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Title
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Scottsbluff Narratives, 1936_031
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Alternative Title
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1936 Scottsbluff Narratives
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Date
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1936
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Creator
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Frank Shoemaker
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Description
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Frank Shoemaker - Sandhills Narratives
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Identifier
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321301
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Transcription
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4 a black heap, as large as a cow! - an' a cow, b'gosh, is not so far from the stature of a bull! - an' range bulls is betimes patulous! - should I run, or investigate? Of course, being of curious mind, I always investigate; and of course, it is a pile of Salsola - "Russian thistle" so-called - the "tumblr-weed" par excellence; and not a taurine quadruped bent on murder. The primitive Homo was terribly afraid of the dark; and I am near enough the primitive that I see a lot of things which aren't so, when I stalk my miles in the night. But, like "playing bear" on a dark stairway, half a century ago - it is great fun. For I have never "grown up" - I still have, thank God, a vast number of qualms and tremblings, which make of a night walk almost an adventure. The senses of smell and hearing are most important, when vision fails . . . Now I am passing an invisible, alkaline lake-border - I smell the "chemicals" and hear coot or duck dashing from a shore shelter for the water - the raucous notes of the yellow-headed blackbird protesting against disturbance - the "plunk" of frogs leaving the bank - the clack of rails - the fragrance of cut sweet clover; that farmer, at least, I sense languidly, has beat the grasshoppers to it! . . And I plod on - past a field of guy hay, a most glorious smell! . . dear me, I didn't know that Monarda grew in the sandhills! - but I smell it, and I am as thoroughly informed of its presence as though I had the plant in hand. - So, even a night walk, bereft of visibility, is informative, if one knows his onions. One's first longish walk, after a stultifying period indoors, is beset by disturbances. That confounded bed-roll, for example - with blankets, heavy wrapper, mosquito-hood of Panamanian pattern (which I always carry); light Oxford shoes to spell the heavy
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Rights
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To inquire about usage, please contact Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. These images are for educational use only. Not all images are available for publication.
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Is Version Of
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frank_h_shoemaker_321301-03779.jpg
