Daily Kennebec journal., 1873-01-17
naifp Mnnfbet gourmaL
From the Overland Menthly.l
A ROMANCE OF GILA BEND.
rcoxr1yrrp FROM YESTERDAY. /

isfed her curiosity in regard TO my LOOKS
and general makeup, she commenced
preparations for dinner. Sarah Eliza Jane
sole daughter of the house and race
sitting in q low. homemade chair, stared
steadily, till she had comprehended that
the bits of braid and lace in my lap were
to be manufactured into collar, similar
to one / wore. When she learned that
the collar was to be for her, she ran out,
shouting her pleasure, to her mother. The
mothers delight was as frank and hearty
as the daughters; and all at once the Sc
cret leaked out that the family was in pos
session of a fine American COW. Never
speak disparagingly to me of Pixies and
Texans. 1t has been been my experience
that the least kindness shown them is re-
turned tenfold, and the smallest advance
OF friendliness is met by them half way.
When dinner was placed on the table,
there came with it the most delicious but
ter had eaten for many days, and cup
of the sweetest buttermilk. Aunt Polly
method for making butter was very sim
pie. The cream was poured into high,
tin quart cup, and beaten with spoon till
the butter came-which it did in about st-
teen minutes.
Becoming quite intimate, Aunt Polly re-
sumed her pipe, and gave me a short ac-
count of her history since emigrating from
Texas. The most striking incidents were
the loss of her former husband by stroke
of lightning, about ten months before and
the acquisition of her present husband by
stroke of policy. about three months be-
fore. Though she did not show me the
weeds she had worn on becoming widow,
cho ovhthtfod " tho StnnnJ a1nt hncf
she wore on again becoming a wife. She
stood little distance from me, and apread
out the secondary dress admiringly, so
that could see the whole of the pattern,
consisting of detached bouquets brilliant
ly variegated in color, and gigantic in
size) scattered over plain of light sky
blue. Her husband had proved kind and
indulgent; since their marriage he had
been at Maricopa Wells and brought home
dress of many colors-which alas had
run out of his saddle-bags, after a two
hours hard rain, on his way home. saw
the dress-pattern, and-"Oh, it was
pitifulr "
After this display of goodwill and fine
clothes, she had a favor to ask of me
Pointing to my trunk, she said her husband
was crazy to know whether there was 9
waterfall in it? He had read so much
about waterfalls in the stray papers that
fell into his hands, that he had the creates,
curiosity in the world to know what they
were, and to see one with his own eyes
Aunt Polly had shrewdly guessed it to be
new fashion of putting up the hair
but they both had as correct an idea of ii
as a blind man has OF colors With deep
regret | owned that there was no water
fall in the trunk; but, seeing their disap-
pointment, succeeded, with the aid of q
pair of stockings and pin-cushion. in
putting up my hair into quite little Nj
agara, to the great delight of these fash
ion-worshiping people.
How charming and refreshing the grove
OF trees looks, when you draw up under
their shadow at Gila Bend, after days of
toilsome travel over wearisome, arid
sand-plains, or through an almost inter-
minable wilderness of grease-wood and
cactus. The whisper of the wind in the
trees, the bark of the dog that ran out to
meet us, and the cackle of the busy hens
around the doorway, told us that we
should find good and happy people here
There was the solitary house as usual
bat it seemed more pretentious than those
ut the other stations. The passage-way
was higher and wider, the rooms more
numerous, and finished with whtewash
and good glass windows. AT the win
dows, curtains; gay-colored counter
pane on the bed, and wolf-skins in front
of it and the lounge.
The statlon-keeper was tall, black
bearded, good-looking man. by name
George Washington. knew that |
should find Siss eldest sister here, as Mrs.
George W., for she was married on
the same day with her Aunt Polly. The
blue eyes, under long, silken lashes that
Bend, were like Sis's-only these were
the eyes of woman; there were the
same graceful movements, with more of
self-assertion. She might have been
eighteen. Her hands and feet, were
small, and her rich brown hair, oddly
though not nnbecomingly dressed. lay on
forehead white and pure as that of Il
child.
No wonder George was proud of his
wife, and had tried hard to win as such
the bare-footed girl whom he found one
day, with her family and some sorry on
teams, camped near his house, on their
way from Texas to California. The emf
grants, were the girls mother, her step
father, her sister, brother, aunt, and the
aunt's little girl. Aunt Polly seemed to
be the leading man, for to her belonged
the two best Orleans, one of which was
driven by herself, the other by the Girl.
Dorinda. She hired or bought her niece
from the step-father for this purpose, after
she lost her husband by lightning and Do
ra had been faithful to her task, although
nearly worn out crossing the Desert from
Maricopa Wells to Gia Bend. After
George had taken deep look into the
girls eyes, he, very disinterestedly. not
only invited the whole family to come in
10 his house-as far as they would 90 in
to rest from the long, hard journey, but
the hospitalities extended to the best the
place afforded, for both man and beast.
The Texans, content, were in no hurry
to move on, and George was apparently
in no hurry to have them go. Dora, Sis.
and the ten-year-old brother soon became
warmly attached TO him. and they. with
the big dog. Bose, daily wandered oil to
the ella to catch fish; wading into the
stream, with eyer-fresh zest, as they re.
called that dreadful drag across the water
less desert. George alone remained on
the bank, fishing line in hand.
One day, when Dora had watched the
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