TUB. COLUMBIAN, BLOOMSBURG. PA. s . - dristraas Jig SANTA CLAUS AT GRIMM'S RANCH. A Storu for Christmas. THOUSAND par Join, but could the senor the change give for two gold piece of $20?" John Wells jerked his n e w 1 y-u r g e d horses to a standstill and glared his annoy ance at the heavily bearded Mexican who, with dotted sombrero, hnd sud denly confronted him at a point where the Menardville road extricated itself from the scattered jacals of Fort McKavctt and headed out for the open prairie. It was early morning of the 24th of December, 1895. Wells had freshly risen from an unappetiz ing and indigestible breakfast of grease-sodden tortillas and rancid bacon; had quar reled with the hotel keeper over his extor tionate charges for the last night's lodging; was hungry; angry with the sharp sleet that came drifting against his face from the northeast; angry with the "infernal luck" that doomed him to wander over the wild prairies of southwestern Texas while the rest of mankind were happily preparing for the holiday festivities; angry at the abomin able cabbage-leaf cigar which refused to yield him solace from his woes; angry with the world at large and just at that moment with the disreputable looking "Greaser" before him in particular. "Two gold pieces of $20," he growled. "Where are they? Are they counterfeit? How did you come by them?" The Mexican gravely held them forth in hia dirty palm for inspection. "They are gold, senor. They were given me by the American, Senor Black who sends the meat of goats across the seas in cans. The money is the price of 40 goats that I drove from the Rio Concho." Wells regarded the Mexican with a search ing gaze of suspicion. "I know Col. Hill Black, and his gold is good. But I think I know you, too. You were in the hotel just now when I paid my bill, and I think I saw you last night at the store where I bought those cursed cigars. I believr you want to learn if I have money, o you can relieve me of it farther out on the plains." The object of Wells' distrust threw his arms aloft in humble deprecation. "The Sacred Mother knows !" "Never mind that nonsense," exclaimed Wells, roughly. "I'm no baby, and I'll tuke THEY ARE GOLD vhonres on you and all the Greasers in Me iiavctl. I'll give you silver for your gold; aud here in this sack is more money white and yellow that you may have for the tak ing. Don't be ufraid of the guns they are never loaded but sail in as soon as you can ruine your crowd aud overtake me." The Mexieun mude no reply to this bland bit of encouragement, but hia snaky eyes jleameU evilly from their covert of steel jray brows, as they rested upon the plump aucksUin pouch nestled between the butts of a heavy shotgun and a Winchester rille. He was profuse in his thanks for the Amer ican's kindness, but Wells' only response was a short irrunt as he onei inrn- drew tho blankets closely urouml him and chirruped to bis not over-williiiK team It was a long drive to Menardville, and a 'onger one to tho nearest railway station, the point for which Wells was now heading. Kvcr since the middle of November he had been driving here und there among the scat tered ranches, on a collecting trip for hit iniployers, a prominent firm of Sun Antonio nerchantu; and he was more than unxiom 5o get back to civilization once more. lie isd been successful in lijs mission and had remitted several large sums by express; but Hhwfc 1 f.i-t- i SENOR." I his collections had been heavy daring tbi last few days, and at least $3,000, in bills and coin, were stowed away in his pockets and in the buckskin baa at his feet, it was a large sum of money and he naturally foil tho responsibility its possession involved. John Wells was by no means a coward, but he was perfectly acquainted with the coun try and its people, and knew that the chance of acouiring one-tenth the amount he car ried would be sufficient o prompt many of the latter to murder, lie had been particu larly struck with the villainous face and sus picinus demeanor of the goat-herder, and the uneasiness aroused by the little incident of the morning hung over hiin during the en tire day. Without making his usual noonday halt, he drove steadily on, occasionally g'ancing back over the dim trail, in momentary ex pcclation of iinding himself pursued. How ever, evening came without anything hav ing transpired to increase his alarm, and an hour before darkness closed down upon the bieak plains he drew rein before the door of a lone ranch and, without the useless pre liminary' of applying for accommodations, began divesting his tired horses of the har ness. As he unhooked the tugs of the off horse, a towheaded urchin of eight or nine years same strolling up from the near-by corral, crept into the buggy seat and drew the blankets over his hwd until only his boyish face and sparkling eyes were visible. "What's your name, mister?" he asked, with childlike directness. "Jack Wells. What's yours?" "Hank Grimm. I'm only Little Hank. Old Hank is my gran'paw, and he owns this ranch. The Mexicans call this 'Dos Hot as Ranch,' 'cause gran'paw gives the 'two boot' brand. Say, mister, do you know who I thought you mought be when you driv' up?" "Couldn't guess." "I thought mebby it was Santa Claus, but then I allow he's got more whiskers'n you have. Still, he mought have shaved." Wells admitted that Santa Claus might, by way of a change, conclude to make his annual trip with a beard of three weeks' ! growth, or even a smoothly-shaven face, i Further than that he couldn't, tinder the circumstances, blame Little Hank for look ing upon all strangers with an eye of sus picion; but he thought the chances of pop ping his gaze on Santa Claus by daylight were extremely small. Several millions of boys, in different parts of the world, had been keeping their eyes open for years with out avail, and there had come to be a popu lar belief that the jolly fellow with the rein deers traveled principally in the dark. "That's the way he hit this ranch last Christmas, and I reckon he left it till about the last ranch on his rounds," remarked the boy. "He didn't leave me a thing that I wanted nuthin' but a little tin wagon and a pound of candy. Say, mister, d'ye reckon Santa Claus ever handles windehesters?" The appearance of the elder Hank Grimm spared w ell tne necessity ot answering this difficult query'- The owner of the "Two Boot ranch" was a man well advanced in years, and possessed of a sturdy, erect fig ure, square-cut features and sky-blue eyes, that told at once of German ancestry and of past service in the armies of the old world or the new. He welcomed the traveler heart ily, directed him how to dispose of bis horses for the night, and then abruptly turned away and entered the house. Little Hank remained behind and, in his quaint, boyish way, superintended Wells' every movement. A covey of quail that had been foraging in the vicinity of the crib flushed at their ap proach and settled in the prairie grass a short distance away. Little Hank clamored to have one of them killed for his Christinas breakfast, and to please him, on their re i turn to the buggy, Wells slipped a couple of ' bird loads in his l'arker, and, when the covey rose again, gnifcsed three plump beau ties with a hasty double shot. Tho boy was iu perfect ecstasies over his success. "That's bctter'n you could do with a windchestor," he remarked, in a tone de noting that he considered this the height of possible praise. "Gran'paw says n shotgun is no good; but I reckon it depends a heap on who shoots it. I never seed but one be fore, and it wasn't wuth shucks. It be longed to a pan from Arkansaw, and he couldn't hit trie broadside of a mule." 1 The traveler's effects were soon trans ferred to the living room of the ranch, where ho was introduced to the ranchman's aged wife, and found that the only occupants of the place were themselves and their pre cocious grandson. Grimm was a German of the old school, with true Teutonic ideas of : conifort n(l it seemed that uniiBual prep- uruuuns rur wis evening nieai nau ueen umue iu honor of his visitors. All in the way of food that the ranch could offer was on the table, and, surmounting the array of snowy biscuits, hum and eggs, juicy steak and canned fruit, stood a group of ancient glass decanters, their contents shining in a grada tion of colors from deep red to straw yel low. Little Hank seemed to look upon his share of the feast as an especial treat, and after it ' was disposed of bis tongue ran more glibly I than ever. At length his grnndsir stipend- cd fur a moment a morsel of beef half raised to his nioiitli, and uttered a word of reproof. "lici.ry, my boy, it is not right that the children should talk ami tho grown, ones listen, Remember, yon should be very good to-night. They say that Simta Claus to bad boys is not kind.'' "But sec," retorted the lad, quickly. "I was good before and what did he bring me? Nothing. 1 Wanted a windchester and ho brought mo a tin ngon." "The child would be a man before bis time," put in his grandmother. "He talks of nothing but guns; and if he had them he would kill us all, and himself in the bar Bain." "1 would be a brave soldier like my fa ther," said the boy, his eyes filling with tears. "And be killed by the Indians, as was he." responded the old ranchman. "My child, the Grimms have been soldiers since the earliest days. 1 have fought, in my time, with brave men to lead me on to battle, and 1 tell you there is nothing in soldiering nothing but hard work and slavery and bloodshed and death. It is a dog's life; nothing more." Later in the night, when Wells and Little Hank were snugly stowed away in the lat ter's bed, the question of Santa Claus and tho "windchester" came up again, but no lengthy discussion followed. It niut have been sometime after mid night when Wells was partially aroused by the knowledge that some one was moving in the room, aud called out to know who it might be. "Nobody but me Hank Grimm. Not gran'paw, but the little one. You know " But that was quite enough for the som nolent gentleman from San Antonio. If the cntcr.ee was finished he failed to hear its conclusion. Sometime afterwards, however, he was aroused again; and this time so thor oughly that he heard and understood the words that awoke him. They evidently caine from the "living room" into which his apartment oprned, and were uttered at the top of Little Hank's childish treble. "Thar now, Santa Clans. I've got you this time, and either that windchester comes or I downs your meat-house. No tin wagons for me this Christmas." There was a fierce curse grittingly mut tered; the sharp crack of a pistol; and then boom! boom; two thunderous reports almost as one, shaking the adobe walls of the ranch to their foundations. A dense volume of smoke rolled into the sleeping room, but Wells charged through it with ready ride, reaching the outer apartment just as old Grimm cutcrcd from another door light in hand. Little Hank lay beneath the huge table, groaning dismally and rubbing his shoulder. Otherwise the room was unoccupied; but a , window near the door was open, and on the "I'VE GOT YOU THIS TIME. SANTA CLAUS." bard dirt floor lay a freshly discharged pis tol and a Mexican sombrero. "It is robbers that have been here," ex claimed the ranchman. "It is Mexican rob bers, and they have shot my boy!" Wells dived beneath the table, brought forth the injured lad and placed him ten derly in a chair; but he at once struggled to his feet. "Turn loose the dog, gran'paw, or he will git away. It's Santa Claus, and I'm blamed if he didn't mis me with his pistol right slap in my face. I never knowed afore that Santa Claus was an Arkansaw man." Wells turned from the excited boy and approached the open window. Below it, and directly to the right, the whitewashed walls were torn and disfigured with shot, and there were great splotches and dark, trick ling streams of something like red paint sinning in the light of the lamp. lie turned to the old German; his fea tures pale but collected. "You will not need the doR," said he "The man who tumbled U'rough that win dow is lying where he fell and 1 think 1 will recognize him when I see him." Wells was right iu both his surmises. In "layin fer Santa Claus" Little Hank had tsken a step that no midnight marauder could have foreseen. In forcing an entry to Grimm's ranch, the Mexican goat-herder, who had trailed Wells all the way from Mc Kavctt, had gone directly to his death, lie lay outside the window, as he bad fallen whin the bulk of two loads of buckshot had i-ti'iiik him, and when Little Hank gawd into his dead face, its pallor more ghastly still in the lamplight, he screamed and stag gered buck, covering his eyes with trembling hands. "I don't want to be a soldier," lie sobbed. "I never want to kill unother man as long as I live." But his stumly old granddam descended, no doubt, from a long line of warlike Teutons took him in her strong anus con solingly. "But this man was a robber, mv dear. Killing was his deserts, for he came to mur der us all in our sleep. You saved our lives, and now would you turn, coward and make us ashamed!1" "Jt was not a brave deed," growled old Grimm. "The boy thought to shoot Santa Claus and killed a lazy thief of a Mexican in stead. It was a bull's-eye on the wrong tar get and no honor is won. Still, I am glad it has happened, for it may frighten his buby'uih mind from this folly about eoldicr life and guns." And fo Kris Kringle did not visit the ranch that night, and Little Hank had to wait for his rifle but not, as it chanced, so very long, after all. Arriving without further incident at his destination, Wells first care was to visit the different gunstores of San Antonio upon an errand the nature of which can be easily guessed. On New Year's Kve the McKavett stage halted at Grimm's ranch to deliver a package, and a few min utes later the heart of the younger Hank wus beating high with elation. Snugly packed in a neat box lay two guns a tiny Winchester and a light breech-loading shot gun. It was a present fit for a king, and a costlier one than Jack Wells' slim purse could lisvo stood unaided; but his employ ers had been told how their thousands were saved and graciously donated two per cent, of the entire amount towards rewarding the principal actor in that Christmas Eve trag edy at the "Two Doot ranch." B. D, BARNES. NOBODY CLAIMED THE WATCH. Thnt Is Why the Ielnor of This Storr Kept HcmnrUnble Time lilrrr. "Grcnt Scott! but Unit's n fine wntoh," cunie from a chorus. "Wlicrc'd yon ever get it?" "Stole It," answered its possessor, cnlmly, rclntes the rhihidelphlii In quirer. "Y'ou don't believe, me, do you?" ho went on. "Well, I'll fell yon how it happened. I was on a western district, which enjoyed tho reputation of belli tho touphest ono covered by the house. I hnd some time to kill nnd so went into ono of the gambling joints. It isn't neces unry to go Into details us to what happened. As luck would linvo it there were a half dozen others in the place besides myself who might bo considered as possible victims. When the time came the lights were put out suddenly and then we lind 'rough house' for about ten minutes. In tho middle of it I felt somebody prnb my watch nnd renehed out after him. I enught some one and felt thnt he was just putting a watch in bis trousers pocket. I gave his wrist a hard wrench nnd got the timepiece. Then I broke away. When I got to the light I found the wateh was this one. And as I never heard from tho owner I have it to compensate for the loss of mine." After which the waiter hurried over in response to six different signals. INFLUENZA FROM OZONE. Para Air front Lake Michigan Gar isi Inrestlnator an Eilrmif. Is- Hard Cold. On one occasion the present writer walked to the edge of Lake Michigan when a strong wind wns blowing right from the lnke. The bodily condition wns ns near perfect as could be, says l'opular Science, nnd yet in lesB than five minutes there was every evidence of having caught an extremely hurd cold. The severe influenza continued until, on walking uwny, in less than 500 feet, it disappeared ns if by niugio. It is very certain that the tempera' ture hnd nothing to do with this, nor the wind, but the iniluenzn was direct ly due to the abundant ozone in the air. Bv inquiry It was learned thnt hundreds of residents who had lived upon the immediate edge of the lake hnd been obliged to move back three or four miles in order to relieve them selves from such experience!;, l'hysi cians readily admit that it is not ul- ways possible to sav why one "cutcheB" cold; it certainly ennuot nl ways be because or undue exposure or change In temperature, but prob nbly nlso to changes in the electric condition of the uir. Facts of this hind should lead to the cxtrcmest cnu tion In studying any supposed rein' tion between the weather and health. BURIED TREASURE. Hidden Gold Over AVtileh a Neiim Ilnrrd for Thirty. Five Years. mind There is an old negro, Uncle Tom Wes ton, down on the Florida side of the OkeQnokee swamp, who bus ruved for 35 years about a burled treasure which he is unable to recover, lie .ys. reports the Cincinnati Enquirer, his old muster buried $25,000 in gold during the civil war when Sherman's army whs march ini? through tieorgin. He curried the treasure box for bis mnster nnd dug a hole in the swamp in which the gold was burled. An accident mude him blind before the wur und he wns not able to see where the treasure was concealed. His master died during the wur without recovering the gold and reft no instruc tions concerning it. Uncle Tom bus suffered from rheumatism for many years nnd is u cripple. Though be is blind und crippled, Uncle Tom bus made jnnny trips to the swump in quest of the hidden treasure, only to be disappoint ed. The old mau is afraid somebody has already recovered it, ns he understands several parties Instituted a seureh. lie U the oldest negro in the Okefinokee re'gion, und he sits on his door sill nil day long wondering about the burled treasure nnd sorrowing because he must die without succeeding In recovering it. " The Loss of Gold is Great; the loss of health is more." Ileallh is lost by neglect ing to keep Hie blooj pure, but it is re gained by purifying, enriching nnd vitalizing the blood willi the great health restorer, Hood's Snrsaparilla. Thousands who thought heal ih hail been permanently lost have been made perfectly well by taking this great medicine. Your experience may be the same. Hood's Pills are gentle, yet always effect- When ibe coal man joins church he evi denily believes it's time for him to mend his weighs. WANTED SEVERAL PERSONS FOR District Office Managers in this tate to rep resent me in their own and surrounding counties. Willint! to pnv vearly S 600, pay able weekly. Desirable employment wiih unusual opportunities. References ex changed. Enclose self-addressed s'aiuped envelope. S. A. Park, 320 Caxton Huilding, Chicago. 12-31. im Birds of a feather are in demand for hats. To Starve is a Fallacy. The dictum to stou eatinu because you have indigestion hns lonr since been exploded. Dr. Von Stan's Pineapple Tablets introduced a new era in the treatment of stomach troubles. It has Droved that one may eot his fill ot nnvihinr? and evervthinu that be relishes, nnd one tablet taken afur the meal will aid the siomach in doing its w -rk, and preclude the possibility of any disliess. 18 in a 1 ox, 10 cents. Sold by C. A. Kleim. 6$ Tutkevs are becinr.ino to wonder what they will have for Christmas dinner. OAfliFOnXAi B.u. tu y 1 h Kind You Have Always Boucht FIND OUT YOURSELF. Why nsk a physician to find out whether your kidneys arc diseased. Take n glass tumbler and fill it with urine. If there is a sediment after standing twenty-four hours, your kidneys arc sick. If you liavc a desire to urinate often, a pain in the back, or if your urine stains linen, you should at once take Dr. David Kennedy's Favorite Remedy, ns delay is daneious. I hero Is mi ques tion about its being tne uet ami sun-si med icine in the world for any and nli diseases of the kidneys, liver, bladder and of the urinary passages, rheumatism, dyspepsia or consti pation of the bowels. It quickly relieves in ability to hold urine, and the necessity of getting up often during the night. It stops that scanting pain wncn passing urine ami corrects the bad ceffcts of whiskey and becr. It is Bold by nil druggists at one dollar n bottle. You can have a trial bottle ntul pamphlet of valuable medical advice sent free by mail postpaid, by mentioning the Co- M'MIIIAN nnd sending your nnurcss m mc DR. DAVID KENNEDY CORPORA- TION. Rondout. N.N. 1 he publisher ol this paper guarantees the genuineness of this liberal oiler. The 'qo, calendar's days ore numbered. The pickpocket isn't so anxious to keep a watch on his victim as to take u away from him. In another column will be found the ad vertisement ot Winner Atkinson co., pub lishers of the Biggie Hooks. In conciseness of statement, in the thoroughness with which the gtound has been covered, the Biggie Books have won praises on every hand. The boiled-down, common-sense, cream not skim-milk method, which char acterizes the pages of the "I arm Journal has been carried out in their preparation. For mechanical effect no expense or pains have been spared, and the highly finished paper, the beautiful illustrations, the excel lent type and press work, and the handsome cloth binding, makes these books models of the printer's art. I he color work in me Berry, Poultry nnd Cow Books has never been attempted before in nny book selling for a reasonable price. No farm or rural home is complete without Judge Biggie's Books, and no one interested in tnese sun- jeets can afford to let another day go by without sharing in tne neipiui tnings wuu which their pages arc filled. Bay $40 for a farm library other than this and you will not have more vclue. The price is 50 cents, free by mail ; address the publishers, Wil- mcr Atkinson Co., riiuadcipnin. If riches take unto themselves wings, it stands to reason that a rich young man should be a trifle flighty. Now is the time to practice writing 1900. O .A. S T O XT I A . tl. u:J u.a. ii 11 ... n.,..u Bears the 1 118 m tla"1 DUUft" 8ignr 3Z&m ALEXANDER BROTHERS & CO. DEALERS IN Cigars, ToUcco, Candies, Fruits and Nuts SOLE AGENTS FOR Henry Mailtard's Fine Candies. Fresh Every Week. FE.trisr-s; Goods a. Specialty. SOLE AGENTS FOR F. F. Adams & Co's Fine uut ur.ewing auu Bole agents tor the trQ n,av Londres normal, I "" ' ' Bloomsburg Pa. IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF CARPET, JJ1ATTINO, or OIL CJLOTH, YOU WILL FIND A NICE LINE AT W. H. BMOWEM 2 Door above Court House. A large lot of Window Curtains in stock. McCLURE'S flAGAZlNE. YEAR NOTABLE FEATURES FOR 1900. rcxzB LIFE OF THE Jl ASTER, liv th k Rev. JOHN WATSON, D. D. Author of "The Mind of the Master," "Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush," etc. Illustrated, largely in color, from pictures made in Palestine by CORWIN KNAPP LINSON. A Novel by - - -Frequent Contributions by Short Stories by - . SCIENCE AND The Hottest Heat Filter Plants of Europe Bacteriology in Commerce The Inside of the Earth SHORT STORIES by such well known writers as Bret Harte, Cy Warman, Booth Tarkington, Shan F. Bullock, Tighe Hopkins, Robert Barr, Clinton Ross, W. A. Fraser. INTERESTING ARTICLES by Lieut. Richmond P. Hobson, Capt. Joshua Slocum, Hamlin Garland, R. S. Baker, Rev. Cyrus T. Brady, Trof. E. S. Holden, Ex-Gov. G. S. Boutwell, and others. The S. S. McCLURE COMPANY, 200 East 25x11 Street, NEW YORK CITV. "When ft woman pauses to reflect, ' ssyt the Matiayunk I'hilosophcr, "it is generally before ft looking-glass." It Kf.fi's the 1'f.kt Warm and Dry. Ask for Allen's Foot -Ease, n powder. I; cures chilblains, swollen, swcnling, sore, aching, damp feet. At all druggists and shoe stores, 25c. Sample free. Address, Allen S. Olmsted, Lc Roy, N. Y. 12 Hdt The chap who can't keep his temper nee! not try to keep a diary. AroPt.EXY. Dr. Agncw's Cure for the Heart is equally effective in apoplectic symp toinps. If you have unpleasant dizziness tightness, or sudden rush of blood to the head, tnke precautions against a recurrence This great remedy will remove the cause The press of the bind has daily a long list of sudden deaths which would not be chron icled if Dr. Agncw's Cure for the Heart were used. Sold by C. A. Klcim. l The earth was made for Adam, nnd his descendants have all been trying to get a slice of it ever since. Try Grain-O! Try Grain O! Ask yout grocer to-day to show you a package 0 GRAIN-O, the new food drink that tnkes the place of coffee. The children may drink it without injury as well as the adult. All who try it, like it. GRAIN-O has that rich seal brown of Mocha or Java, but it is made of pure grains, and the most delicate stom ach receives it without distress, i the price of codec. 15c. and 25c. per package. Sold by all grocers. 12 7 td The fellow who wants an increase in his salary believes that the laborer is worthy of his higher. now An Yonr Kidney f Dr. Hobns'HpsrsinisPlllsciireMl aiiine? 111s. paw- Die f ree. Add. Sterling KemedjCo..CblcooorM.. - - The man who blames his wife for keeping his dinner waiting by stopping to look in shop windows is the very fellow who could, not pass o dog fight in the street if his life depended on it. Announckmknt. To accommodate those who are partial to the use of atomizers in applying liquids into the nasal passages for catarrhal troubles, the proprietois prepare F.ly's Liquid Cream Balm, l'rice, including the spiaying tube, is 75 cents. Druggists or by mail. The liquid embodies the medicinal properties of the solid preparation. Cream Balm is quick ly absorbed by the membrane and docs not dry up the secretions, but changes them to a natural and healthy character. Ely Broth ers, 66 Warren street, New York. Opals may be unlucky, but did you ever hear of a girl refusing one ? OA.faTOHIA. Bears th. si lha M Ha" IWay8 BoUS following brands of Cigars- Indian Princess, Samson, Silver Ash ANTHONY HOPE - RUDYARD KIPLING MARK TWAIN EXPLORATION. Lieut. Peary's Latest Campaign for the Pole Cy Warman's Account of the Klondike Railroad On the Greatest Ship Afloat. NEW YORK lOf COPY.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers