Hunter Falls . . .
A long time ago, Croft Hunter was already old,
..a veteran since birth of living in Wallowa country.
Croft delighted in the telling of tales,
..of the good old days and the old-timer ways.
There was a time, Croft opines, in the darkened days of yore
..when he hired out to pioneer a road up South Fork.
This job left him within reach of town on weekends,
..and he was hotly courting a sweet young thing named Ethel.
While this was an engaging job working long hours
..and days on end, Croft was intent on a place of his own.
Wages alone in those hard-pressed times were thin
..and the grub-stake he was after demanded a bit more.
An enterprising young man, in those good old days
..had limited options available for growing his way.
In his spare time, and during long nights Croft assembled
..a proper enough still, in a quiet draw with water and wood.
These were challenging times, with small town wagging tongues
..and intrusive guv'mint revenoo-ers lurking behind every bush.
As a young man of spirit and fire, Croft had already earned
..a bit of reputation as a man likely to crowd the rules.
Word got back to Croft that he was being watched
..and authorities were waiting to catch him moving his load.
So crafty as an enterprising young man might be,
..he hatched a plan to lie low and look for the right opportunity.
The season drew to a close and Crofts' courting paid off
.. a wedding was planned with plenty of pomp and circumstance.
The revenuers sensed a chance to let down their guard
..expecting a virile young man on his wedding night would be engaged.
Ethel took her own sort of delight in describing her night
..assisting her new spouse hauling jugs and jars from the brush,
loading their model T to the gills with a seasons' shine
..and making a long and rugged run across the state line.
The couple retired to a homestead on Rye Ridge
..on the breaks of Joseph Canyon to lead their new life
raising a family, accumulating a store of memories and tales
..with which to regale newcomers to this country.
r.anderson
