Tumbleweeds
1
Man and beast ----
both blissfully
unaware that their
reign is over.
2
"Oh, I'm a rollin' rambler,
A tumblin' tumbleweed,
The prairie is my racetrack,
The wild wind is my steed!"
3
Don Carver -- just
another tumbleweed.
4
"Go ahead an' live. You've got a
whole lot more right here than
them that's comin'."
5
"Lucky for you pups this ain't
my day for killin' varmints."
6
"I never cease my roamin;
I'm always hard to catch --
But the punkin stays forever
In the same old garden patch"
7
The most fertile
spot in a fertile
land ---- the
Home Ranch of
the Box K.
8
Kentucky Rose --
proving that a
rose by any other
name would smell
as sweet.
9
"Wolf pups."
10
"Uh-huh -- we poisoned their ma
and pa an' I reckon it's up to
us to give them a chanct."
11
"The punkin lays and waits
To be turned into pies and tarts,
But the tumbleweed it jumps the fence
And heads for other parts!"
12
"You cow nurses sure will be
headin' for other parts before long
- I'm hearin' down south the Strip's
been opened to homesteaders."
13
"Do you mean this here Cherokee
Strip we're standin' on
right now?"
14
"Yes -- and I'm goin' now to
find out for sure."
15
"Boss, can I come along?"
16
On the edge of the
Strip -- the cow-town
of Caldwell, Kansas --
population 200.
17
"Ain't none of them homesteaders
in sight yet."
18
"Your eyesight ain't none too
good -- they're comin'
right now."
19
The Advance Guard.
20
"That ain't no homesteader --
it's a woman."
21
"Hey I'll fix that."
22
"My name's Mrs. Riley -- I'm a
widow lady that's come to take
out one of them homesteads."
23
"It can't be no disgrace to be a
homesteader when a woman
like her is one."
24
"We're goin' back to our cows."
25
Clearing all the
cattle from the
rich grazing land
by Government
order.
26
The Pointer
27
The Wheeler
28
"Yonder comes the Triple
X outfit."
29
"Uh - huh - and there goes
the Circle Dot."
30
"Golly, it's tough! There goes
the Diamond Bar."
31
"Boys -- it's the last of the West."
32
While almost over night
the little town of
Caldwell mushrooms into
a seething, rawboned
metropolis.
33
The ceaseless on-coming
line of home-seekers.
34
"Funny horses like water an' them
bein' so sensible in other things."
35
"You this boy's father?"
36
"This your dog?"
37
"Then I reckon you'll be
apologizen' to both of them."
38
"I said you'd be apologizen'."
39
"Make a bow an' say --
'Boy, I beg your pardon'."
40
"Now say -- "Dog, I beg
your pardon!"
41
"You're not old enough to carry
a loaded gun --."
42
"I'm warning you to act like a
man after this."
43
"If you ever meet that hombre
again, don't turn your back
on him."
44
"Hello, Benton!"
45
"Not Benton any more --. I'm
Bill Freel, now."
46
"You didn't get wet -- you got
saturated."
47
"Here's the roundup report, Boss
-- the last one -- it's sure
tough."
48
"Gee, mister, that was funny --
the way you made him take
his hat off."
49
"Don, why don't you register for
a piece of land and settle down?"
50
"The only land I'll settle down
on will be under a tombstone."
51
"I -- I'm powerful sorry,
miss -- I ----."
52
"This is my sister, Molly."
53
"It's called the Box K ranch and
controls the waterways. There's
a million in it and I'm going
to get it."
54
"Where do I come in?"
55
"Was you plannin' to stay
here long?"
56
"Yes -- we came to stake out a
homestead claim when the
Strip opens."
57
"It's a right good idea, miss --
I been aimin' to stake out a
claim myself."
58
"This is my brother -- Noll."
59
"We met outside."
60
"That lanky sister of yours has
sure grown into a good-looker
-- I'm banking on a fifty-fifty
break for her too."
61
"To think that a gal could have a
cayuse like him for a brother."
62
"He ain't her brother -- he's her
half brother -- same as mine."
63
"Kentucky, I'm going to register
for a piece of land -- ain't
nothin' like ownin' land --
no sir!"
64
Nearing the day of the Strip
opening, with the wagons
of an endless horde still
rolling in from the four points
of the compass.
65
"I could get the best claim in the
Strip -- but I wouldn't risk my
horse. He's a full brother of the
champion racer, Salvator."
66
"You can't sign for no land with
a kid in your hand."
67
"You've sure done well--"
68
"All duded up! Must be goin'
somewhere."
69
"Anyway, I ain't playin' no
nurse-maid."
70
"I don't care for Mr. Freel and I
don't want to see him."
71
"They're holdin' a big street cele-
bration tomorrow night and I was
wonderin' if you'd mind me takin'
you."
72
"The punkin lays and waits
To be turned into pies and tarts,
But the tumbleweed it jumps the fence
And heads for other parts!"
73
"That's what you cowboys call
yourselves, isn't it --
tumbleweeds?"
74
"Yes, ma'am; I been a tumbleweed
all my life but now I'm aimin' to
settle down -- I'm gettin' real
house broke."
75
"I'm figurin' to build a house and
I'm savin' every cent I can get."
76
"This is Mr. Freel, Mr. Carver."
77
"What pretty flowers --"
78
"Prairie flowers."
79
"I'll be callin' for you tomorrow
evenin' miss -- that is, if it's
still all right with you."
80
"Please don't go yet."
81
"I think I'd better go."
82
"Aw -- it's nothin' -- only a claim
paper I up and registered --."
83
"So did I and I'm going to stake
out the Box K ranch house for
Miss Molly."
84
"It's tough to see any of them
strangers gettin' the old
Box K ranch."
85
"Don't worry, they ain't goin'
to get it."
86
"I'm hearin' there's some Box K
strays out in the Strip --."
87
"I'm sorry, Boss, if we've passed
any up -- I'll ride out and
locate them."
88
"This is our chance to get Carver!
The fool's going back into the
Strip looking for strays."
89
"We'll report him to Major White
as a "Sooner" and a lawbreaker --
they'll have to arrest him."
90
Sunrise, deep within
the strip.
91
"White soldiers coming to arrest
you -- if you say, we fight."
92
"No, my friend -- not fight -- if
white soldiers want me, I go."
93
The Prairie Night.
94
"Here's to tomorrow and the
opening of the Strip! May we
all get good claims."
95
"The Lord is my Shepherd
I shall not want
He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures --"
96
"Sounds like a promise, father."
97
"Won't you join me in the fun
that's going on outside,
Miss Molly?"
98
"Thank you, I'm going with
Mr. Carver."
99
"I guess you're not -- Carver's
been arrested as a "Sooner" -- "
100
"I don't believe it!"
101
"Carver overheard us planning to
stake the Box K ranch for you and
sneaked in ahead of time to grab
it for himself."
102
"I don't believe it!"
103
"SOONER!" -- "SOONER!"
"Lynch him -- Lynch him!"
104
"Don Carver ain't no "Sooner."
He was just looking for some
Box K strays."
105
"Nevertheless, it's against orders
for a registered man to enter the
Strip ahead of time and I'll
have to hold him until
after the Rush."
106
"Sergeant, will you take care of
my horse and turn him over
to Joe Hinman?"
107
"Take his outfit and horse to
Hinman of the Box K ranch."
108
"You're under arrest!"
109
At last THE DAY --
when at high noon
a cannon shot will send
one hundred thousand
empire builders racing
across the broken
barriers of the last
frontier.
110
"Noll and Freel shot down the
trooper and killed my horse!"
111
"Speak to him if you like."
112
"Hinman has my outfit. Have it at
the live oak -- if I'm not there
when the cannon fires --
go ahead."
113
"Don't worry, I'll get you there --
Mr. Carver told me all about it."
114
"I reckon there'll be a place
for us, Father."
115
"He can outrun anything over a
distance of ground, and after
the rush he is yours, saddle
and all."
116
"Im waiting for my brother Noll."
117
"I'll be darned if you're going to
get left! You can take my horse."
118
Ready for the signal
for the maddest
stampede in American
History
119
"Find me! I'll be headin' for the
bottoms."
120
"Soapsuds."
121
"I got two shots left --
put 'em up!"
122
"That dirty "Sooner", Carver, just
drove us off Noll's claim --
tried to kill us."
123
"I insist you come back with me
and prove what you say."
124
"There's just one who's savin' you
a heap of trouble and you know
who it is -- I'll give you ten
seconds to get out of sight."
125
"Pardner, you got more grit'n
any man ever lived and Miss
Molly'll sure be grateful for
what you done for her
today!"
126
"The last time I saw you, you
were under arrest -- you're not
only a "Sooner" but you're
a thief."
127
"You've stolen my brother's claim
and tried to kill him."
128
"Do you believe that?"
129
"I believe what I see."
130
"You heard her, now you
know what to do."
131
"You didn't use no sense meetin'
up with me today."
132
"Well, so long -- I'll be
driftin' on --."
133
"It's goin't to be awful lonesome
for the children and me way
out here."
134
"Shucks -- let's get married."
135
"I'm going to get hitched."
136
"I aimed to do the same, but
I missed by a mile."
137
"I got to carin' for her somethin'
fierce -- but it takes two to
make a bargain."
138
"Women ain't reliable -- cows are
- that's why I'm headin' for South
America where there's millions
of 'em."
139
"Don's gal threw him over and
he's goin' smack-bang to
South Ameriky."
140
"Hop over an' tell that gal
she's a fool."
141
"You do as I say or there'll be
another cowboy smack-banging
to South Ameriky."
142
"Why don't you both draw? The
Government will string you up
for murder anyhow, so take
a chance."
143
"Old Timer, got a rope?"
144
"Old Timer, you keep them guns
and horses till the Government
sends for them -- and this
claim is yours."
145
A long walk!
146
"These two "Sooners" are the ones
that shot down your boy, Major."
147
"I give you my word, I'm
innocent, but if you say so
I'll climb back into the
bull pen."
148
"You'll find better quarters at
the Caldwell House."
149
"DON!"
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