A Christmas on the Arkansas [pp. 26-40]

A Christmas on the A -kansaw.
golden hair, and dimples such as you see
in chromos, and-"
"You used to hate girls."
"I do now, fairly loathe them, but this
one is so small she does n't count. She
has had Christmases all her life; she
knows what they are, and it will be
harder for her to lose one than for a
great, long-legged animal like you. Now
let's do things for her, and get up a time
that shall be something. Here come the
men from the watch. I'll break it to
them first."
The idea met the general approval at
once, and within a few hours the camp,
almost to a man, was in a state of feverish enthusiasm. Dave's Dolly, they
declared, should not miss what belonged
to the day. A meeting was called to
inquire into the nature of Christmas
observances in civilized lands, and to
decide how far they might be carried out
on the banks of the Arkansas. Milton
was not present; the men had waited
that night until the child had fallen
asleep in her father's arms, as usual, and
he had taken her away. It was a grave
and formal gathering. Horace Greeley
presided with considerable dignity and
state.
"The thing for us to do," began Montana Jack, "is to find out how they celebrate this occasion in the halls of the
rich and proud. I had forgotten it was
any great of a day for kids, but now that
my attention is called to it, I kin remember hearin' some talk about it bein' Santa
Claus's birthday."
"Think yer givin' us news, Jack, don't
yer? Bet the drinks there ain't one in
the crowd that did n't know that," murmured a voice proceeding from a man
who sat cross-legged by the fire, carving
with infinite labor a doll from a piece of
wood.
"You hold your breath while I have
the floor, or I'll sling a blazing knot at
you," promptly returned Jack. "This
Santy was a furrin potentate or something of that sort, which had a large fam VOL. XIII.- 3'
ily, children and grandchildren; he never went back on any of'em, treated'em
all alike, and they never forgot it; they
kep' his birthday long after the old man
had gone over the range; bymby the
neighbors took it up, and they kep' it
agoin' too, and so it went on, till not
only the kids in his own po-tentality, but
all around there, they caught on to it,
and now it's the regerlar thing when the
time comes round to give presents right
and left, same as the old man did, and to
wish him well wherever he may be."
All but one or two of the men nodded
their heads in acquiescence, and continued to smoke tranquilly.
"That's the size of it, only I had forgotten just how the account ran," said
Long Rupe. "Anything further about
it in your book, Pius AEneas? That old
Prime you tell about was a good deal of
a father. It must have cost him something to set his young people up for the
day."
"No mention is made of Christmas in
my Virgil; I do not think Priam had
heard of it," said the boy demurely.
"Likely not, likely not. Troy was
sorter off the road. Well, we are a-wanderin' from the p'int. You say Santy
likes to have presents flyin' round; what
else chirks him up and makes him feel
pleasant?"
The men looked from one to another
in painful hesitation. They seemed to
be at a loss.
"Five years ago I struck Trinidad the
night before Christmas," began Montana Jack, retrospectively. "It was a
pretty lively crowd. We rode through
the town and shot out the lights; there
was some kind of a performance goin' on
in a Greaser church; they had a young
hemlock decked out with candles and
popcorn; and there was a wax image of
a girl holdin' a doll. Well, sir, when I
took my horses' reins in my teeth and
blazed away with both shootin' irons, you
should have seen the folks light out!
I snuffed every blowed candle clean."
1889.]
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