THE ORIGIN OF A CUSTOM.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3625, 17 March 1906, Page 4

THE ORIGIN OF A CUSTOM.

UiiV the First .AmerteHa Girl Cause Thu ml;:lay chief Powhatnii sat on his lan'-ark (hr. y.vi end waited for the procts-ti'-u to appear. It was (o be a long pro-r.Hsi-.T;, ' ,r i‘ •, b-adii ■» fee;ure was Gap* lain Juka S.nua of England, and Pox- . v.l in his noblfi) aborigine’ mind to rv.k" tho time of his passing a p. am j., -h iuu. dalto, not lo i.-,: pern- ..... i.. In iho words of a later ( ;,,p dx:, “ I’uwhX-m w;w I win fer John with adiib " Tru 1 ), be was not in couiva’ment, ready to spring uroil (he Unsuspecting ea] tain and rsndhag him, so to .■pea’,;, (or il'.e captain moro than suspected !ha! ho was persona non grata to tho iniguiy chief and was aware that at the l-mir poi ! ’ted ho wit" to bebrought before Powhatan, and then mid there, at « given sigur.l, to Jay Ins h«v.l upon a stump ill order'll) fa-.-illtate the cliief’s purpose In si-citing rid of him with prompt a«rß and iUsp.iieh. IhwifilV tho enlivening notes of tho ..hu-es Mivcr I-'.i’l- br.f. u v. .» heard j t !i f , ( r i,-;: '.. a r d .he eh! chief’s free. ... f-Mv-r! /( i !'■’e",. ~’l ■ 1 h’r delay, 1 i-.'l-.. I’,,:', ;; -•>tA in Hi.-V, a-.'.1! i;H toyed ‘■'.V l ..;! -fir irev.- the bal’d?" inquired the 1 note ,c. si;.:, it- is* call'd ‘Goodby, •• : f;;I>’e-’- b-.Ttet’." PfO.dvital), •ai:.x ihe baud was acouninmud to play bo’;w wo scalped the leader!” i s >iw!i:i.t'au smlle-d grimly. ami the i.dThe music i f tho band sounded uoan-.r, and the shouts of the Algonquin Light infantry were wafted in c;i the soft Virg'. !;t air. A few more moments of impatient waiting, and t lie pV' V'W dun filed down before tho tan bark throne. Powhatan stood up In all his fuss and feathers, and he looked like an October sunset with fringe on it, Captain Smith had halted directly In front of the chief, and he gazed defiantly at the WirmlHon landscape before him. “Good morning, John,” mud Powhatan lathe hospitable tomes of the old Virginian. ‘•How are you, Dhu’-k-aml-i-an—excuse nic Powhatan,” responded Captain Smith, with (ho bluff cordiality of the Fmgii-hn;.i.n. The chief’s face reddened, but it didn’t show through. “Thanks,” ho said. “I’m ready for busi- “ Pw.idy is good,"smiled Captain Smith, anting Powhatan's war paint, but Powhatan was not a subscriber to Punch, and Ibis'witty sally of the Englishman full un.fried. “I presume,” ho continued as ho balmeed his cord wood stick in his hand with s-raceful ease, “that you know what you are here for?' ’ “I fancy,” replied tho captain with charming naivete and bonhomie, “that I am to take tho stump and join' your campaign club. ” ‘ You guessed It tie first time,” smiled (he chief. “Did- a truce lo such airy fairy prrsidoge, ” he added. “Take your place.” Captain Smith was conducted to the si uu:p at the foot of (he throne, and Powhatan jauntily stopped to his side, twirling hisi'.ub ns tho policemen do on pleasant summer afternoons as they stroll along. “This pillow,” laughed the captain as he p,laced his head or, the slump in several positions in order to find a comfortable oilO, “reminds mo of the pillow I had in the Pullman coming up hero.” “It’s soft enough for my purpose,” growled Powhatan, for tho first time chowtng his anxiety to get his work in. The cliicf braced himself, sighted along his club to got the proper distance, the band played “Annie Laurie,” and ho drew buck his formidable weapon. A silence, broken only by the mournful musk; of tho band, fell upon tho scene, but it was for an instant only, then a wild cry pierced tho stillness, accompanied by a swish of petticoats, and a fair girl stood between the captain and tho club. “Oh, popper,” cried Pocahontas, for it was she, tho chief’s beautiful daughter. “Oh, popper, what are you going to do?” “Back, girl," ho shouted; “back I say, or you’ll got it in tho neck, sure.” “Nay,nay, popper,” she pleaded in sweet, cajoling tones, “I shall not hack. You know not what you are about to do.” “.Stand from under for a minute, and you will see if I don’t,” the chief answered sullenly us ho let his club fall by his side. “Bull tell you,” she insisted, “that you don’t. ”

“Why don’t I?” “Because you don’t.” “i.eoauw; me no becauscs, girl,” thun dorcd Powhatan, reaching for his club, “Have you no other reason than a woman’s reason?”

“Being a woman,” she replied haughtily, “I don’t have to have.” “Now, Pokio,” said Powhatan caressingly, “you got out of this and give your papa a chance.”

“No, popper,” she responded as she threw her plump and tawny arm around the neck of the captive captain, “I came hero to give Captain Smith a chance and to give every American girl, for all time to come, a chance, ” she added in almost tragic tones. “Come off,” he growled.

“No, popper,” she persisted, “Mr. Smith must come off—off of that stump. Will it be necessary for me to give you a man aud a diagram before you will understand that Capt ain Smith is a foreigner, that I am an American girl of marriageable age and that the entente cordialo between the two musfand shall be preserved? Don’t you know that you owe something to posterity and the future social conditions of this great and glorious republic? Popper, popper, ” she pleaded, “can’t you see that y.mr Pocahontas Is endeavoring to establish » precedent that will stand for ail time?” Powhatan hesitated. A light as of » new day was breaking in upon his aboriginal perception.

“Old man,” exclaimed Captain Smith, taking the stump with his fe-. l instead of his head, “Pocahontas has called you, and you’ve got to show down.” Powhatan dropped his gory club in supremo disgust. “Tell that confounded band to play ‘Tommy Atkins,’ ” he commanded hia private secretary.

“ I guess I’ll take you,” said Pocahontas to the captain as ho came down off the stump.

“Please guess again,” said John. But despite tiiis ungullant and ungenerous rebuff history records the fact that Pocahontas was the first American girl to marry a foreigner.—VV J. Lampion in Life. _ NTu Help Tov It. Miss Summit (lunchingwith Castletou) -. K-reel as if 1 could eat a ,V-. i. !.-ion. i pa— <-until? to waiter) —Bring n, .ne wh ,-ic mil o? tars.—New York Her-

It Wart Kill a l'U; I lira! fie got out of his wagon in front of a Woodward avenue choking store and said In tho liour leer, who met him at the door;

“I’m tbluktn some of buyin a suit of clothes. D’ye think they kin fit me heroP” “Oh, certainly I Take tho elevator, ” was

the reply. When c saleaman came to look him over, tin; case \7ii-i different, however. He no ticefi that. the farmer bad a largo and doelded hump between his shoulders, and after a little lie made bold to say:

“It will be hard work to get an exact fit on account of your misfortune, but I’ll do tho best I can. ”

“What misfortin?” was the query, “Why, that hump. It makes it very bad, you see.” “That hump? Ob, you tin take that off! Jest reach up your hand and pull it out. That’s no natcral hump, but a turnip tho ole woman crowded in under my vest.” “So it is, ” exclaimed tho clerk as he brought it out to view. “Why on earth lira you wearing that around?” “She put it in thar to make me remcm ber that I was lo buy a lino comb. Hero, write it down before 1 I.) ’- it it. That s it- -i'-i-ii e c o-m-b—-fine cam:.), ami now I’ll pat the slip in m.y vc.-.t pocket and shove tho turnip down my boot leg to make me remember the slip!”—Detroit Free Press.

Both Wont Together. “Spiffing and Squlldig aro bitter en*mlefi,” remarked Dukane. “They got Into % regular fight on the street last night.” “Kucmles, are they?” replied GaswelL "When I saw the officers helping them into the patrol wagon, I thought they went taken with each other.” Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph. Parted. Briggs— l see that Slummer and hi! wife are separated, after having been married only six months. Griggs—What was the trouble? Briggs—Ho tried to pack some of her spring gowns in a trunk.—Clothier and Furnisher. Envious. “By thunder, ” said the new woman aa she lighted her cigarette and started tea tbo office, “I wish I had the snap Charlie has, with nothing to do but take care ot the children and the house.’’—Minneapolis Journal. Why Ho Proposed. “You wish me to bo your wife? Why, I've known you only 15 minutes.” “That Is true, but I wished to give oaa lady the opportunity of saying truthfully, ‘Tills Is so sudden.’ "—Texas Siftings. Down South In Spring. “My dear, where's my overcoat?” 11 Your overcoat?” •‘Yes; I'm going to the strawberry fe»Uvail”—Atlanta Constitution.