Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 257, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 November 1918 — Three Fingered Jack [ARTICLE]

Three Fingered Jack

"It happened this way.” »ld washerwoman’s husband to the little boy with the catcher's mitt, who was far to little for the other boys to play with. “Old StßSkinthemud " “Is thia.an Indian storyr asked ths little boy. _ “Yes. Old Stickinthemud ' “Was his name really and truly Old Stickinthemud?" “Of course. Well. Old Sttokinthemud ” “Was his father’s name Mr. Stick inthemud?" Wo, of course not Indians don't hand down their names from father to son the way we do. They name them from something they see or that happens about the wickiup—* “What’s a wickiupT* ’ "A wigwam." “What’s a wigwaml*“A wigwam is a wickiup—ain't you got no sense ?’• “My mamma doeant permit me to play with people who talk to me like that!" said the little boy. sternly. “Then run and play!" "But what did old Stickinthamud do?" “Old Stickinthemud said to me, ‘Three Fingered Jack—’" “Three Fingered Jack?* "Yes. When the Indians meet a brave man they don’t call him by his own name; they give him a new name that is descriptive of what he kin do.” “And Old Stickinthemud called you Three Fingered Jack?" “Yes. My name in Indian fa Three Fifigered Jack, the Tar Heeler Terror of the Plains.” “Have you only got three fingers?" "Yes. This finger an' thumb were cut off with a tommy hatchet in the great uprisin’ between the Blackfeet an* the Bigfeet tribes." “But did you have tar on your heels?" •• "On one of ’em. This one. “You see, they had captured me one night when I was fast asleep, first removin' my trusty gun an’ knives an* pistols beyond my reach. They were goin* to dip me in a kettle of tar and—"

“Make a tar baby of you?* "No, they was goin’ to make a torch of me. Well, they stripped off my clothes—” "Weren’t you ashamed?* "No. They stripped oft my dothes and —" "Didn’t you get goose pimples?" •- “I don’t know. They stripped off my clothes and then—* "Weren’t you scared?* "Naw! I don’t git seared of nothin’! They stripped off my clothes and were goin’ to dip me down in the tar, when just as one heel went In I give the kittie a kick and the hot tar splashed all over the Indians that were dancin’ around the fire, and they caught fire and half the tribe was burned up right there.* "Don’t Indians have no fire department?” "Nawl Then I ran." "Without your clothes?* "Yes, without my clothes. I ran for the mountains, twenty miles away, where I knew there was a big cave. The whole tribe came after me, runnin* like deers. I reached the mountain pass an* I ran around the corner that led to the cave, and when I got around the corner where they couldn’t see I didn’t run into the cave, but jumped straight up over the mouth of It behind a big stone that "In a minute here they came: First was there and crouched down, came the warriors, then the boys, an* then the girls an* then the old men and then the old women an* then the little boys an* then the little girls, all comin* Indian file an* runnin* Ilckety split as fast as they could run, the whole tribe! The first warrior seen the mouth of the cave an* give a loud whoop an* rushed In an* tbs others whooped and followed—’’ "Did the little baby Indians whoop?" “Yea They—* "Maybe they had Whooping cough.” * “No. They was taught to whoop. When the last one of ’em went tn 1 gave the big stone a push an’ down it fell in front of the cave, shuttin* In the whole tribe. Then I walked off whistlin' an* left ’em to starve to death. "The other aide of the range 1 met my , friend. Old Btlcklnthemud, and when I bad told him what I had done an* showed him the tar on my heel to prove it be named me Three Fingered Jack, the Tar Heeled Terror of the Plains. Then Old Stieldnthemud, as I started to teU you—" "You John!" came the voice of the washerwoman from the basement "You good-for-nothln’ lazy critter, you better git busy an* bring me a scuttle of coal! If I'm goin* to work myself to death scrubbin’ clothes to fill your good-for-nothin* mouth— * "Does she fill your mouth with clothes?” asked the little boy. "Naw! That’s just her way o’ talk in’. Well, I gotta go now.” "Well, thank you. That was a dandy story. May I call you,Three Fin gered Jack, the Tar Heeled Terror of the Plains?" - "You can when there’s just us two together.” "Don’t you want any one to know?’ "Naw! You see, I might be arrest ed for starvin' that tribe of Indiana” "You, John!" * , “Cornin’.”, p If dt is true that children get their growth while asleep, it’s no wonder some babies grow so slowly.