9
n O M E A N D FA R M M A G A Z IN E SEC TIO N
dreds made homeless and pennileee, northw est. M ort saw, w ith sinking a t
w ith n othing le ft, even w herew ith to his heart, th a t th ere w as an even chance
of g ettin g cut o ff from tho river.
w ring th eir b read o u t of the soil.
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In C--------- C ounty and its neighbors, a
Mr. W alker w as on ft fe a th e r bed on
Begun by a Calf and Ended by Fire.
however, all fe lt secure; the fires were
fa r n orth of them , and being gradually the floor o f th e wagon and Mrs. W alk
(B. L. K etchum in San Francisco A rgo w hat to say to th e c a lf ’s ow ner th a t the exterm in ated . Besides they were in the er crouched beside him. Nellie ran back
calf suddenly rem em bered a previous Jim B iv er V alley; It is eurious how in to th e house fo r the fam ily B ible,
n au t.)
T W AS c ertain ly a firs t ra te fend, engagem ent and started , in somo haste, much confidence th e proxim ity of a riv th en clim bed up beside Mort.
“ G it upl C lk l”
The heav y w hip
and a source o f much pride to the to keep it, heading d irectly across the er will give to th e se ttle r who is th re a t
camo down hard on th e horses flanks,
settlers in and ab o u t H ickey Town croquet ground. P ap a B enedict wished ened by p ra irie fires.
M ort B enedict and his fa th e r were re and tho race w as begun.
ship, ju s t as a h aunted house, or a m u r to follow w ith moro d ig n ity th an the
F a ste r cam e the flam es; th e billow of
der m ystery, or a long lived scandal calf desired; and presen tly his feet tu rn in g from th e county tow n one day,
m ight have been—o n ly th e feud was were scraped from under him by a h aving been in to leave “ m o th e r” for smoke rolled over them , now and then
much more satisfacto ry , because it had w icket and he was being handled the a two d a y s ’ v isit and to hav e the dropping feath ery grass-cinders as it
been on fo r four years, and hard ly a w ay th e vaqueros in South A frica are b reak in g plow repaired. F o r a day or passed; they could hear the roar of the
m onth had passed during all th a t tim e supposed to m ake b u tte r— a t the end of two th ere had been rum ors of fires only fire and feel its hot b reath w henever
th a t had not w itnessed some new epi a lassoo. He did not look very neat tw en ty miles or so to the no rth , and th e w ind increased in velocity and
sodo in th e a ffa ir, and each one seemed when, a few m inutes later, he reached they were ta lk in g of th is as th ey cross Jim B iver so fa r aw ayl
N earer came th e greftt wave of
more sta rtlin g th an its predecessor. And tho W alker residonce and called his ed tho bridge, four m iles from home.
so it w as th a t tho good people of H ick neighbor out. H e was holding th e calf As th ey reached th e top o f th e hill on flam e; the air was dense and su ffo c a t
ey Township held th eir heads ju s t a lit up short, b u t his tem per had slipped its th e west side of tho riv e r M ort glanced ing. M ort in his frenzy lashed the now
tie b it h igher th a n th eir less fo rtu n ate te th e r and caused him to say bad words, a t the northern horizon, which was not running horses incessantly, cursing,
frien d s who resided in more peaceful to which P ap a W alker replied in kind— d ista n t, on account of a range of hills praying, saying he knew not w hat. Mrs.
W alker w ept and prayed; Mr. W alker
w hereat P ap a B enedict seized a conven run n in g east and w est, an d ----- -
portions o f th e country.
Did his eyes deceive him, or w as th a t now and then gave a feeble m oan; N el
I t —the feud— all sta rte d on account ien t neck yoke and k illed th e cause of
smoke, ju s t rolling up above th e lin e of lie, on the seat besido M ort, k e p t her
of a y earlin g calf—th an which, perm it th e trouble.
lips tig h t closed and said nothing, only
O f course th ere w as a fig h t and con hills 1
me (a stock raiser of lim ited b u t f r u it
clinging tt> the seat more desperately as
“ Look, f a t h e r ! ”
ful experience) to in terp o late, there siderable ill chosen language; then, as
tho wagon bonneed and lurched.
never w as nor can there ev er be a crea soon as possible, P ap a B enedict sued
S tartled , th e cider man did so.
M ort looked a t her; her silence anger
ture more hopelessly,
unreasonably P a p a W alker for tho dam age to his cab
“ G reat God, M ort! S h e ’s a-eom in’, ed him. “ G it o f f ’n t h ’ s c a t! ” be ro a r
“ o rn e ry ,” and one more productive of bages, and P ap a W alker sued P ap a Ben a n ’ cornin’ t ’ b e a t bell,-too! We got
ed. “ How d ’ye th in k I e ’n drive w ith
sinful language and disp lay o f sultry ed ict for the value of th e calf. A fter t ’ race, t ’ save a n y th in g !”
you s i tt in ’ t h a r l ”
tem per on th e p a rt of its keepers. Y ear th a t they prosecuted each other for as
And race th ey did, b u t the fire was
The girl obeyed, and fell, ra th e r th a n
lin g calves have caused th e recording sau lt and b a tte ry ; th e younger m em racing, too; and when th ey drove th eir
angel moro trouble, broken up more old bers of both houses “ sassed ” each o th p a n tin g horses in to the dooryard, the climbed, back into the boex.
M ort B en ed ict’s recollections of w hat
friendships, produced more fam ily jars, er a t every av ailab le o p p o rtu n ity ; Mrs. flam es w ere only a few miles aw ay and
occurred a fte r th a t are very dim. H e
ami, in th e form o f veal, begotten more W alker and Mrs. B enedict did no more coming dow n-at lig h tn in g speed.
rem em bers driving deeper and deeper
indigestion and th e insom nia resu ltan t “ n eig h b o rin ’ * ” ; and Mort Benedict
W hile Tom and Boy saddled th e ir
therefro m th a n —bu t th is is not an es and N ellie W alker “ bu sted u p ” with ponies and rounded up tho livestock, into the terrib le heat and srodke, of
say on th e sinful, sp o rtiv e steerlet and each other. T h at is, N ellie broke with Mrs. B enedict and the th ree elder boys tearin g through a volume of flam e th a t
his shortcom ings.
M ort, who, fo r his p art, had a w hole and Bessie in an incredibly short space seemed endless—flam e th a t burned his
The W alkers and the B enedicts bad some contem pt fo r feuds and such non of tim e p u t in to th e tw o ’ agons every eyes, his nostrils, his th ro a t, and scorch
ed his hair and eyebrow s— then, w ith ft
been old neighbors for years, “ back in sense and would feign have ignored the
th in g th a t it was possible to save, a f
low ay. ”
In fa c t, th e elder W alkers sta te o f a ffa irs , so fa r as Nellie was te r which Ilal and George saddled th eir fin al leap, the horses dashed down the
and the elder B enedicts had been m ar concerned, except for th e opposition ponies, joined Tom and Boy w ith the slope into tho shallow riv er, and he
ried about th e same tim e, a t th o be any o v ertu res from him would have re herd, and the whole procession, headed knew no more.
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ginning o f th e war, and had ja s t set ceived on all sides, and especially from by th e tw o w agons, driven by M ort and a
W hen M ort awoke he could not for
tied on ad jo in in g hom esteads when the N ellie. So he had to grin and bear it. his fa th e r, moved o ff a t a rap id pace
some tiem realize where ho w as, and
firs t gun w as fired on Sum ter. The leaving, how ever, all h o stilities to the
tow ard th e river.
lay fo r some m inntes try in g to rem em
men enlisted in the sam e company, others, and speaking p leasan tly to any
Then, and only then, did M ort notice ber. Oh, yes; ho was in W ill B e rry ’s
fo u g h t side b y side, a te and slept and o f th e W alkers ho chanced to meet.
th a t there was no sign of human life room. He rem em bered the a n tlers on
B ut fin ally , through a rash act of his
su ffereu to g e th e r; and a t home th eir
about th e W alker place. His h eart gave th e wall, and th e w hite cu rtain s a t tho
young w ives w aited and w ept together. own. he w as forced into th e feud.
a leap.
windows. Home one camo in so ftly
W hen the little W alkers and tho little There was a husking bee of the good old
“ B e s s ,” ho said, sh arp ly ; “ did—did
from the n ext room.
B enedicts grew large enough to run fashioned so rt a t T hom pson's one night
th ey g it a w a y t
D id ye notice ’em
“ Who is i t » ” ho asked.
about, th ey were p laym ates and boon an d th e younger members of the hostile
m o v in ’ ’ro u n d ! ”
I t was Nellie, and she came and
eonipanions; the children o f one fam ily houses atten d ed . D uring th e evening
The g i r l ’s eyes opened wide. “ Ob,
fe lt as much a t lib e rty in th e home of M ort found a red ear. in his pile, and— M ort! I h a v e n ’t heard or Been a sign leaned over him. “ I t ’s me, M ort. I ’vO
b e ’n here all t h ’ tim e. I thought ye
th e oth er as th ey did in th e ir own—for he never knew w hat im pelled him to do
o f ’em all day! ’ ’
knew me, sometimes.
Y o u 'v e b e ’n
tw en ty eig h t y ears the tw o fam ilies had it. unless it was th a t N ellie looked so
“ T ak e them reins. I ’m g o in ’ back
sick. ”
lived in peace and am ity , and then th a t p re tty and tem p tin g —he took his fo rm
an ’ see. ’ ’
“ A re ye here t ’ atay, N ell—alw ays,
m iserable c a lf p recip itated an irre p a r er sw eeth eart in his arm s and kissed
He leaped from the wagon and ran
I m ea n t”
able row. I t was too bad, all th e n eigh her, not once, b u t th ree tim es.
back, no tin g as he did so how hot the
Bho sat down on the edge of the bed
As soon as it could be done w ithout
bors said, b u t it is a noticeable fact
air had become and how near the big and put her hands on his shoulders.
th a t none of them attem p ted to patch th e girls know ing of it. Bud W alker
wave o f sm ok; was.
“ I f ye w ant me to, M o rt.”
up a peace—life in H ickey Township and H arvey F ree in v ited M ort and Pel
Mrs. W alker, singing softly as she
He drew her face down to his, b u t
an d H ickey Corners would have been H orner out into tho m oonlit pasture, bustled ab o u t th e kitchen, w as a bit
dull, indeed, b u t fo r th e feu d ; go ev ery w here Bud insisted on “ h av in g it o u t.” s ta rtle d to see who her unannounced put her a t a r m ’s length presently.
“ B u t how about t h ’ feud, N e lli”
body sa t by and w atched each new M ort dem urred, b u t in v ain , and, much
v isito r was.
“ They a i n ’t no more feud, M o rt.”
phase of th e a ff a ir w ith nervous, mor to his reg ret, w as forced to • ‘ lick ' ’ to
“ M is’ W alker, w h ere’s all your mcn-
bid in terest, and com m ented thereon, a stan d still not only th e man he hoped fo lk st No, 1 d id n ’t come f e t trouble—
b u t not in a m anner lik ely to prove con some day to call his b ro th er in law, but only t h ’s a p rairie -fire only a little ELITE PRIVATE
ducive to a tru ce on th e p a rt of the dis th e la t t e r ’s second as w ell; Pel H orner w ays o ff, a n ' co rn in’ down like m a d l”
BUSINESS COLLEGE
being a cripple and u nable to aecom
p u tan ts.
M rs W alker sank into a ehair. “ Oh,
404
COMMONWEALTH BLDG.
I t w as in th is way. The Benedict m odate young F ree, who w as “ p in in ’ ”
h eav en s' A n ’ fa th e r sick a bed a n ’ all
POBTLAND, OB.
and W alker houses had been b u ilt on on account o f his p rin c ip a l’s defeat.
t h ’ boys over t ’ B e rry ’s on a b re a k in ’-
T h at settled it. T h e re a fte r even ten
ad jacent co m ers of th e hom estead quar
b c e !”
ters, and w ere q u ite close to g eth er; in der hearted Mrs. W alk er— who. like
“ Good Lord! A in ’t I glad I come
fa c t, one well, sunk on th e q u arter-sec Mrs. B enedict, sincerely b u t silen tly re back! W h e re ’s t h ’ h o sse st”
tio n line betw een the tw o hom esteads, g re tte d th e trouble th a t k e p t her ap art
“ Oh, M ort! T h e y ’re all loose in the
had fu rn ish ed w ater fo r both fam ilies from her old-tim e frien d s these four
p aster! ”
fo r th e firs t fo u r y ears a fte r coming long years, and who had alw ays had a
“ G it w h at th in g s ye w antuh save t ’-
to D akota, and it was only a short d is p leasan t g reetin g for all th e fam ily , es
pecially fo r M ort, who w as a g reat f a getheT real quick! They a i n ’t no spare
tan ce from eith e r house.
B ut it cam e to pass t h t on th e W alk vorite of hers— cut him dead when she tim e .” And M ort tore out of the house
er domain th ere was born, and grew, happened to m eet him, and even th e like a m adm an, and down tc the pasture,
and w axed f a t and “ s a s s y ” a brindle frig id inclination o f th e head w ith not noticing that. Nellie had entered the
calf, w ith a rig h t sm art chance of w hite which N ellie had been w ont to reeog- kitchen and w as sta rin g at him open
in its eye and a p leth o ra of deep-dyed nize his presence on those rare occa eyed.
Both Mr. W a lk e r’s wagOD team s w ere
m ischief in its soul— and he (fo r it yas sions on which th ey m et w as now de
composed of anim als usually as docile as
a young gentlem an “ c r i t t e r ” ), while nied him.
All th is ent M ort deeply, b n t he was lam bs; b n t today, bunehed to g eth er in
y e t of ten d er age b u t tongh, engendered
th e feud. He had w andered aw ay the made o f too tough a fib re to show it; a corner of the p asture, they sn iffed tho
d ay before, and when he retu rn ed at so till th e end of th e fen d he tried to coming flam es, and it seemed to put
n ig h t th e g a te of the c a lf pen was shut act as though he did n o t care— ju s t as wild im ps in to th eir lum bering c a r
a g ain st him ; and in th e m orning, when did N ellie, who, how ever, was obliged casses, and it was a long, try in g tim e
MAUDE I. DECKER, A. M.
P a p a B enedict arose from post break to confess to herself once in a while before M ort could catch tw o of them ,
Principal.
sw ear, p ray , tr y as he m ight—and the
fa s t fam ily p ray ers and, followed by th a t she did care, “ lo ts .”
Personal Attantlen, Individual InttracUaMi
g
re
a
t
fire
rolled
sw
iftly
nearer.
The
Satisfaction
Quarante«!.
PoriUons for Uiadm*
th e younger m ale B enedicts, hied him
The sp rin g o f 1M— is a m em orable
tow ard th e stable, be beheld his n eig h one in th e histo ry o f m any portions of wind had sh ifted from n o rth east to at««. Spacial Summer Rataa.
b o r's in cip ien t steer nip p in g in the bud th e D akotas. The am ount of rain in
sundry young and toothsom e cabbages th e fall and the snow fall o f th e w in ter
and k iek in g out of th e e arth , in his preceding had been very slig h t indeed,
bovine abandon, all he eonld not eat.
and there were no sp rin g rain s to e n
Then w as F ap a B enedict w roth, and courage th e farm ers.
The ereek-beds
thereupon did he give w ay to n aughty, and conies w ere d ry ; th e lak e beds and
pro fan e w ords w hile th e young B ene alougbs w ere as Innocent of w ater as
d icts surrounded the o ffen d in g calf and pow der m agazines; and th e m atted
bro u g h t him up fo r judgm ent.
grass and reeds stan d in g in them were
Now, P a p a B enedict w as a man of as d ry a" WM th ®
on the prairies
h asty tem per, b u t easily calm ed; to E v ery th in g
in v ited
th e
fire-fiend,
when th e c a lf w as ten d ered him a t the whose work on th e plains is so sw ift
•n d of a long pieket-rope, his w rath had and thorough—and be accepted the in
decreased several degrees, and he v itatio n .
a c h in e r y Co.
wound th e rope around his hand and
From th e w heat regions np north
Started to lead th e e a lf home.
earn« tales of his deadly w ork—of coun
pMutvn>..nfor<
«ett w v iA fn w n
It was while he wan pondering ea ties almoet en tirely laid waste, e f her.
The Feud in Hickey Township
I
we * ek
E arning C apacity