit together. The largest one lu tlie center Is divided Into five air-tight compartments, and holds the boiler and machinery. The two LIFE-SAYING BOAT. smaller ones on either side are Intended to give it stability.- There Is neither paddle-wheel nor screw; not even a rud der, all of which things are apt to be In jured In bad weather. Instead there Is large central pump, which forces Jets of water through certain orifices. In this way, by closing one set of openings and uncovering another, the boat can be made to travel either forward or backward or sideways, ns desired. Two turrets, tltted inside with hidden leadlug to air-tight doors, support a platform, from which are long rope lad. dors leading to the water. In this fash ion the boat can withstand the heaviest seas. The method of propulsion It somewhat expensive in its waste of steam power, but that is a secondary matter, when the main consideration ii the prompt rescue of shipwrecked sail ors without risking the lives of the t' cuers. Tlie odd-looking croft Is novX view lu one of the Atlantic cities. WAIF FROM WOUNDED KNEE Little Lost liird Was Found on th Famous Sinux Battlefield. The battle of Wounded Knee Creek, which took place six years ago between the Sioux Indians and the grizzled vet erans who had fought under the gu. hint Custer, is still fresh lu the niiudj of our readers. The Sioux uprising, as It will be re called, bad its Inception in the Ghoul dance. Orders had been issued for thi disbanding of Big Foot's band. Tht order aroused hostility among tin TOE WOUNDED KNEE WAIF, Sioux, and without hesitation the "med icine" man threw a handful of earth into the air. This was a signal fol tlie Indians to tire. The United Statea troops, Custer's old ' regiment, under command of Col. Forsythe, charged back, and after the battle waa over "nothing that wore a blanket was alive." The slaughter of the Indiana was terrific. Tlie next day a terrible blizzard set in, and for four days the dead were left alone in tlie ravine where the battle had waged. AND CAPTUKED IT ALlVh. On the fourth day a babe was found on the battlefield. A. bullet had killed tlie squaw, but ns she fell she had gathered her blanket closely about the child. This, with the heavy covering of snow, had kept the baby warm. It was almost perished from hunger, but soon rallied when placed in the care of some Indian women. As the women crooned over it, and slowly nursed It back to life they constantly wailed, "Zintka Lanuiil." meaning "poor lost bird." Col. Colby, who was in com mand of the United States troops, and wife, were touched by the Incident, and as the parents of the babe, both full blooded Sioux, had perished in the bat tle, negotiations were made for the purchase of tlie little one. This was ncoinplished, aud for six years little Zimka has been eared for with devo tion by her foster parents. Little Lost Bird has grown to be a very bright child and will receive a thorough education under tlie direction of tlie foster mother, who is a well known woman suffragist. Her home Is In Beatrice, Neb. Pins. Pins, previous to 1824, were all made by hand, and were, consequently, very costly. Pln-maklng machines have been brought to a state of perfection. They now receive the wire from the spools, cut it into proper lengths, make the head and point, polish the pins, and, by a most singular piece of machinery, gather up, at one motion, a proper num ber to compose the row, fold the strips of paper and pass tie ping through. A slight movement of the roller bear ing the paper pushes it forward a lit tle further, It is again caught up by the clamps and another row of pln pressed Into position. It is claimed, for some of these pln-maklng machines, that they can manufacture BOO pins minute. A lc bronze piece is three-quarters of an inch In diameter. v iffl