Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1873-09-13
THE LOVES OF THE GOLD MINERS,

THE LOVES OF THE GOLD MINERS.
These men are mostly shy W tn their
letters and their tales of love. That
was sacred ground, upon which no
strange, tude feet could pass. No gold
hunter here, perhaps, but had his love
his only love, without a change or
Possibility for changing the object of
his devotion even if he had desired it.
Men must love as well as women. It is
the most natural and, consequently the
most proper thing on earth. Imagine
how intensife and how tender mans
devotion would become under circum-
. stances like these. The one image to
his heart, the one hope, her. So much
time to think, bending to the work in
the running waters under the trees, on
the trail beneath the shadows of the
forest, by the camp and cabin-fre, her
face and hers only, with no new face
rising up, crossing her path, confront
ing him for days, for months, for wears,
see how holy thing his love would
grow to 'e. This, you observe, is a
new man, : new manner of lover. Love,
l say, is a requirement, a necessity. 1t
is as necessary for complete man to
love as it is for him to breathe pure air.
And is as natural.
These men, being so far removed
from any personal contact with the OBJ
j cts of their affections, and only now
and then at long intervals receive let
ters, all marked and remarked across
the backs from the remailings from
camp to camp, of course, knew no in
t,rruptions in the current of their de-
votion, and loved in a singularly earn
est and sincere way. / doubt if there
be anything like it in history.
When men go to war, they have the
glory and excitement of battle to al
lure them, then the eyes of many wo-
men are upon them they are not
locked no like these men of the sierras,
thing to think of. When they go to
sea, the sailors find new faces in every
port but these men, from the time
they crossed the Missouri or left the
Atlantic coast, have known no strange
gods, hardly heard woman's voice till
they returned.
was in the confidence of one young
fellow here, very young and very ver-
dant, not of the grand type at all in
fact, he was of Pacific growth as far as
he had yet developed, aud not q repre-
sentative man at all. But he is the only
one who took me wholly into his conf.
dence, and of whom I can truthfully
speak by the card, as they say. He had
three letters, stained, and worn aud
torn. They looked as old as some of
II
cases in the British museum. These
letters were his treasures. True, he
had bag or two of gold, bowie knife,
a pistol, pair of blankets, and, what
was really a marvel and a mark of ex-
travagance, an extra red flannel shirt
but these were trifes. These three let
ters were the boys chief pride. Every
Sunday, up on the hillside, where lit
tie sun broke through the cellar tops
and split itself in shifting pools and
billows along the leaves, we two, would
sit and read and re-read these letters,
and talk, and think, and plan, and
prophecy in way that was as earnest
as it was absurd.
I remember but one of these letters
entirely, the tamest and shortest one.
But that one, no doubt, is quite enough.
1t had no date or postmark, and was
signed Merinda only, with a small ini-
tial letter. The name was followed by
many stars, the significance of which is
too we'll known to repeat
"mi deer love want to see yOu so
bad was in the hay lofte Yesterday
when you druv the cows past our house
on yore spotid horse and sede you thru
the crack. and think he is so Mise only
he holds his he'd out to mutch and steps
tn longe you must learn kim to lift his
legs auiker and not step so longe nor
stik his he'd ont killed a rattle snake
to da and about an our before sun down
will go ont to drive in the shepe from
of the roxy butte and it will be very lon
some with mi silver tale pony think mi
silver tale pony and yore new spottid
pony will both drive shepe altogether
furst rate mi one dere lov.
Thare was hollow tree that stood at
the edge of grove that lay part , be-
tween the parental ranches, which Was
fitted up for q pOst-ofice. These were
imaginative young lovers, it seemed to
me, with disposition tO make the most
of their limited resources for innocent
amusement. There was an old bushy-
tailed squirrel in the branches, adorned
with side-whiskers like an English mill.
tary gentleman, and always civil and
very talkative when they walked to-
ssther in the grove, and him they named
tAeir postmaster-general.
..Akandred little things like this were
"n ~ ~ related Sunday after Sunday
.L.,.~h a. ny Aaide, when tho sun split
" ss.oS . "spnr.. ;.ses in the majestic calm
not the shadow d SSsubt "i II ~ I,s his ~.
first love. How MI hc~ ~ "., ..,ro.s %
and unselash |! Now earnest
She was th0older OF theS~<-s,:
overthrow was, of course, only
ton Of time. Who does not know ~
nunh now?
Hd0 TIE DnNs came to him ct last.
howl l1fifE j little sta time, vaguely
= - ofhis boy in the forest, with
- - pfth; kov - refused 10 lis