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JUNE 7, 1907
The Commoner.
7.
A MINNESOTA "LITTLE BREECHES"
The Grand Rapids, Minn., correspondent for
the St. Paul Dispatch sends to his paper, under
date of May 18, an interesting story about a
Minnesota "Little Breeches." Here it Is:
Of course you have read John Hay's "Pike
County Ballads." "That understands itself,"
as the French put it. Equally, of course, you
have smiled at the simple faith of the rough
.Pike county farmer in the ballad of "Little
Breeches," as shown in his explanation of how
Little Gabe reached the sheepfold through the
blinding snowstorm.. Thus, as you remember,
went the words:
'How did he git thar? Angels! -
He could never have walked in that storm!
They jest stooped down an' toted him
To where it was safe an' warm."
And as you read them you will remember
that, at the back of your mind, there was al
ways a lurking fancy that mayhap the Pike's
faith had a firmer foundation than you wotted
of. That, in such peril as the ballad describes,
a stronger arm than any arm of flesh might be
stretched out to aid, and that, after all, as Ham
let hath it:
"There are more things in heaven and earth,
Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
Whether Mr. Hay's ballad had any found
ation of fact or not, 'tis hard to 'say; likely
no more than most poetical edifices. But a
happening 'way out In the wilds of Minnesota
this spring had furnished a very substantial one
had a poet been at hand to embalm it in verse.
In that section of the country where the
ax and saw of the lumberman are emitting their
final notes even now, the settler is crowding
In, and the land, once tenanted only by Indians,
wild beasts and "lumberjacks," is fast being
converted into farms, a sturdy descendant of
the Vikings had "taken up" a homestead, broken
land and set to work at raising crops, at the
same time raising an equally sturdy brood of
children. Among the latter was a fine little
boy of about three years of age, ad fearless
and investigative as the average male animal
of like- maturity, who succeeded in evading his
mother's eyes ond afternoon and disappeared.
In the forest surrounding his father's clearing.
An hour or two elapsed before his mother missed
him; his father was away from home; and,
darkness had nearly set in before a search for
the missing child was fairly on foot
The present has been one of the coldest
springs on record, even in Minnesota; a heavy
frost fell during the night; yet when the child
was found, but a little before noon of the next
day, he had received no harm beyond an ab
normal increase of appetite if that may be
considered 'any under the circumstances. The
few neighbors, of course, joined in the search,
as did a crew of lumbermen engaged in driving
logs nearby, and one of the latter who found
the boy told the story- so graphically that he
may Well be allowed to finish it.
"When the old men sent the hurry-up call
fer us to drop drivin' 'n' hike over to the
Norsk's 't'd los' his kid, we broke fer the little
farm mighty quick, now I tell you. We knowed
the woods 'bout there was full o' wolves, 'n' 'f
they didn't git the kid1he night was duo to be
colder'n h 1 'n' h'd freeze to death sure 'f
he warn't found 'fore the frost fell. We jest
stopped at the wanagan long enough to fill
our lunch sacks with grub 'n' git plenty matches,
n' then we put right into the woods aflyin'.
We made torches of birch bark, 'sides havin' all
the lanterns they was on the drive, 'n' the old
man spread the whole fifty of us out, 'n' we
fair fine-tooth-combed that country all night.
But we couldn't find hide 'r'hair o' the kid 'n'
when mornin' come, I sez to myself, 'thet kid's
a goner, sure, 'n' about ev'rybody else-thought
the same way, 'cept the old man, who wouldn't
give up tryin' to do anything he started out to
do before he was dead. Well, we eat a lunch
and at it again, 'n' 'long 'bount noon I foun'
the kid. He was lyin' asleep in a big holler
log, 'n' 'f a bear hadn't denned up in that same
logs las' winter you may kick me. The kid was
lyin' on the grass 'n' leaves 'n' moss the bear
'd used fer a bed, n' ter stop up the end of the
log when he crawled inter u, 'n' hed pushed out
when he clhn' out this spring 'n' T his little
cap hadn't a fell off 'n' onto the ground front o'
the log I'd a went by 'n' never seen him. But
my' eyes lit on the cap, 'n' then o' course I rub
Tiered 'round till I seen the kid. -I took him
out, 'n' the first thing the game little devil did
was to say that he's awul hungry, 'n' if he
didn't git away with ev'ry crum' o' grub in my
lurichsack, 'n' still be good fer more 'f he could
a got it, you can call moji liar. 'Courso, boin'
such a little kid, he couldn't tell mo much 'bout
it, as he tried to after I'd raised the long yell,
'n' was waitin' fer the boys to come in, n he'd
et. all the grub I had, but he did make out to
tell me that ho played 'bout In the woods till
he got tired, 'n' then tried to go home, but
couldn't git there. 'N' then It got dark, 'n' ho
was awful scairt, 'n' then he come on a big
black doggie n' two little doggies layin' down,
'n' ho laid down with 'em, 'n' slop warm all
night. 'N' he was so tired when It come mornin
he, couldn't keep up with the doggies, 'n' they
runned 'way n' lef him. N' then he tried to
git home, but couldn't make it, 'n' foun' tho
holler log, 'n' crawled in, 'n' wanted his mother,
'n' that's 'bout all I could make out o' nte talk
'foreho went asleep agin in ray lap 'fore tho
boys come up. Jehovly Flat Rock! 'F that
kid didn't sleep 'longside a she ber'n 'er two
oubs 'n' keep from freezin that night, but how
a she bear 'ith cubs, the dangerouses thing that
walks, ever 'lowed him td do it, 'thout killin'
him, I'm d- d f I kin git through my head."
And many a wiser Jack of vtho Woods could
not "git it through his head" but the Pike's
Angel theory, might apply in the case, if it would
' apply at all.
oooo
WARRING ON OKLAHOMA
The Springfield, Mass., Republican "prints
ah editorial, which ought to be seriously, con
sidered by republican readers. The Republican
says:
"It was reported some days ago that
Speaker Cannon and other republican leaders
were engaged in an effort to hold up the Okla
homa statehood movement until after the presi
dential election of next year. Whether this be
true or not, it is now certain that the republi
cans of the Oklahoma and Indian territories are
working for some such result, and may succeed
at least in bringing about serious complications
if not partisan riots and bloodshed.
"As is well known, congress adopted an
-' enabling act and the two territories held a
constitutional, convention, which has finished
its work and dissolved. This convention was
heavily democratic and Indicated the success
of the demoprats in the -elections of state officers
and congressmen, to bo held next August, the
vote on ratification of the constitution to be
taken at the same time. The republicans are
now in possession of the territorial governments,
and if the statehood movement should be tied
up they would remain in possession indefinitely.
Furthermore, elections for state officers and con
gressmen at this time would not only result
probably In turning the state government over
to the democrats, but in adding seven votes
to the electoral college, which would most likely
prove to be democratic next year and might turn
the scale in the presidential election. Neverthe
less, the republicans, while disliking the pro
posed constitution because of its radicalism,
concluded at first to go ahead and make the most
of the situation.
"Now all this is changed. The republicans
of the two territories, acting through their joint
committee, which met last week, exhibit a de
termination to 'welch' and block the statehood
game, into which they had entered. If they hold
a state convention at all next month, it will be,
according to present plans, not to nominato a
ticket but to protest against the validity of the
whole election proceeding. Tho republican gov
ernor of Oklahoma has declared that he will
not proclaim an election day, and that without
such proclamation no valid election can bo held
this in spite of the fact that the constitution
framed by the convention itself proclaims a day
of election and makes other provisions in rela
tion thereto. Meantime several counties, whose
boundaries have been changed, have sued out
injunctions against the going into effect of the
constitution, and the republicans declare that
they will take no part in any election until at
least these suits have been settled. Meantime
the democrats are going right ahead and pwr-
pose to nominate full tickets at primary elec
tions held early next month, as well as to vote
in election on the tickets on August 6.
"It is a queer mix"-up and suggests tho
question whether the republican blockading
movement in Oklahoma is being worked up in
dependently of any word from the White House
or from the republican national committee. In
any event republican persistence in the course
now planned would result in rump elections on
August 6, and the appearance of two sets of
goyernnients in the proposed state of Oklahoma
a. democratic state government under a state
constitution, and a republican territorial govern
ment claiming tho protection of federal' law
and a republican national administration. And
tho consequence of that would be intormlnablo
litigation if not something worse. Meantime,
in what way do the Oklahoma republicans, or
the republican party leaders outside of Okla
homa, expect that such a courso of conduct will
be hojpful to tho party olthor thoro or else
whero?" oooo
A HOT TALE FOR MR. ROOSEVELT
. So long as Mr. Roosovolt confined his con
troversies to those circles where politicians most
do congregate, his task was comparatively easy,
but since ho engaged in disputes with tho "na
ture exports" Mr. Roosevelt has discovered that
the head that wears a crown Is not at all times
entirely at its ease'.
It will bo remembored that Mr. Roosevelt
hotly denounced Rev. Dr. Long bocauso that
"naturo export" undertook to show that a com
mon wolf had killed a deer by biting tho deer's
chest; but that was a simple proposition com
pared with tlio one presented by Francis Aubrey
of New York. Writing to tho New York World,
Mr. Aubroy says:
. "As .an Englishmen I respect tho presiden
tiakofllce too much to enter into a controversy
with the president, and I trust I will not bo
roped into the Society of the Deliberate and Un
qualified If, as an eye-witness, I vouch for tho
following:
"In or about the month of June, 1880, Lord
Randolph Churchill and I were together hunt
ing big game in tho central part of South
Africa. Toward the close of a disheartening
day during which wo mot nothing save a hot
wind blowing across tho sandy wastes wo
traversed, wo suddenly came across the tracks
of a huge.elephant, apparently a rogue elephant,
as we noticed from the spoor ho was traveling
alone. Following the spoor we camo to tho
sloping shore of a sweet-water lagoon and thoro
200 yards from the banks we saw a regular
Jumbo enjoying a big drink to his heart's con
tent. My companion and 1 had hardly time to
exchange ideas as to how we should tackle tho
monster when, the elephant trumpeting an
alarm, we saw the open jaws of a crocodile sud
denly arise from the water in front of the ele
'phant and with a hard, metallic click close down
tight upon the elephant's trunk. The elephant
immediately began to withdraw shoreward,
drawing the crocodile with him, but had not
receded thirty feet when another crocodile ap
peared and seizing the tail of his amphibious
friend materially helped in checking tho ele
phant's retreat from the water. Strength and
weight, however, were on tho elephant's side,
and with measured backward stride ho was
gradually making the banks, where we expocted
to see him with one of his mighty feet crush
any -further presumption out of Mr. Crocodile;
but at this moment three other crocodiles camo
on the scene and each falling into line and tak
ing hold of another's tail formed one side of
the grandest tug-o'-war that mortal man ever
witnessed. The hindmost crocodile acting as
a sort of stroke-oar in this remarkable aquatic
team, began to back-paddle with his foremost
paws, and the strain upon his proboscis must
have been terrible for the elephant. Amid tho
lashed and foam-covered waters it was almost
impossible to form an opinion as to the ultimate
result of this gigantic struggle.
"'It's even money on either side!' ex
claimed Randy. 'I'll take your lordship's five
to four against the elephant!' shouted I, and no
sooner was the wager effected than the sagacity
of the elephant landed mo the money as well
as himself the victor. The elephant simply blew
through his trunk" the many gallons of water
he had just previously imbibed, and the fore
most crocodile, feeling a great and forceful
swirl of waters uprooting his back teeth and
threatening to almost wash his very tongue down
his throat, had to release 1 s hold, and the en
tire crew of five crocodiles fell back into the
depths of the lagoon defeated and disgraced,
"No doubt some writers of stories of wild
animals such as mountain lions or Kilkenny cats
have misintepreted some of the things they have
witnessed, and others have unconsciously per
mitted their imagination to color their observa
tions, but truth will prevail for the simple rea
son that truth is stronger as well as stranger
than fiction. Those, therefore, not disposed to
believe my authentic tale can do the other thing.
I'm no mollycoddle."
What will Mr. Roosevelt say of Francis
Aubrey? Breathlessly the world not the New
York World, but the real article awaits Mr.
Roosevelt's action in this emergency.
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