The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1869-11-12
LOVE IN A SAW-MILL

employed as a head sawyer in I'll
steam saw-mill of L. D. Smith d CO
y uear the mining town Of s.
- Mr.. Smith and his family were livin
: in a neat cottage close to the mil
and often AMI the engineer, Jane
Alton by name, were invited by ou
employer to attend the evening wol
. ship held in his house.
One evening, just as We were tax
a ing leave of his family, we heard th
= sound of carriage-wheels, ,immediatel
0 followed by a knock at the QUITE
door,
, minnie is coming! Minnie i
coming 20 exclaimed Mrs. Smith
rushing past US into the entry. He
: husband followed with a light.
A minute more the door opened
and Minnie, the oldest daughter, WA
locked in her mothers arms.
Minnie was beautiful girl, abou
seventeen years of age. Three year
she had passed in a young ladies
seminary, near Utica, New York, ant
now she had returned to her noun
tain home, amid the pines and CEDAR
of California.
The engineer and 1 fingered :
While alter ha- arrival, for both desir
ed to be introduced TO Minnie Smith
"Minnie, | make you acquainted
with Louis, our head sawyer, and
James, our engineer. 1 guess you'll
be g ad to make their acquaintance
for both are excellent singers and
good musicians. / suppose you
musical education has not been neg
lected ?"
81 have learned little instrumen
tai music, but l have no voice." re
piled she to her father, as she bowed
to us.
James held out his hand, but she
did not touch it, and saw that he
biushed deeply, while his eyes gilt
tered revengefully at what he sup,
posed her disdaiD.
Soon after we left the cottage. On
our way to the mill l said:
james, old boy, you look mad
Why, don't you know that in good
society they never shake hands, but
only bow Pr
"Well, l didn't know it. But nev-
ertheless she could have shaken
hands with me when she saw that |
held out mine,'' he replied in surly
tone.
then began to praise Minnie's
beauty, and asked his opinions about
her; but he gave me no answer
When we parted for the night 1
noticed that his voice sounded strange
as he said:
"Don't fall In love with that girl,
she is too aristocratic to be the wife
of a head sawyer
Four weeks had passed since / be-
came acquainted with Minnie. AL
most every evening James and 1
could be seen in the parlor of the
cottage. Soon it became known that
Minnie and 1 were engaged to be
married within six months. l do
not remember ho| l confessed my
love, all that l know is that she
pressed my hand when asked her to
be my wife. while her lips said ''yes.'
Her father had no objections to
our union. He had known me for
many years, and knew that 1 was
able to support wife. He even
asked me to become his partner, TO
which proposition l gladly assented.
One evening Minnie and / were
sitting at the loot Of huge sugar
pine, talking about our approaching
marriage, when we heard the report
of rifle, the bullet of which whistled
past my head.
Isprang to my feet and shouted :
"Hallo! you stupid fellow, what
are you shooting at ?'
81 supposed it was a deer,' an
swered a we'll known voice, and
James, with q rife in his hand,
emerged from some manzantis bushes
about fifty feet from where 1 stood.
"You couldn't take me for deer -
I said.
EYES," answered James, pointing
to my gray hat, in the band Of which
Minnie had stuck some dry branches
from bush close by.
"Ah, see," said 1, taking off my
hat. "Well, next time you had bet
ter look little closer"
81 will,' repeated he, moving
away; and soon hi, form was lost
amid the increasing darkness. Again
it seemed to me that his voice sound.
ed strange. 1 had no time to think
about it, for Minnie had tainted, and
it seemed long time to me before
she opened her eyes. 1t was night
before we reached the cottage.
The next day James Alton gave US
notice that he would leave within ten
days.
Time rolled quickly away amid the
preparations for our coming mar.
riage. had been twice to S. in
order to hire another engineer, but
could find no one to take James,
place, and he was compelled to re.
main until the arrival of a machinist,
an old friend of mine, who was com
| ing from San Francisco.
On Sunday evening, two days be-
fore the day set for my marriage
with Mlnnie,I i had occasion to 60
down to the mill. After looking to
the saws, to see if they were properly
wedged and filed, l descended to the
boiler-room. Wei had two large steam
boilers set side by side. AS usual,
in both their ends were the man
holes. These are semi-circular open
ings through which, when necessary,
the fireman creeps 10 clean the inside
of the boiler. One Of these holes was
open, ind some boys, children oi
the fireman, with . short iron bar
ipoar hp